UNIT 6 FLORA AND FAUNA

INTRODUCTION

While thinking about animals we first of all remember domestic animals, that live with people. Many people keep pets and the most popular are: cats and dogs, but people also can keep canaries, parrots, mice, goldfish and hamsters. Farm animals include: rabbits, sheep, cows, pigs, horses, chicken, goats. In a zoo or in the wild we can find these wild animals: a tiger, lion, bear, leopard, camel, gorilla, elephant, monkey, zebra, giraffe, etc. Some common insects are: a bee, ant, mosquito, butterfly, fly, spider. And the most common birds are: an eagle, sparrow, hawk, goose, duck, swan. Some creatures swim (whales, sharks), some move along the ground (snakes, snails).

 

6.1 Choose the word which best matches the description.

1 Large white water bird with a long neck.	a) duck / swan
2 Four legged animal with horns, good at climbing.	b) goat / sheep
3 Sea animal with a shell and five pairs of legs.	c) crab / frog
4 Insect with large beautifully coloured wings.	d) butterfly / bee
5 Small reptile with four legs and a long tail.	e) lizard / snake
6 Small flying insect which drinks blood from the skin.	f) fly / mosquito
7 Animal with long legs and neck and orangey skin.	g) camel / giraffe
8 Small long-eared animal that lives in a hole.	h) mouse / rabbit
9 Eight-legged creature which catches insects.	i) bat / spider
10 Young animal which barks, often a pet.	j) kitten / puppy

 

6.2 Start each sentence with a suitable creature from Introduction.

1 …….. can fly at a great height.

2 …….. can swim very long distances.

3 …….. can understand lots of human commands.

4 …….. can run very fast.

5 …….. can travel through the desert for long distances without water.

6 …….. can be 30 metres in length.

7 …….. can eat leaves from tall trees.

8 …….. change their skin several times a year.

9 …….. can pick things up with their trunk.

10 …….. provide us with wool.

 

6.3 Match the creatures with their maximum speeds.

lion 64 kph

rabbit 56 kph

shark 270 kph

spider 0.05 kph

pig 40 kph

elephant 1.88 kph

snail 80 kph

golden eagle 18 kph

cheetah 300 kph

 

6.4 Read the definitions of the following animal groups carefully.

herbivores – animals eating plants

carnivores – animals eating meat

omnivores– animals eating both plants and meat

mammals– animals that give birth to live babies and feed their young on milk

reptiles – cold-blooded animals that have skin covered with scales

amphibians – animals that live both on land and water

► Match each animal group it belongs to. Some animals can be used more than once.

Groups: herbivores, insects, mammals, cats, reptiles, fish, birds, carnivores, omnivores, amphibians, predators

Creatures: crocodile, lion, tiger, bear, hawk, frog, goldfish, panther, wolf, monkey, snake, sparrow, wasp, whale, lizard, fly, jaguar, tortoise, pigeon, cow, fox, beetle, eagle, puma, squirrel, goat, sheep, salmon.

 

6.5 Fill in the appropriate word from the list below. Use a dictionary to help you.

Habitat / species / fur / amphibians / prowled / captivity / fauna / flora

1 …….. is the natural home of a plant or animal.

2 A group of plants or animals of the same kind is called a …….. .

3 Moved around quietly, trying not to be seen means …….. .

4 Animals that are able to live both on land and in water are called …….. .

5 The hair that grows thickly over the bodies of some types of animal is ….. .

6 When wild animals live in …….. they are kept in a place such as a park or zoo.

7 All the animals living in a particular area are …….. .

8 All the plants growing in a particular area are …….. .

 

6.6 Match the two parts of the sentences.

1 Many zoos try to breed pandas so that	a) the world’s largest living mammal.
2 Some animals like snakes and hedgehogs spend the winter months in a deep sleep,	b) now whale-watching is the most popular attraction among tourists.
3 many mammals like monkeys are very good parents and	c) the pandas born in the zoos can be returned to the wild.
4 The colours of bird’s eggs make them hard to see and	d) in the Far East it is in danger of extinction.
5 Africa has lost 99% of its black rhinos in the past twenty years,	e) help to protect them from predators.
6 In Africa, the most important species in danger is the elephant,	f) they put a lot of effort into rearing their young.
7 In 1972 Mexico created the world’s first whale sanctuary on the west coast and	g) in 1998 there were only 11 rhinos left in Kenya.
8 Poachers still hunt the tiger illegally and	h) in which their body functions shut down to a minimum.

 

6.7 Find the odd word out.

1 cow bull donkey hippopotamus

2 penguin duck pike hawk

3 rat caterpillar rabbit squirrel

4 pike salmon mole whitefish

5 crocodile lizard iguana grasshopper

 

6.8 Match the creatures from the list below with the places they can live.

Europe	Africa	Western Siberia

 

bear / fox / wolf / lion / cheetah / leopard / tiger / zebra / giraffe / deer / goose / duck / goat / pig / sheep / donkey / bull / squirrel / seal / hare / jaguar / lynx / otter / sable / ladybird / rabbit / butterfly / ant / mosquito / bee / cockroach / fly / wasp

 

6.9 Match the animals with their young.

A B

sheep piglet

lion lamb

dog puppy

cow kitten

hen chick

duck goal

cat cub

horse calf

pig duckling

 

6.10 Choose the correct word.

BIODIVERSITY

Biodiversity is the variety of all life on earth; the plants and animals and the habitats where they eat / live. Biodiversity ranges in scale from bacteria to blue whales and is not just the rare or exotic but also the everyday and commonplace. It is the birds in our garden / yard as well as tigers in the tundra / rainforest. Biodiversity shortens / enriches our lives, we enjoy / dislike seeing wild flowers and animals.

Industrial / natural areas help to protect our environment from harm. Wetlands can cause / prevent flooding and filter pollutants while woodlands reduce / increaseair pollution and global freezing / warming.

There are also moral arguments for /against protecting biodiversity. We should / must care about wild animals and plants because they have a value in themselves.

 

6.11 Choose the correct word from a box. Use a dictionary to help you.

bark / berry / blossom / branch / bud / leaf / root / stem / thorn / trunk

 

1 Sue managed to reach the …branch… of a tree and climb up to the window.

2 I felt ill after I ate a red …….. from a bush in the woods.

3 The wall was cracked by the …….. of a tree growing underneath it.

4 On the end of each …….. there are two or three yellow flowers.

5 In the autumn, every …….. on the tree turns yellow and then falls off.

6 Liz hurt herself on a …….. while she was picking some roses.

7 The …….. of this tree can be removed and used as a kind of paper.

8 In spring all the apple trees are covered in white …….. .

9 Before the flower opened it was a large green …….. .

10 An oak tree has a very broad …….., sometimes two metres thick.

 

6.12 Read the text “Coniferous and Deciduous Forests” and do the exercise after it.