Bomb-detecting rat given gold medal

Bomb-detecting rat wins medal for bravery   

The Reading

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zc-xBOsISm8

A rat has been given a distinguished award for bravery for his services to humanity. The valiant rodent is called Magawa. He was awarded a gold medal for his seven years of duty sniffing out dozens of landmines in Cambodia. He was bestowed the award by the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals charity. This is a veterinary charity based in the United Kingdom. The charity explained why Magawa was recognised for his courage. It wrote: "The PDSA...seeks to raise the status of animals in society and honour the incredible contribution they make to our lives. Magawa's dedication, skill and bravery are an extraordinary example of this and deserve the highest possible recognition."

Magawa is an African Giant Pouched Rat. He was used in the mine-clearing programme because rats are the creatures best suited to safely detect landmines. They are light and have a keen sense of smell. In his seven-year stint on the front line, Magawa helped to detect 39 landmines and 28 unexploded devices. He helped to clear more than 141,000 square meters of land - an area roughly the size of 20 soccer pitches. This makes him the most successful rodent in the history of landmine detection. The charity's chairman said: "This is the very first time in our 77-year history of honouring animals that we have presented a medal to a rat." Reporters tried to interview Magawa but he was unavailable for comment.

.
3. MEDALS: Students A strongly believe medals are good ways of rewarding people (and rats); Students B strongly believe the opposite. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. ANIMALS: How can these creatures help us? How effective would they be? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

Help

Effectiveness

Elephants

 

 

Ants

 

 

Dolphins

 

 

Eagles

 

 

Cats

 

 

Camels

 

 

5. DUTY: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "duty". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. CHARACTERISTICS: Rank these with your partner. Put the best at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

·         Bravery

·         Empathy

·         Intelligence

·         Determination

·         Honesty

·         Cheerfulness

·         Punctuality

·         Loyalty

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1.

distinguished

a.

A gnawing mammal that includes rats, mice, squirrels, hamsters and porcupines.

      2.

valiant

b.

Strength in the face of pain or grief.

      3.

rodent

c.

Successful, authoritative, and commanding great respect.

      4.

duty

d.

Possessing or showing courage or determination.

      5.

bestowed

e.

A task or action that someone is required to perform.

      6.

courage

f.

Gave or presented an honor, right, or gift.

      7.

deserve

g.

Do something or have or show qualities worthy of reward or punishment.

    Paragraph 2

      8.

suited

h.

A thing made or adapted for a particular purpose, especially a piece of mechanical or electronic equipment.

      9.

detect

i.

Right, best or appropriate for a particular person, purpose, or situation.

      10.

keen

j.

A fixed or allotted period of work.

      11.

stint

k.

Showing high respect; great esteem.

      12.

device

l.

Discover or identify the presence or existence of something or someone.

      13.

honoring

m.

A verbal or written remark expressing an opinion or reaction.

      14.

comment

n.

Highly developed.

 

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

  1. A rat was awarded for its services to humanity.     T / F
  2. The rat spent a total of seven months helping to clear landmines.     T / F
  3. The award was given by an animal charity based in Thailand.     T / F
  4. A charity said the rat deserved the highest possible recognition.     T / F
  5. The rat was chosen because of its ability to smell.     T / F
  6. The rat helped to find 28 landmines and 39 unexploded devices.     T / F
  7. The awarding charity first started over seven decades ago.     T / F
  8. Reporters actually interviewed the rat to get a comment.     T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

  1. valiant
  2. sniffing
  3. status
  4. contribution
  5. deserve
  6. creatures
  7. detect
  8. stint
  9. honoring
  10. comment
  1. merit
  2. offering
  3. praising
  4. smelling
  5. discover
  6. standing
  7. shift
  8. statement
  9. brave
  10. animals

 

 

Role play

Role  A – Bravery
You think bravery is the most important characteristic. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their characteristics. Also, tell the others which is the least desirable of these (and why): empathy, intelligence or honesty.

Role  B – Empathy
You think empathy is the most important characteristic. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their characteristics. Also, tell the others which is the least desirable of these (and why): bravery, intelligence or honesty.

