98.WHAT IS BIOLOGY?

Do you like to read detective stories or watch them on TV? What makes them exciting for you and me is the suspense. We want to find out who did it, or how, or why. But the world around us is full of mysteries, too.

Why do animals behave as they do? What makes plants grow in special ways? How does our body do this or that?

97.WHAT IS AN ARMADILLO?

Do you know what the word “armadillo” means? It’s a Spanish word meaning “the little armored one.” And that’s just what an armadillo is, a little mammal with a bony covering that is like armor.

There are ten different kinds of armadillos living from southern United States to southern South America. The upper parts of armadillos are covered with bony shells. These include one on the head and two solid pieces on the back. These two pieces are connected by a flexible center section made up of movable bands. This enables the armadillo to twist and turn.

95.WHAT IS A MOLE?

One of the most interesting animals to be found anywhere is the mole. Moles live in every part of the United States and there are about 30 different species. But they are so seldom seen by people that they have become a kind of mysterious creature.

You can find a mole by looking for the long ridges of cracked earth it makes across fields. This is the roof of its tunnel, for the mole spends its whole life in darkness under the ground.