Unit 1
Lesson 1
Student’s Book pages 12-13
Rainforests
Before you begin
Look at the picture
1 Listen to the sounds of a rainforest. What can you hear? Where in the world can you find rainforests?
Audioscript
Sound effects: sounds of a rainforest-rain, animals and birds.
Answers
Sounds of a rainforest: rain, animal and bird noises
Rainforests grow near the Equator
2 Which words refer to creatures that can be found in rainforests? Which words are connected to rainforests? Check the meaning of any words you don’t know in the Activity Book Glossary or in a dictionary.
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tropical habitat hidden volcano bat spider kangaroo rat logging |
Answers
Creatures: bat, spider, kangaroo, rat
Rainforests: tropical, habitat, hidden, volcano, logging
3 What is the hidden world that the scientists have discovered? Read and listen to the article to find the answer.
A HIDDEN A HIDDEN WORLD
The bright colours of birds, the call of monkeys and the hum of insects are common sights and sounds in a tropical rainforest. Rainforests grow near the Equator, where it is always warm and wet – the perfect habitat for plants and animals.
In Papua New Guinea, scientists have just discovered a new rainforest. It has existed for many thousands of years at the top of a mountain. It has always been very difficult to reach. Even the people who live on the slopes of Mount Bosavi have rarely visited this hidden rainforest. It is very high up, at over 2,500 metres above sea level, and it is hidden inside the hole of a huge volcano. In 2009 CE, an international team of scientists visited Mount Bosavi and discovered an amazing world of plants and animals there. They discovered many colourful, tiny frogs, some unusual species of fish, rare bats and spiders, a kangaroo that looked like a small bear, and a giant rat that was as big as a cat. Altogether, the scientists found more than forty new species of animals, as well as many rare or new plants.
Today, though, this beautiful hidden world is in danger. Logging has already begun in the area. The loggers have already destroyed a lot of trees in the area, but they haven’t reached the slopes of Mount Bosavi yet. The scientists hope that their findings can help to protect the area.
Answers
The hidden world is a rainforest newly discovered in the hole of a volcano in Papua New Guinea.
Comprehension
4 Read and listen to the article again. Then, answer the questions.
1 Choose another suitable title for the text. Justify your choice.
2 What do the pronouns in bold refer to?
3 What makes a rainforest special and different from other forests? Explain.
4 How will the discoveries that the scientists made help protect the rainforest?
5 Do you think rainforests are important and should be preserved? Why/Why not?
6 In your opinion, how can we contribute to the protection of rainforests?
Answers
1 Students’ own answer
2 it: the new rainforest
They: an international team of scientists
They: loggers
3 A rainforest grows near the Equator, where it is always warm and wet – the perfect habitat for plants and animals.
4 The scientists have just discovered the rainforest first, which will make it easier for them to protect it from loggers.
5 Suggested answer: Rainforests are important and should be preserved because they provide a home to many plants and animals, and the trees in them provide a clean environment.
6 Suggested answer: we can protect rainforests by encouraging our classmates not to damage the environment and by raising money for organisations that work for the protection of the environment.
Unit 1
Lesson 1
Activity Book page 11
Vocabulary
1 Complete the sentences with the following words related to rainforest animals.
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bats spider habitat hidden snake kangaroo rat |
1 The……………………. is a native animal of Australia.
2 The rainforest in Panama is the natural…………………… of the redeyed tree frog. It’s almost impossible to see because it likes to remain………………….. in the leaves of trees.
3 The wing size of some species of………………………….. can be as large as 1.8 metres!
4 A…………………………… looks similar to a mouse, but it is much larger, with a longer tail.
5 Do you know how many legs a……………………… has got? It has 8 legs!
Unit 1 Page 11, Exercise 1
1 kangaroo
2 habitat, hidden
3 bats
4 rat
5 spider