An amazing place
READING
1 Look at the photos. Which of the animals can you name in English?
2 Name other animals in English. Write them down.
3 SPEAKING Work in pairs. Look at the animals on your list. What countries do you think of?
4 SPEAKING Work in pairs. Look at the photos again and answer the questions.
What do the photos show?
Where do these people live?
What do you think they eat?
What dangers are there?
What do these people know a lot about?
What’s interesting for tourists about this place?
5 Read and listen to the article.
An amazing place
They eat wild animals, plants, berries, nuts and insects. They hunt with bows and arrows. There are lots of dangerous snakes, spiders and scorpions. There are lions, leopards, cheetahs and hyenas. It’s one of southern Africa’s hottest places, and there is often no water. Then they have to get their water from plants, for example from desert melons. When they are ill, there are no hospitals. The people have to get their medicine from plants too.
They are the San, the last people living in the Kalahari. The San people have another name – ‘bush people’. Their lifestyle is very simple, but they know more about animals and plants than most people do. The San people live in small groups of 25–50. They live in huts – little ‘houses’ that they make from wood and grass. There are no schools for the children. Children learn from the older people in the group. There are lots of things they have to learn so that they can live in a dangerous place like the Kalahari. In the evenings, the groups of people often sit around a fire and tell stories. Many of the stories are about animals and how to hunt them.
The Kalahari is a big area of bushland in southern Africa. It has got two parts. There is less rain in the southern part than there is in the northern part, so the south is drier. There are fewer plants and animals there, and it’s a lot more difficult for people to live. But when it rains at the end of the summer, the land becomes greener and more beautiful. For a few weeks, there are millions of little flowers and even butterflies! But soon, the grass and the bushes get dry and turn brown. Then life becomes more difficult again for people and animals.
Every year, thousands of tourists from all over the world visit the Kalahari. They love driving around the bushland in open jeeps. They love watching the wild animals. Their guides are often San bushmen and the tourists love listening to their stories about the wonders of the Kalahari. The tourists stay in small huts called ‘lodges’. They have comfortable beds and showers, but there is no electricity in the huts. When they go out of their hut, they have to be very careful. Sometimes there are lions or leopards around!
Mark the statements True or False. Then correct the false information.
6 SPEAKING Work in pairs or small groups. Think about and answer these questions.
1 Would you like to go to the Kalahari? Why (not)?
2 Are you interested in wildlife? Why (not)?
THINK VALUES
Valuing our world
1 Read and choose the statements that show that the natural world is important.
1 Why should I want to go on a safari? There’s a nice zoo in my city where I can see lots of animals.
2 I want to build a hotel for 800 people in the Kalahari Desert. We can make a lot of money like that.
3 It’s great to learn about wild animals. It helps me to understand more about the world.
4 Who needs lions, leopards and hyenas? They’re dangerous animals and that’s it!
5 I watch a lot of nature programmes on TV. I support a project to save the tiger in India.
2 SPEAKING Compare your ideas in pairs.
GRAMMAR
Comparative adjectives
1 Look at the article above. Find examples of comparisons. Then complete the table.
2 Complete the sentences. Use the comparative form of the adjectives.
VOCABULARY
Geographical features
1 Label the picture with the words. Then listen, check and repeat.
2 SPEAKING Work in pairs. Ask your partner to close their book and then ask them about the picture.
3 SPEAKING Work in pairs. Compare some of the places. Use the adjectives in the list to help you, or use other adjectives.
hot | big | dangerous | high | nice | difficult | beautiful | exciting