Unit 17 A Visit to Kangaroo Island
1.Listen,read and act.
How would you spend the time if you had a few days' holiday?
Would you like to go sightseeing? Where would you like to go?
Mr.Davis is driving his family,LiMeng and Xiaohong to Kangaroo Island.
As the name suggests,it's a good place to see kangaroos and koalas.
Mr.Davis:It's a long drive,folks,but there'll be exciting things ahead of us.
Daniel:Like animals you've always loved to see,the lovely big kangaroos,
the always-sleeping koalas or even the cute little penguins if we're lucky.
Mrs.Davis:And delicious food too:
the locally made sheep's milk cheese and yogurt,the nice honey and all.
Mr.Davis:Plus fishing on a boat.Let's see who can get the biggest catch!
LiMeng:Oh,yeay.I remember you have a photo with a big fish.
Is that your biggest catch?
Mr.Davis:That's right!That was five years ago.
It took me two hours to get it into the boat.That was a big,long,silver fish.
You should have seen the shine on him.A beautiful thing.
Mrs.Davis:Fishing is his favourite.
He would love to go every day if he didn't have to work.
Daniel:And I would go with him
swimming,snorkeling,or even surfing when there's a big wind.
Xiaohong:That sounds so much fun,
but I wonder if I might get a chance to get close to the kangaroos and feed them.
Mrs.Davis:I think so.They are usually harmless.
Xiaohong:Oh,have you brought our camera along,LiMeng?
We should take some photos and send them to our friends.
I wonder what they woould say.
LiMeng:Yeah,I got it.It's in the small green bay in the back.
Xiaohong:I also want to feed those koalas.They're so cute,like big toys.
Daniel:Xiaohong,do you know what koalas eat?
5.Listen,read and act.
Have you ever fed any animals?Was it fun?What do different animals eat?
Mr.Davis:Here we are.This is Flinders Chase National Park.
a place to see our lovely animals.
Mrs.Davis:Let's buy some food for the animals from the shop before we go in.
(They buy some food for the animals and then go to feed them)
Daniel:Come with me.I know where to find them.
The kangaroos like to stay in the shady places under the trees.
Xiaohong:Oh,look over there.I see two kangaroos.
Let's go slowly.We don't want to scare them.
Mre.Davis:Here,take this bag.You can feed him now.Be careful.
LiMeng:He's got a funny big nose.Look at the way he eats.
(Xiaohong holds out her hand with some food in it)
Xiaohong:Oh,it's wet!It's funny!He's a slow eater!
Daniel:Xiaohong,want to look in the big eucalyptus trees
What to know what koalas eat?
7.Listen and read.
Kangaroos
They are marsupials. They are the only large mammal that can hop.
Males are called bucks.Females are called does.
Babies are called joeys.Joeys live in their mothers pouch,drinking her milk.
Kangaroos'general features include strong back limbs,long back feet,
the ability to hop,inability to walk backwards,a lack o fthumbs,
powerful and long,clawed fourth toe which does
much of the work in completing the push of a hop,
a tail that helps with balance during fast hopping,
a mostly vegetarian diet and a marsupial pouch for its young baby.
Kangaroos and wallabies are marsupials
that belong to a small group of animals called macropods.
The word"macropod"actually means"big foot".
Most macropods have hind legs larger than their forelimbs,
large hind feet,and long muscular tails.
They are only found naturally in Australia and Papua and New Guinea
All kangaroos and wallabies have forward-opening pouches.
Other marsupials-including wombats and koalas-have pouches that open backwards.
There are 45 species of kangaroos and wallabies,such as,red kangaroos,
grey kangaroos,tree kangaroos,rat-kangaroos and many more.
Kangaroos and wallabies lice just about everywhere in Australia!
They are most active at night,dusk and dawn.
Kangaroos rest in the heat of the day.
They dig shallow holes under trees anad lie in the cool sand.
They pant like dogs and they are very good swimmers.
They have very good hearing,eyesight and a keen sense of smell
They eat young green shoots high in protein and being more mobile than sheep,
they can often select the best vegetation in an area for themselves.
10.Listen,read and act.
Have you ever been siting in a tram drawn by a big,handsome horse?
Want to know how it feels?Come for a ride to Granite Island.
LiMeng:This is impressive.So many people sit in this tram drawn by one horse!
This horse must be super strong.
Mr.Davis:Yeah.They belong to a special breed which is good for hard and heavy work.
Xiaohong:Why is it wearing those rubber things near its eyes?
Mrs.Davis:I suppose to make sure it concentrates on what it's trying to do.
Those rubber things make sure it can see the tram track and not much else.
Daniel:I hope it keeps concentrating.I don't want to end up in the water.
Mr.Davis:After we see everything here,we'll drive to Victor Harbor.
There's a beautiful sandy beach down there.I'm sure you kids will love it.
LiMeng:Great!My friends have been talking about it and showing me the photos.
Thanks,dad.You're so considerate.
Xiaohong:What a way to finish our holiday!I'll always remember it.