Speed Reading — Cat-Fox - Level 3 — 300 wpm 

Now do this put-the-text-back-together activity.

This is the text (if you need help).

Wildlife experts have discovered an unusual animal that they believe could be a new species. The animal was found on the French island of Corsica. The experts showed reporters a "cat-fox" that they had captured in the mountains of Corsica. The experts said they found a group of sixteen cat-foxes in a remote area of Corsica. The captured cat-fox measured nearly 90 centimeters in length from head to tail. The creature has very wide ears, short whiskers and a thick coat. It also has stripes on its front legs. Gilles Simeoni, a local government official, thanked the wildlife team for finding the cat-fox. He said: "It's a wonderful discovery." He added that Corsica was a "paradise of animal and plant biodiversity".

The cat-fox has been talked about by local people in Corsica for decades. It had become a mythical creature with farmers, who tell stories about seeing it. Corsicans are now happy and proud that their island is home to a new species of animal. Scientists believe that the cat comes from a little-known species that could have originated in Africa and the Middle East thousands of years ago. It is largely a nocturnal animal. One scientist said the cat-fox could have been brought to Corsica as far back as 6500BC. Another scientist said: "By looking at its DNA, we could tell it apart from the European wildcat. It's close to the African forest cat, but its exact identity is still to be determined."

Comprehension questions
  1. On what island was the cat-fox found?
  2. How many cat-foxes were in the group that wildlife experts found?
  3. How long was the captured cat-fox from head to toe?
  4. What kind of discovery did a government official say it was?
  5. What did a government official call the island a paradise for?
  6. Who did the article say had talked about cat-foxes for decades?
  7. How do islanders feel about the discovery of the cat-fox?
  8. Where do scientists believe the cat-fox originated?
  9. How far back could the origins of the cat-fox go?
  10. What animal did a scientist say the cat-fox was close to?

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