Varsity Tutors always has a different SSAT Middle Level Reading Question of the Day ready at your disposal! If you’re just looking to get a quick review into your busy day, our SSAT Middle Level Reading Question of the Day is the perfect option. Answer enough of our SSAT Middle Level Reading Question of the Day problems and you’ll be ready to ace the next test. Check out what today’s SSAT Middle Level Reading Question of the Day is below.

You can use the SSAT Middle Level Reading Comprehension Question of the Day to get into the habit of thinking about SSAT Middle Level Reading Comprehension content on a daily basis when studying for the SSAT. Varsity Tutors' SSAT Middle Level Reading Comprehension Questions of the Day are drawn from each topic and question type covered on the Middle Level Reading Comprehension section of the SSAT.

Question of the Day: SSAT Middle Level Reading

Adapted from "The Colors of Animals" by Sir John Lubbock in A Book of Natural History (1902, ed. David Starr Jordan)

The color of animals is by no means a matter of chance; it depends on many considerations, but in the majority of cases tends to protect the animal from danger by rendering it less conspicuous. Perhaps it may be said that if coloring is mainly protective, there ought to be but few brightly colored animals. There are, however, not a few cases in which vivid colors are themselves protective. The kingfisher itself, though so brightly colored, is by no means easy to see. The blue harmonizes with the water, and the bird as it darts along the stream looks almost like a flash of sunlight.

Desert animals are generally the color of the desert. Thus, for instance, the lion, the antelope, and the wild donkey are all sand-colored. “Indeed,” says Canon Tristram, “in the desert, where neither trees, brushwood, nor even undulation of the surface afford the slightest protection to its foes, a modification of color assimilated to that of the surrounding country is absolutely necessary. Hence, without exception, the upper plumage of every bird, and also the fur of all the smaller mammals and the skin of all the snakes and lizards, is of one uniform sand color.”

The next point is the color of the mature caterpillars, some of which are brown. This probably makes the caterpillar even more conspicuous among the green leaves than would otherwise be the case. Let us see, then, whether the habits of the insect will throw any light upon the riddle. What would you do if you were a big caterpillar? Why, like most other defenseless creatures, you would feed by night, and lie concealed by day. So do these caterpillars. When the morning light comes, they creep down the stem of the food plant, and lie concealed among the thick herbage and dry sticks and leaves, near the ground, and it is obvious that under such circumstances the brown color really becomes a protection. It might indeed be argued that the caterpillars, having become brown, concealed themselves on the ground, and that we were reversing the state of things. But this is not so, because, while we may say as a general rule that large caterpillars feed by night and lie concealed by day, it is by no means always the case that they are brown; some of them still retaining the green color. We may then conclude that the habit of concealing themselves by day came first, and that the brown color is a later adaptation.

The example of the kingfisher in the first paragraph is intended to prove __________.

That the author’s thesis, whilst generally applicable, cannot be applied to every animal in every situation

None of these answers; it is an anecdotal story designed to inject lightness into the subject

That the color of an animal is not always adapted to match the background color of its environment

That birds are far more likely to have vibrant and striking coloring

That adapted coloring has many doubters who use the kingfisher to disprove the theory

Middle school learners who are interested in attending an independent or private school may need to take the Secondary School Admission Test. These tests are used to evaluate your middle school learner’s knowledge, and usually play a role in helping faculty come to a decision regarding admission. There are three different versions of the Middle Level SSAT, depending on your learner’s grade. Whether your learner is looking to take the fifth, sixth, or seventh grade version of the Middle Level SSAT, Varsity Tutors’ Learning Tools have the resources available to help him or her get the most out of their Middle Level SSAT Reading review sessions.


The reading component of the Middle Level SSAT consists of 40 reading comprehension-based questions. By accessing the Question of the Day on the Learning Tools website, your learner will be given a random Middle Level SSAT Reading question each day. These questions are completely random and cover literary form, the humanities, social sciences, and natural science. The Question of the Day provides daily SSAT Middle Level Reading review to assist in preparing your learner for the reading component of the Middle Level SSAT. By answering a random question every day, he or she will be able to test his or her knowledge on a number of areas covered by the SSAT.

At times, standardized tests can seem difficult to prepare for. Sometimes being able to succeed at standardized tests is a skill of its own. However, by continuing to utilize the Question of the Day, you are enabling your learner to build the essential study habits needed to prepare him or her for test day. Moreover, the randomness of each question is a good way to help your middle school learner prepare for the unexpected on the actual test.

In addition to helping your learner review previously learned material, the Question of the Day provides you with a great way to help your middle school learner understand new concepts. Following each Middle Level SSAT Reading question is an in-depth explanation that tells your child how the correct answer was obtained. Not only do these explanations help improve learners’ reading practice by letting learners see their mistakes, but they may also contain important definitions and vocabulary words that may appear on the test.

By using the Question of the Day alongside the rest of Varsity Tutors’ comprehensive Learning Tools, your middle school learner can develop a fully customizable Middle Level SSAT Reading study guide that is suited to his or her needs. In addition to the Question of the Day, your learner can get more in-depth, concept-specific SSAT Middle Level Reading help by using Learn by Concept. Your child can also drill their skills using the multitude of SSAT Middle Level Reading Flashcards and test their knowledge with the Practice Tests.

The Question of the Day is an excellent way to help your child get the valuable daily SSAT Middle Level Reading practice they need. By making use of all of Varsity Tutors’ Learning Tools, your learner can build their confidence as they prepare for the Middle Level Reading SSAT.

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