Role  C – Intelligence
You think intelligence is the most important characteristic. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their characteristics. Also, tell the others which is the least desirable of these (and why): empathy, bravery or honesty.

Role  D – Honesty
You think honesty is the most important characteristic. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their characteristics. Also, tell the others which is the least desirable of these (and why): empathy, intelligence or bravery.

Discussion - Bravery

  1. What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'rat'?
  2. What is your idea of bravery?
  3. Have you ever received a reward?
  4. What is the bravest thing you have ever done?
  5. What's the bravest thing you've ever heard of?
  6. What do you think of the rat getting an award?
  7. What do you know about landmines in Cambodia?
  8. How important is it that animals help us?
  9. What other animals do we need to recognise?
  10. Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
  1. What do you think of when you hear the word 'bravery'?
  2. Who is the bravest person you know?
  3. What do you think of rats?
  4. How dangerous are landmines?
  5. What other things could rats help us do?
  6. What three adjectives best describe this story?
  7. How important is it to be brave?
  8. What questions would you like to ask Magawa?

 

 

Comprehension questions

  1. What is the name of the rodent?
  2. What kind of medal did the rat win?
  3. Where is the charity that gave the award based?
  4. What does the charity want to raise the status of?
  5. What did the charity say the rat deserved?
  6. What do rats have a keen sense of?
  7. How many landmines did the rat help to detect?
  8. How many square metres did the rat help to clear of landmines?
  9. How old is the charity?
  10. What was the rat unavailable to do?

 

 

 

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.

duty
charity
incredible
bestowed
award
deserve
valiant
courage

A rat has been given a distinguished (1) _____________________ for bravery for his services to humanity. The (2) _____________________ rodent is called Magawa. He was awarded a gold medal for his seven years of (3) _____________________ sniffing out dozens of landmines in Cambodia. He was (4) _____________________ the award by the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals                                 (5) _____________________. This is a veterinary charity based in the United Kingdom. The charity explained why Magawa was recognised for his (6) _____________________. It wrote: "The PDSA...seeks to raise the status of animals in society and honour the (7) _____________________ contribution they make to our lives. Magawa's dedication, skill and bravery are an extraordinary example of this and (8) _____________________ the highest possible recognition."

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.

detection
keen
clear
comment
history
creatures
roughly
stint

Magawa is an African Giant Pouched Rat. He was used in the mine-clearing programme because rats are the (9) _____________________ best suited to safely detect landmines. They are light and have a (10) _____________________ sense of smell. In his seven-year (11) _____________________ on the front line, Magawa helped to detect 39 landmines and 28 unexploded devices. He helped to (12) _____________________ more than 141,000 square meters of land - an area (13) _____________________ the size of 20 soccer pitches. This makes him the most successful rodent in the history of landmine (14) _____________________. The charity's chairman said: "This is the very first time in our 77-year (15) _____________________ of honouring animals that we have presented a medal to a rat." Reporters tried to interview Magawa but he was unavailable for (16) _____________________.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)  a distinguished award for bravery for his ______
     a.  services to humanly
     b.  services to humanely
     c.  services to human tea
     d.  services to humanity
2)  He was awarded a gold medal for his seven ______
     a.  years of duly
     b.  years of duty
     c.  years of due tea
     d.  years of dew tea
3)  The charity explained why Magawa was recognised ______
     a.  for his courageous
     b.  for his encourage
     c.  for his courage
     d.  for his carriage
4)  It wrote: "The PDSA...seeks to raise the ______"
     a.  status of animals
     b.  statues of animals
     c.  stay test of animals
     d.  state us of animals
5)  an extraordinary example of this and deserve the highest ______
     a.  possible recognition
     b.  possibly precognition
     c.  possible re-cog nation
     d.  possibly recognition

