Unit 5
Lesson 1
Students' Book pages 42-43
Polar Bears and Penguins
Not many people have the chance to visit the North and South Poles. However, if you had the opportunity to visit the Poles, they would appear similar – both are places of extreme cold. If you went there in winter, you would probably experience severe snowstorms. However, both are also places of spectacular beauty, with their frozen landscapes of snow, ice and icebergs. If you went on a special adventure boat trip when you visited, you would be able to observe the unique wildlife of these places, like polar bears, penguins and seals. You would be unlucky if you didn’t see any seals.
The polar bear lives in the cold, snowy Arctic lands in the North Pole. It has a thick layer of fat underneath its skin and this helps to keep it warm. It also has a thick layer of fur all over its body, including the soles of its feet, which allows it to swim in the coldest seas without feeling the cold. Beneath the fur the skin is black, so it absorbs heat. Polar bears are excellent swimmers. Their nostrils can close so they can swim underwater and between the ice floes to look for seals, their favourite food.
Unlike polar bears, penguins live in the South Pole and many live in Antarctica. Penguins keep warm with thick skin and lots of fat under the skin. Penguins have dark coloured feathers on their back, which absorb heat from the sun to keep them warm. Like polar bears, penguins are excellent swimmers. They have webbed feet and streamlined bodies for powerful and fast swimming. They have different diets, but in general, they all eat a variety of small fish.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
1 Look at the photographs. What do you think helps these animals live in polar regions?
Students' own answers.
2 Which of these words refer to animals? Check the meaning of any words you don’t know in the Activity Book glossary or in a dictionary.
wildlife, seal, sole, nostril, webbed.
3 Listen and read about polar bears and penguins. What do you know about these animals? Discuss in pairs.
Students' own answers.
COMPREHENSION
4 Read and listen to the text again, then answer the following questions.
1 Identify the purpose of the author in the text (to inform, to compare and contrast, etc.) Explain.
The purpose of the author in the text is to inform the readers of the climate and wildlife (polar bears and penguins) in the North and South Poles.
2 What makes the Polar region a good place to visit? Explain.
People who get to visit the Polar region will have the chance to observe the various interesting wildlife there.
3 What do polar bears and penguins have in common that help them survive such weather?
Both polar bears and penguins are excellent swimmers and have thick layers of fat underneath their skin to keep them warm.
4 What do the words in bold refer to? The line numbers are as in the SB page 42.
-there line 5: the Poles
-its line 17: the polar bear.
-their line 23: polar bears
-them line 30: penguins
-they line 31: penguins
5 What other title would you suggest for the text? Justify your answer.
-Students' own answer.
6 In your opinion, are polar bears and penguins in danger? Why/Why not?
-Students' own answer.
PRONUNCIATION
5 Listen to the title of the text on page 42. What are the initial sounds of the main words? Find in the text words with similar sounds and fi ll in the table. Which of the words you found has the two sounds?
|
bear |
penguin |
|
both, probably, icebergs, boat, be, able, obsreve, body, beneath, black, absorb, between, back, webbed, but |
people, pole, opportunity, appear, places, probably, experience, spectacular, landscapes, special, trip, polar, helps, keep, powerful |
The word that has the two sounds is probably.
Unit 5
Activity Book page 31
VOCABULARY
1 Join the words from each box to make words connected with polar regions. Use each word only once.
|
ice stream ice wild snow |
|
lined storm life berg floe |
1 iceberg
2 streamlined
3 ice floe
4 wildlife
5 snowstorm
2 Write your own sentences using the words in exercise 1.
Students’ own answers