The English Lesson 15 theme is the SOUTH AFRICAN AARVARK

Part One: Learn English Skills

Read the following text and answer the questions that follow:

The aardvark is an odd-looking animal. It has been described as a giant, humpbacked rat with a large rat-like tail, the ears of a rabbit, the head of an anteater and the nose of a pig. The name "aardvark" actually means "earth-pig" in Afrikaans, a language spoken in South Africa.

Despite being found throughout Africa, not many people see aardvarks. This is because the animals sleep in underground burrows during the day. At night these shy creatures come out and walk from one termite nest to another in search of food. They break open the termite nests with their powerful claws and then use their sticky tongue to catch the insects. Sometimes the aardvark will press its nose against an opening in the nest and suck up the termites. A lucky animal may even hear and smell an aardvark feast - a long column of termites marching between nests.

Although the brownish-grey animals are good at smelling and hearing, they can't see very well. For this reason they often crash into trees, bushes and rocks when running away from danger. If they can't flee their enemies they will quickly try to dig a hole. An aardvark digging in soft earth can beat several people armed with spades! If there is no other choice the timid animals will fight back, using their clawed feet to slash enemies.

Even though the aardvark may seem similar to the South American anteater, the two are not related. The aardvark is a truly unique animal!

Your Turn

What does "aardvark" mean?
On what continent would you find aardvarks?
What would aardvarks call a feast?
What are an aardvark's options if faced by danger?
What word in the text means "shy"?
Genius question: what is a word used to describe animals that only come out at night?

Part Two: Learn English Structure

AMONG and BETWEEN

"AMONG" and "BETWEEN" are two words that are often confused. You say that somebody/something is "between" two or more clearly separate people or things.

The termite nest was between the tree and the bush. You use "among" when somebody/something is in a group, a crowd or a mass of objects that we don't see separately.
The termite nest was hidden among the bushes. You use "between" to say that there are things (or groups of things) on two sides.
The aardvark lives in a little valley that lies between high mountains. You say "divide between" and "share between" before singular nouns.
The game ranger divided the food between the aardvark and the hippo. Before plural nouns you can say between or among.
The aardvark shared the food between/among all her babies.

Your Turn

   1. I saw an aardvark sleeping _______ the wheels of the car.

   2. The tourist divided the money _______ his wife, his daughter and his mother-in-law.

   3. The OWLS student stands ______ the crowd of tourists.

   4. The aardvark lies _______ the river and the rock.

   5. The aardvark shared the food ______ her baby and her mother.

Part Three: Funnies

The man goes into the cinema with the aardvark to watch a film. It's a romantic comedy and when there's a funny scene the aardvark starts laughing.

A little later on there's a sad part and suddenly the aardvark starts crying. This goes on throughout the entire film, with the aardvark laughing and crying at all the right places.

Another man sitting a few rows back has witnessed the aardvark's behavior and decides to follow the man out. In the foyer, he approaches the aardvark owner and says, "That's truly amazing!" "It certainly is," the aardvark owner replied. "He hated the book!"

Part Four: Quotations

Be a good animal: true to your instincts. - D.H. Lawrence

I think I could turn and live with animals; they are so placid and self-contained. - Walt Whitman

Part Five: Links

Dictionary.com is a very useful site for English learners. Apart from the online dictionary and thesaurus, there is a discussion forum where you can talk about English with other students. You can also ask an expert any questions you have about English or even fill in a crossword puzzle on the games page.

http://www.dictionary.com