46 23) The Gentle Giant You probably already know that elephants are the largest land animals. Some people think that, next to humans, elephants are the smartest creatures on earth. In some ways, they are just like us: they live in groups to be about the same age as a human. The oldest elephant was 82 years old. Just how big can elephants get? Well, there was once a male elephant that weighed 11,000 kilograms. That’s as much as ten cars! Elephants have been known to knock down trees and carry them out of forests. There areeven reports of elephants pushing trains off railway tracks. But for all their size and strength, elephants can be very gentle. And any creature that’s as big as a house deserves respect!Protect Mom’s Belly lrene is four years old. She is very smart. She observes everything. Her mom is going to have a baby! One day, her mom asked her, “Irene, do you want a baby sister? You are too lonely.” “No!” Irene replied. “How about a baby brother?” Mom asked. “No!” Irene replied again. “Why? Wouldn't you like to have a sister or brother to play with?” Mom asked again. "| would want to play with my sister or brother! But | just wouldn't want your belly to explode. You will feel so much pain. It’s getting so big and round,” Irene said.Mom laughed, “Don’t worry. My belly won't explode.” "Why don’t we ask Dad to give birth to the baby? He is big and strong,” Irene asked. Dad started laughing too. “I’m a man and men can’t do that.” 49Put in ‘can! /‘can't' “could! /‘couldn't’. If none is possible, use "be able to’ in the correct tense. 1 you swim when you were 10? 2 We get to the meeting on time yesterday because the train ‘was delayed by one hour. 3. He asrive at the party on time, even after missing the train, so ‘he was very pleased. 4. He's amazing. He speak 5 languages including Chinese S0 drive a car until Iwas 34, then I moved to the countryside so [had to lean. 6. looked everywhere for my glasses but I find them anywhere. 7. Tsearched for your house for ages. Luckily, T find it in the end. 8. She's 7 years old but she read yet —her parents are getting ‘her extra lessons 9. Tread the book three times but I ‘understand it 10. James: speak Japanese when he lived in Japan, but he's forgotten most of it now. wy understand the chapter we had to read for homework. It was 0 difficult WT lift this box — it's too heavy! Would you help me? 13. Lucy, ‘make it to our meeting after all. She's stuck in traffic at ‘the moment 14, Tobe. play tennis really well. He's champion of his club. 15. Unfortunately, really sing at all! No-one in my family is musical either 16. When the car broke down, I was really pleased because [ solve the problem. 17. Julian play excellent golf when he was only ten. 18. My grandmother ‘use a computer until last month. Since then, she's been taking lessons at the library 19.1 open this window. I think it's stuck! 20. Gilt. play the piano. She's never studied itName: — Super Boy Cut on the dotted lines. Glue the pictures in order. Write about each picture. Why did Super Boy go to the moon? Why did Super Boy need the cheese? How far away is the moon? How long did it take Super Boy to fly to the moon? What did the moon say to Super Boy?Name: Super Boy ee glue glue glueName: glue glue glue The EndA Trip to the Zoo Describe each animal and tell what it is doing. 1A zebra 2 —_ elephant 3. Some giraffes 4. The —_________, boa constrictor 5. Two ___________,_________ monkeys 6. The ostrich 7. Willthat__-- crocodile — 2 8. Cana gorillaName: The Race Fill in the blanks to create an exciting story about race cars. BANG! cracked the starting gun. The ______ race had begun. The motors of the racing cars roared ______________. Lucky Number 7 zoomed around a _________curve. Down the track sped the cars. Number 19 was ready to_____________ pass for the lead when his tire went flat! Too bad, Number 19! Number 7 sped past the flag to win the _____.o4o._ race. The standing crowd cheered . Number 7 felt very —-___ and . Number 19 chugged —______________ back to the garage. Maybe next time he would be the winner. . Word Box . * Use these words or make up answers of your own. , [sadly flat slowly wildly | e tired proud smooth muddy : * slick shiny thrilling dangerous | I exciting dusty excited checkered | Powerful steep suddenly championship | . :_4 We stayed in a lovely village and we went swimming every day. Lola didn't swim because the water was really cold! Connectors e Circle the correct connectors to complete the sentences. We went to the village we climbed the mountain. so and but We walked by the river, we didn't swim in it. but because and We wanted to go on the river, we took a boat to the island. but and so We went back to the village early Mum was sleepy. because and soe@ Complete the poem with and, so, but or because. The Park Poem It was a beautiful day, 1 So weaillwent to play, We laughed ? we joked quite a lot, We sat in the shade Of a towering tree a we were hungry and hot. After