6)  the mine-clearing programme because rats are the creatures ______
     a.  best suit it
     b.  best sue Ted
     c.  better sue Ted
     d.  best suited
7)  to safely detect landmines. They are light and have a keen ______
     a.  sense of smell
     b.  scents of smell
     c.  sensible of smell
     d.  séance of smell
8)  Magawa helped to detect 39 landmines and 28 ______
     a.  un explode it device
     b.  non-explode did devices
     c.  unexploded device
     d.  unexploded devices
9)  141,000 square meters of land - an area roughly the size of 20 ______
     a.  soccer pitch is
     b.  soccer pitches
     c.  soccer pitch as
     d.  soccer pitchers
10)  Reporters tried to interview Magawa but he was unavailable ______
     a.  for commented
     b.  four comment
     c.  for comment
     d.  four comments

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

A rat has been given a distinguished (1) ____________________ for his services to humanity. The valiant rodent is called Magawa. He was awarded a gold medal for his seven years (2) ____________________ out dozens of landmines in Cambodia. He (3) ____________________ award by the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals charity. This is a veterinary (4) ____________________ the United Kingdom. The charity explained why Magawa was recognised for his courage. It wrote: "The PDSA...seeks to (5) ____________________ of animals in society and honour the incredible contribution they make to our lives. Magawa's dedication, skill and bravery are an extraordinary example of this and (6) ____________________ possible recognition."

Magawa is an African Giant Pouched Rat. He was used in the mine-clearing programme because rats are the (7) ____________________ to safely detect landmines. They are light and have a (8) ____________________ smell. In his seven-year stint on (9) ____________________, Magawa helped to detect 39 landmines and 28 unexploded devices. He helped to clear more than 141,000 square meters of land - an (10) ____________________ size of 20 soccer pitches. This makes him the most successful rodent in the history of landmine detection. The charity's chairman said: "This is the (11) ____________________ in our 77-year history of honouring animals that we have presented a medal to a rat." Reporters tried to interview Magawa but he was (12) ____________________.



Multiple choice quiz

1)  What is the name of the rodent?
a) Mowgli
b) Magawa
c) Maga
d) Mega
2) What kind of medal did the rat win?
a) a heart-shaped medal
b) a cyber-medal
c) an edible medal
d) a gold medal
3) Where is the charity that gave the award based?
a) France
b) Thailand
c) the UK
d) Canada
4) What does the charity want to raise the status of?
a) animals
b) landmines
c) victims
d) Cambodia
5) What did the charity say the rat deserved?
a) a year off
b) the highest possible recognition
c) free food for life
d) lots more medals

6) What do rats have a keen sense of?
a) smell
b) taste
c) sight
d) danger
7) How many landmines did the rat help to detect?
a) 49
b) 32
c) 39
d) 28
8) How many square metres did the rat help to clear of landmines?
a) 141,000
b) 147,000
c) 149,000
d) 140,000
9) How old is the charity?
a) 74 years old
b) 79 years old
c) 70 years old
d) 77 years old
10) What was the rat unavailable to do?
a) pose for photos
b) sniff a landmine
c) comment
d) accept his medal





Language — Cloze (Gap-fill)

A rat has been given a distinguished award for (1) ____ for his services to humanity. The valiant rodent is called Magawa. He was awarded a gold medal for his seven years of (2) ____ sniffing out dozens of landmines in Cambodia. He was (3) ____ the award by the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals charity. This is a veterinary charity based in the United Kingdom. The charity explained why Magawa was (4) ____ for his courage. It wrote: "The PDSA...seeks to raise the status of animals in society and honour the incredible contribution they (5) ____ to our lives. Magawa's dedication, skill and bravery are an extraordinary example of this and (6) ____ the highest possible recognition."

Magawa is an African Giant Pouched Rat. He was used in the mine-clearing programme because rats are the creatures best (7) ____ to safely detect landmines. They are light and have a (8) ____ sense of smell. In his seven-year stint on the front line, Magawa helped to detect 39 landmines and 28 unexploded devices. He helped to clear more than 141,000 square meters of land - an area (9) ____ the size of 20 soccer pitches. This (10) ____ him the most successful rodent in the history of landmine detection. The charity's chairman said: "This is the (11) ____ first time in our 77-year history of honoring animals that we have presented a medal to a rat." Reporters tried to interview Magawa but he was unavailable for (12) ____.

Which of these words go in the above text?

