ABA Journal The digital English academy
Hello everyone!
So today we have two news videos for you to learn English.
It’s Friday and the perfect day to coo (to coo means to make small soft sounds) over baby animals. In San Diego a baby rhino is beginning to run on her own and Siku, a baby polar bear is being fed by the zoo keeper. They are SO CUTE!
Both videos are quite short but a great way to start the weekend practicing English.
1. Read the text
2. Understand the vocabulary
3. Watch the videos
Text
“First-time mother Alta ensures the coast is clear before escorting two-month old Charlees into the main rhinoceros enclosure at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. The greater one-horned rhino calf is the newest addition to the seven-member herd at the zoo. And Charlees is growing fast, says lead keeper at the Safari Park, Jane Kennedy.
– When she was first born she weighed 164 pounds. We estimate that she weighs 350 right now. We expect her to gain another 100 pounds a month for the next year.
The species is found in the wild in Asia and Charlees is the 61st of her kind to be born at the safari park.”
Vocabulary
Ensures – to make (something) sure, certain, or safe.
Escorting – to go with (someone or something) to give protection or guidance.
Enclosure – an area that is surrounded by a wall, fence, etc. : an enclosed space.
Calf – the young of various other large animals, such as the elephant or whale, or in this case, a rhino.
Herd – a group of animals that live or are kept together.
Pounds – a unit of weight that is equal to 16 ounces or 0.4536 kilograms.
_________
Text
“Feeding time for one-month-old Siku. Born in a Danish zoo, the polar bear cub has to be hand-fed because his mother did not produce enough milk.
Zoo manager Frank Vigh-Larsen says Siku is steadily gaining weight … but losing none of his cuteness.”
Vocabulary
Danish – of or relating to Denmark, its people, or their language.
Cub – a young animal that eats meat.
Steadily – not changing as time passes.
None – no.
If you, like us at ABA English, want to see more videos of Siku, watch this one and this one.
Don’t you want one?! I know what I’m asking for Christmas next year…
Very nice videos! Baby animals are always beautiful..and everybody loves them. As member/sponsor of WWF, Greenpeace, PETA, Bird Life Interntional I always feel happy when people love animals,but my mind is full of ‘why’s?. Why do hunters kill them for sport? Why do they use animals in laboratories for tests in beauty creams? Why do they kill fur animals for vanity? Why to eat meat of cows,calves,horses,lambs,rabbits,hens without thinking that it means slaughtering them? How to forget that in our plates we have dead bodies of such nice beings? Anyway tank you, Kate, for your video; it’s a pleasure to watch it indeed!
Thanks Roberto! So awesome you support these foundations.
I believe our society is slowly beginning to realize the way we are treating nature and is changing. On a personal level, you can volunteer with several organizations, you can become vegan and not buy products with companies that have been proven to test on animals.
I agree, it’s so sad, and I often wonder why as well.
You’re perfectly right ! I’m vegan, I give a hand in refuges for dogs/cats abandoned, I help vets to recuperate bird seriously injured by hunters, I feed cats in the streets, I’m against hunters, safaris, zoos,circuses and… the more I deal with the mankind the more I love all the animals : guess why? Thank you so much for your attention,Kate
That’s amazing, I’m vegan too 🙂 Good for you Roberto! You rock.
Hi Diego! So glad you are enjoying the blog. What words do you not understand?