Read the excerpt from Heart of a Samurai and then answer the question.

Eleven eyes. When at last he dared to look up, what he noticed was their eyes. Each pair a different color: green as a stormy sea, blue as the sky, black as night, or brown as his own. One man had only one eye, and that one as gray as a cloudy day. The other eye was covered with a patch.

There did not seem to be any tails, horns, or fangs among them. There were some alarmingly hairy faces and plenty of big noses, though!

Six big noses, in fact: one long and hooked, two long and straight, one squashed and wide, one turned up at the end, and another as big and red as a radish.
Based on this excerpt, what can readers infer about the stories the fishermen were told about the barbarians?

Answer: The readers can infer that the stories told about the barbarians were told in a way to make the barbarians sound terrifying and dangerous. The fishermen were, most likely, told about the barbarians in a way to make the fishermen fear them, as a sign to beware of them.

Explanation: The way the barbarians were described was terrifying, almost gruesome. The person describing the barbarians most likely was trying to warn them not to run in to them.

What problems does plastic debris in the ocean pose for marine life, and why? Use in your own words.