Animals use many objects as tools to achieve goals more easily. Such goals include grooming, finding food, and protecting themselves. For a long time, people thought tool use was unique to primates. Sea otters and other animals, though, have busted the myth that tool use is limited to certain primates. Inventively, sea otters use stationary anvil stones to break open mollusk shells. Woodpecker finches also get creative. They use cactus spines to pry insects from hiding places.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
Explanation
Context: The text argues that tool use is not unique to primates, as was long believed. Sea otters use stones as anvils to break open mollusk shells. Woodpecker finches use cactus spines to pry out insects. Both examples show non-primate animals using tools inventively.
Answer: C) Contrary to long-held beliefs, primates aren't the only animals to use tools.
Why? The passage opens with the long-held assumption (tool use = primate-only) and then challenges it with two clear examples of non-primate tool users. C captures this contrast between prior belief and the corrected view.
Traps:
- A) "Animals find it difficult to use objects as tools" → the opposite; the passage presents examples of animals successfully using tools
- B) "Unlike primates, sea otters are exceptionally skillful at using different types of tools" → the passage mentions one example of sea otter tool use; no comparison of skillfulness to primates is made
- D) "There are many myths about tool use that researchers are starting to challenge" → about multiple myths being challenged; the passage addresses one specific misconception (primate exclusivity)