Reading Practice-Pre-Intermediate-Unit 1

Spotted deer

Many living creatures use colour to protect themselves from their enemies. The spotted deer, for example, is almost invisible inside the jungle; the sunlight shining through the gaps in the leaves has almost exactly the same colouring as the dear’s spotted coat, and so the animal seems to become a part of the forest.A bird called the bittern has long white streaks on its neck, which make it difficult to find when it is swimming among the reeds. In some other creatures, nature has designed a still more wonderful system of protective colouring: these animals change their colours to match their surroundings.This is how certain insects and tree lizards can move from green leaves to brown dried-up twigs without revealing themselves to their enemies.Some rabbits have brown coats in summer and, to match the snow on the ground, white ones in winter.

lizard

But it is in the sea that nature shows her most magical effects. A sea animal called the squid can change its ‘make up’ as quickly as any actor on the stage.When it is swimming in the water, it body shows horizontal, waving bands of light and dark colour, producing exactly the effect of water in motion. As the animal comes to rest, these horizontal bands disappear. As if by magic, their place is taken by vertical stripes, shining and waving. The motionless squid seems to have turned into a bed of gently waving water weeds.

rabbit

Glossary

spotted: marked with spots (small, round marks)

invisible: something that can not be seen

coat: hair or fur of an animal, covering its body

streak: long, thin line, of a different colour from its surroundings

reed: kind of tall, thick grass which grows near water

protective: giving protection(keeping one safe from danger, etc.)

match: to have the same kind of colour, design, etc., as something else

surroundings: everything (e.g., trees, rocks, rivers, etc) found near or around the place where an animal lives

twig: small shoot or branch of a treer

reveal: to show, to allow someone to see

effects: things which give a certain impression; things which look wonderful

make-up: powder, paints, false hair, etc., which an actor uses

horizontal: flat or level; along the surface of the earth

band: narrow strip or line different from the rest in colour, etc

vertical: upright, at right angles to the surface of the earth

stripe: long, narrow band, of a different colour from its surroundings

motionless: not moving

weed: wild plant growing in a place where it is not wanted

Language work

I.              A. put a tick mark (✔) next to the statements which are correct, and a cross (x) next to the ones which are not correct. You should be able to find reasons for your choices from the passage

1.    The spotted deer can be easily seen inside the forest because of its bright spots

2.    The bittern has long white neck

3.    Some insects and tree lizards look like dried-up twigs

4.    Some animals have different colours in different seasons

5.    Squids have horizontal bands of light and dark colour

6.    When a squid is swimming it looks like a water weed.

B. Tick off the best answer. Give reasons for your choices

1. Nature has given special colours to certain animals so that they can

A. frighten away other animals                                         C. hide from other animals

B. attract other animal                                                         D. hunt other animals

2. The best example of protective colouring is found in

A. tree lizards                                                                        C. spotted deer

B. squids                                                                               D. rabbits

II. A. There is some quality which all the animals mentioned in the passage have. What is it? (Supply the words missing below. Use only one word for each blank space)

All the animals mentioned in the passage have protective colouring. This means that all of them use their ……………...to………….. themselves from their……………. As the …………….of these animals match the…………….. in which they live, it is difficult for their …………….. to ………… them. So they are safe.

B. The animals mentioned in the passage can be divided into two groups. Those in the first group can do something which those in the other group cannot. Do you know what it is?

First group These animals can ………………………….. ………………………….. …………………………. ……………………………. The animals belong to this group are: i…………………………. ii…………………………….. iii………………………….. iv. the squid

Second group These animals cannot ………………………….. ………………………….. …………………………. ……………………………. The animals belong to this group are: i…………………………. ii……………………………..

C. Certain animals use protective colouring to disguise themselves. That is, these animals use their special colours to look like something else, so that their enemies cannot find them. For example, the bittern looks like a reed because of the long whiter streaks on its neck

What other examples of disguise do you find in the passage?

1.    The spotted deer looks like…………………….because of……………….

2.    Certain insects and lizards can change their colour to…………………., and then they look like…………….

3.    Some rabbits look like …………………in winter, because of their………………. The same animals look like…………………..in summer, because they……….

4.    The squid looks like …………………….when it is swimming, because ………………. The same animal looks like  ………………………when it comes to rest, because ……………………

D. Complete the sentence given below:

The squid is compared to an actor because it ……………………………..

E. Look at these two sentences from the passage:

i. “In some other creatures, nature has designed a still more wonderful system of protective colouring”

ii. “But it is in the sea that nature shows her most magical effects”

1.    Which ‘creatures’ is the writer telling us about in the first sentence? Why does he say that these creatures have a ‘still more wonderful system’ of protective colouring?

2.    What is the ‘most magical effect’ that the writer tells us about in the second sentence? Which other word could you use in place of ‘magical’?

III.A. Fill in the blanks in the sentences below, choosing suitable words taken from the list given at the end.

1.    If you are in a forest and want to light a fire, you can use a few dry………….. from the trees.

2.    The thief was hiding somewhere and did not ………………… himself to the policemen who were looking for him.

3.    The girl wore a blue sari with a pink blouse. Her clothes did not …………..

4.    One cannot swim in the lake this year because it is full of ……………..

reeds, streak, coat, reveal, weeds, twigs, horizontal, motionless, match, insects

B. Study the following group of words and the sentences in which they have been used

1. streak, stripe, band

a. After the football match, the white shirts of the visiting players were covered with brown streaks of mud

b. The tiger’s body is yellow, with long, black stripes on it

c. The Indian flag has three horizontal bands of colour: saffron, white and green. The American flag has red and white stripes

What is the difference between band and and stripe?

2.motionless, still, stationary

a. The house was standing so perfectly motionless that I thought it was only a statue

b. Everything was perfectly still inside the forest. Not a blade of grass was moving, and there was not a whisper from the leaves

c. You should never try to get into a bus unless it is completely stationary

How do these words differ in meaning?

Language work

I. A. put a tick mark (✔) next to the statements which are correct, and a cross (x) next to the ones which are not correct. You should be able to find reasons for your choices from the passage

1. The spotted deer can be easily seen inside the forest because of its bright spots

2. The bittern has long white neck

3. Some insects and tree lizards look like dried-up twigs

4. Some animals have different colours in different seasons

5. Squids have horizontal bands of light and dark colour

6. When a squid is swimming it looks like a water weed.

B. Tick off th best answer. Give reasons for your choices

1. Nature has given special colours to certain animals so that they can

A. frighten away other animals C. hide from other animals

B. attract other animal D. hunt other animals

2. The best example of protective colouring is found in

A. tree lizards C. spotted deer

B. squids D. rabbits