How Do Teeth Help Us Eat? | A2 ESL Science Reading Passage

Use this A2-B1 ESL science reading passage to learn how teeth help us eat. It includes key vocabulary, reading comprehension questions, and answers for English learners.

Teeth help us bite, tear, crush, and grind food before we swallow.

Reading Level

A2-B1

Word Count

203 words

Reading Passage

Teeth help us eat by breaking food into smaller pieces. This makes food easier to swallow and easier for the body to use.

Different teeth have different jobs. The front teeth are called incisors. They are flat and sharp. They help us bite into food, like an apple or a sandwich.

Next to the front teeth are pointed teeth called canines. These teeth can help tear food. They are useful for foods that are harder to pull apart.

The back teeth are wider and flatter. They are called molars. Molars crush and grind food. When you chew, the molars move food into smaller and softer pieces.

Chewing does more than break food. It also mixes food with saliva. Saliva makes food wet and soft. It also starts to break down some parts of food.

When food is chewed well, it becomes easier to swallow. Then it can move from the mouth to the stomach. The stomach and other parts of the body continue to digest the food.

Teeth also help us speak clearly, but their main job during eating is to cut, tear, crush, and grind.

So, teeth are important tools in the mouth. They prepare food before the rest of the body digests it.

Different teeth have different jobs, from biting food to grinding it into smaller pieces.

Key Vocabulary

Word	Meaning	Example
teeth	hard parts in the mouth used to bite and chew	Teeth help us eat food.
bite	to cut food with the teeth	I bite into an apple.
grind	to break something into very small pieces	Molars grind food.
saliva	the watery liquid in the mouth	Saliva makes food soft.
digest	to break food down in the body	The stomach helps digest food.

Reading Comprehension Questions

1. Why do teeth break food into smaller pieces?
2. What do front teeth help us do?
3. Which teeth can help tear food?
4. What do molars do?
5. How does saliva help food?

Answers

1. Smaller pieces are easier to swallow and easier for the body to use.
2. Front teeth help us bite into food.
3. Canines can help tear food.
4. Molars crush and grind food.
5. Saliva makes food wet and soft and starts to break down some food.

Short Summary

Teeth help us eat by cutting, tearing, crushing, and grinding food. Chewing also mixes food with saliva so it is easier to swallow and digest.

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