Learn English with the News: “Itsy Bitsy Spider”

Do yo u know this nursery rhyme? A nursery rhyme is a short poem or song for children.

The Itsy Bitsy Spider is a very well known poem:

The itsy bitsy spider crawled up the water spout.
Down came the rain, and washed the spider out.
Out came the sun, and dried up all the rain,
and the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again.

 It describes the adventure of a spider that goes into a teapot or watering can (a container that is used to pour water on plants) but gets washed out by the rain.

Why is this a news post? Well, because of what has happened in Australia: the recent floods in Australia have caused thousands and thousands of spiders to spin their webs.

This behaviour is called “ballooning”, the do it to get out of an area or escape from something. In this case they are trying to escape the water. The spiders climb up plants and start creating silk. They do this so that the wind will “fly” them to a new home.

The problem is that there are more spiders now than before because there are more insects. The floods normally cause a high level of moskitoes, but luckily the spiders are eating them.

Ok, let’s learn some English:

1. Read the text
2. Understand the vocabulary
3. Watch the video

Text

“Spiders are spinning overtime here in eastern Australia. The arachnids have cast eerie webs across vast areas that have been hit by floods.

Experts say the spiders may be trying to escape the deluge that has forced thousands of residents to evacuate. The behavior is called ‘ballooning’, and officials say it’s typical after floods.

Sydney’s Taronga Zoo says Australia’s spider population is even believed to have shot up during the spell of wet weather. But for humans, the situation is becoming even more dire.

The country’s Bureau of Meteorology said more heavy rain is forecast over the next 24 hours in southeastern New South Wales, Victoria and southern Queensland.”

Vocabulary

Recent – happening or beginning not long ago.

Floods – a large amount of water covering an area of land that is usually dry.

Spin – to form (something) by producing a fluid that quickly hardens into a thread. The way spiders make their web.

Silk – a smooth, soft, and shiny cloth that is made from thread produced by silkworms ; also : the thread that is used to make silk.

Eerie – strange and mysterious.

Vast – very great in size, amount, or extent.

Deluge – a large amount of rain that suddenly falls in an area.

Evacuate – to remove (someone) from a dangerous place.

Shot up – to grow or increase quickly and suddenly.

Spell – a short period of time usually marked by a particular activity or condition.

Dire – very bad : causing great fear or worry.

Forecast – to say that (something) will happen in the future : to predict (something, such as weather) after looking at the information that is available.