sandwiches, chocolate, Bananas and more, We were sleepy, * then Ricky said, ‘I don't know about you, My two favourite friends, 5 I think I'm ready for bed? e@ Complete the sentences in the paragraph with your own ideas. My Weekend On Friday, I did my homework *_and had my dinner. I didn't go to the cinema because On Saturday morning I was really hungry, so 2 . On Saturday afternoon, I went to Dominic's birthday party, but & On Sunday morning it was sunny, so > I usually go to my grandparents’ house on Sunday afternoons, but last Sunday © because On Sunday evening I watched TV and 7 I went to bed early because ® — > —Could/Couldnt “What could you do when you were \ young, Grandma? Oh, I could do lots of things, my dear. I could walk for hours, but not get tired. I could run, I could swim and I could go ice skating. And these days, I can do jigsaw puzzles. There - that's the final piece! Pe ens When she was a girl she couldn't swim, but she could Ee Yes/no questions are formed in the following way: @ Answer the questions with Yes, I could or No, I couldn't. Could you walk when you were six months old? No, 1 couldn't Could you speak when you were one year old? Could you run when you were three years old? Could you catch a ball when you were four years old? Could you read when you were five years old? Could you write when you were seven years old? OunWwn os@ Complete the questions with the verbs from the box. speak play climb run ski ride eee www.theoldpeopleswebsite.co.uk The Old People’s Website When you were a young man... Could you run fast? Could you mountains? Could you any other languages? 1 2 3 4 Could you the guitar? 5 Could you a motorbike? 6 Could you or snowboard? @ Match the questions in Exercise 2 with the answers. No, I couldn't, but my brother could. He was part of a club. He went up Everest once! 2 Yes, I could. I didn't like driving cars, but I loved bikes. I had a second-hand Harley Davidson! No, I couldn't. I didn't go on winter holidays. They were too expensive! No, I couldn't. I could play the violin, but I didn’t learn to play anything else. Yes, I could. I lived in Buenos Aires for five years when I was in my twenties, so my Spanish was very good. Yes, I could. I loved doing that. I used to run by the river near my house every morning.Reading: a story @ Read the story. Then complete the summary with the words from the box. The Strange Tale of Jim Garry’s Mountain It was the Mayor who saw it first. ‘Another beautiful morning,’ he said to himself as he opened his curtains. ‘Wait a moment. Jim Garry’s Mountain is ...’ Tt was all the villagers could talk about. ‘How can we climb it now?’ they asked. Everyone was very worried, so they met in the Town Hall that evening to discuss the problem. ‘Thank you all for coming ,’ said the Mayor, ‘Now as you know, Jim Garry’s mountain is ...’ “It’s not just Jim Garry’s Mountain,’ said a voice. An old man near the door stood up. His long hair and beard were grey. “Excuse me,’ said the Mayor, ‘this meeting is for the people of the village only.’ “Don’t you want to know what's happening? Why there is no water in the river and no grass in the fields?” ‘What are you talking about? We are here to talk about where our mountain went’ “Everything is going because you don't look after it.” “You must care for the world around you, Mayor. That is all | want to say. Good evening to you.’ The villagers were more interested in who the man was than what he had to say. Nobody noticed that the forests, fields, lakes and islands were not there anymore. The only thing left in the village was the Town Hall and the people in it. mountain TownHall Mayor people village rivers One morning, the Mayor of the * village finds that the? there. The * in the * is not of the village are very worried. They have a meeting . At the meeting, an old man that nobody knows says why everything is going from the village - the trees, the * . the lakes. The is not very happy with the old man. The old man leaves and the people talk about him. They do not notice what is happening around them.Writing @ Match the story types with the definitions. 1 comedy @ a story about something that happened in the past 2 history b a story about things that aren't real or things that can't happen, e.g. in real life people can't fly 3 fantasy ¢ a story that makes us laugh romance da story about technology, the future and space 5. science-fiction e a story about people who fall in love BAP ge Ree cae aa do this is to give them a question they want to find the answer Re Om ee rm ese eC ee al) Cp ee ee eR ee Ma eRe CSTR a Rar RC tone e You are going to write a short story about something strange that happens in a village. You must write it in the simple past. Before you write your story, plan it, by making notes about the following: © The type of story (e.g. science- © The characters fiction, fantasy) © The plot e Now write your short story. Use The Strange Tale of Jim Garry's Mountain and your notes from Exercise 2 to help you.