Alia: I love this place. There are lots of different animals here. There might be some foxes, squirrels, deer ...
Lara: I haven't seen any animals yet.
Alia: You have to look carefully and listen. Look! There’s something over there!
Lara: What does it look like? Does it have fur?
Alia: It might have fur. I can’t see it very well.
Lara: Watch out! It might be a tiger with long claws!
Alia: It can’t be a tiger, Lara. Tigers don’t live in this country.
Lara: It could be a bird. Listen, I can hear birds.
Alia: You may be right. Wait, no. It can’t be a bird. It doesn’t have wings. Wait! It’s moving. It’s brown and white, and it’s quite big.
Lara: Is it a snake with a long tongue?
Alia: No, Lara! It can’t be a snake. It doesn’t have scales. Oh! It has spines!
Lara: Spines? Then it must be a porcupine!
Alia: Wow! It is a porcupine! It’s so cute! It has small, strong paws, and it has whiskers, too.
Lara: Can I pick it up?
Alia: No! The porcupine may be scared. It isn’t moving now. And you shouldn’t touch wild animals.
Lara: Oh, yes, of course.
1 8.3 Listen and read. Describe the animal they find.It’s brown, white, quite big and has spines. It has small, strong paws and whiskers.
2 Work in pairs. Read the dialogue again and answer the questions.
1 Which animals do they talk about? foxes, squirrels, tiger, deer, bird, snake, porcupine
2 Why hasn’t Lara seen any animals yet? Because she has to be quiet and listen carefully. / She is making a noise. / She isn’t listening.
3 Why aren’t there any tigers? Because tigers don’t live in the girls’ country.
4 How does Lara know it’s a porcupine? Because it has spines.
5 What does Lara want to do? She wants to pick it up.
6 How does Alia think the porcupine feels? She thinks it may be scared.