  1. (a)     bravado     (b)     bravery     (c)     bribery     (d)     brevity    
  2. (a)     duly     (b)     duty     (c)     jury     (d)     fury    
  3. (a)     widowed     (b)     browsed     (c)     avowed     (d)     bestowed    
  4. (a)     sighted     (b)     comprehended     (c)     seen     (d)     recognised    
  5. (a)     have     (b)     make     (c)     do     (d)     take    
  6. (a)     conserve     (b)     deserve     (c)     reserve     (d)     serve    
  7. (a)     booted     (b)     clothed     (c)     suited     (d)     costumed    
  8. (a)     keep     (b)     keel     (c)     keen     (d)     keyed    
  9. (a)     violently     (b)     regionally     (c)     forcibly     (d)     roughly    
  10. (a)     makes     (b)     tales     (c)     takes     (d)     fakes    
  11. (a)     very     (b)     real     (c)     total     (d)     too    
  12. (a)     post     (b)     say     (c)     comment     (d)     speech

Spelling

Paragraph 1

  1. given a ensiguihistdd award for bravery
  2. The tnlavia rodent is called Magawa
  3. He was edseobwt the award
  4. recognised for his auerogc
  5. an natarrdoixeyr example
  6. desreve the highest possible recognition

Paragraph 2

  1. rats are the uaeectsrr
  2. best suited to safely etetcd landmines
  3. 28 xepdudlneo devices
  4. the size of 20 soccer shpicet
  5. our 77-year history of hnrnoiog animals
  6. ealiaulvban for comment

Free writing

Write about bravery. What is bravery for you. What is the bravest thing that you or someone that you know ever did?

 

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Electric-car battery charges in five minutes

  Electric-car battery charges in five minutes     watch:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U1a2UOVs3M Car makers are spending a lot of money on electric cars. In the future, electric cars will replace petrol cars. Environmentalists believe this will reduce the amount of CO2 put into the atmosphere. A big problem for electric cars is charging the battery. Some batteries in today's electric cars can take up to 12 hours to charge fully. However, a company in Israel says it has created a lithium-ion battery that people can charge in just five minutes. This is the same amount of time it takes to fill a tank of gas with petrol. The new lithium-ion batteries were developed by the Israeli company StoreDot. They are being manufactured by a Chinese company called Eve Energy. The new batteries could totally transform driving. They would mean electric cars would be able to travel as far as petrol cars. Many people with electric cars today suffer from "range anxiety". This ...
Read more

EU angers UK by calling Gibraltar a 'colony'

Watch:    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfrWWQ4Kfy8   The United Kingdom has objected to the European Union's use of the word "colony" to describe the island of Gibraltar. The European Council (a body that defines the EU's political direction) produced a document regarding UK nationals travelling to the EU after Brexit. It says in a footnote: "Gibraltar is a colony of the British Crown. There is a controversy between Spain and the UK concerning the sovereignty over Gibraltar, a territory for which a solution has to be reached." A UK government spokesperson said: "Gibraltar is not a colony and it is completely inappropriate to describe it in this way. She added: "Gibraltar is a full part of the UK family....This will not change due to our exit from the EU." Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory located in the Mediterranean Sea between Spain and Morocco. It is home to over 30,000 people. In 1704, Anglo-Dutch forces captured it from Spa...
Read more

Chimpanzees love dancing, say researchers

  Chimpanzees love dancing, say researchers   Who knew that chimpanzees love to dance? They also like to clap along to music, and nod their head, tap their feet and move in time with the rhythm. A new study shows that chimpanzees could appreciate music. The researchers are from Kyoto University in Japan. They say their study could help us understand how early humans developed an interest in music. Researchers Dr Yuko Hattori and professor Masaki Tomonaga conducted tests on seven chimps. They played the apes six two-minute songs on a piano for six days. The researchers said the chimps had a definite sense of rhythm and it changed their mood. The male chimpanzees seemed to respond to the melodies more than the females. The researchers wrote that chimpanzees could have passed on a liking for music and dance to early humans millions of years ago. This could have happened via a common ancestor around six million years ago. The researchers said the study suggested that our love...
Read more