Nature · Level 2 · 156 words

Moss Is Not a Compass

Original passage © Studio AM, written for Fluency.

Moss does not know which way is north. It grows where its needs are met: enough moisture, a suitable surface, and protection from harsh drying. In some places, the north side of a tree stays cooler and damper because it receives less direct sun. Moss may be thicker there, which likely helped create the familiar rule.

The rule fails in many settings. A nearby wall can shade the south side. Rain may strike one side of a trunk, while bark texture and overhanging branches change where water remains. Even two trees a few steps apart can show different patterns. In the Southern Hemisphere, the sun's path changes the simple north-side story, but local shade still matters more than a slogan.

A mossy trunk is therefore evidence about a tiny habitat, not a dependable compass. Notice which surfaces are damp, shaded, or rough. For direction, use a map, a compass, marked routes, or several reliable landmarks instead.

Comprehension questions

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4 questions
1. What is the passage mainly explaining?

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C. Moss reflects local moisture and shade, so it is useful habitat evidence but an unreliable compass.
The passage gives several local causes of moss growth, then concludes that a mossy trunk describes a tiny habitat rather than providing dependable direction.

2. Why might two nearby trees show moss on different sides?

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D. Each tree can have different shade, bark, rain exposure, and remaining moisture.
The text explains that walls, rain, bark, and branches alter local conditions. Those factors can differ even a few steps apart, producing different moss patterns.

3. What does "dependable" mean in the final paragraph?

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A. Reliable enough to be trusted
The passage contrasts moss with maps, compasses, routes, and reliable landmarks for finding direction. Dependable therefore means trustworthy or reliable.

4. Why may moss be thicker on a tree's north side in some places?

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B. That side may receive less direct sun and stay cooler and damper.
The opening paragraph directly links the possible north-side pattern to less direct sun and the cooler, damper conditions that may result.

Source: Written for Fluency. Original passage © Studio AM, written for Fluency.