The English Lesson 12 theme is WHALES SOUTH AFRICA

Part One: Whales, Creatures of the Deep

Read the following text and answer the questions that follow:

Sperm Whale Watching whales has become a very popular tourist activity in South Africa. There are many whale-watching sites in quiet areas along the beautiful coast.

Whales are the gentle giants of the sea. They are mammals, which means that the young are fed with milk from their mothers. The calves are cared for until they are old enough to look after themselves. Whales have blowholes on the top of their heads so that they can breathe awhen they come up to the surface. Their bodies are streamlined so that they can swim more easily. They are pushed forward by their powerful tail fins and steered by their side fins.

Some whale species communicate over very long distances by making sounds underwater.

South Africa is often said to have the world's best land-based whale-watching areas, as thirty-seven species of whales and dolphins are found in South African waters.

These include the giant blue whale, which is the largest living animal on earth and weighs up to 130 000kg (equal to about 30 elephants). Other whales that are often seen are the southern right whale, the humpback whale and the sperm whale. The humpback whale is exciting to watch, because it enjoys jumping and diving.

Many of the whale-watching sites are less than an hour from central Cape Town. A weekend trip to the lovely village of Hermanus is often combined with a morning of spotting whales.

Watching these ancient animals gives many people a peaceful and happy feeling.

Some words explained:

Streamlined: shaped to have little wind or water resistance

Fins: body parts on the sides or back of a fish

To steer: to make it go in a specific direction

Species: kind of animal

Diving (to dive): to go below the surface of the water

Spotting (to spot) something: to see something

Your Turn

Why does a whale need a blowhole?
Why is the humpback whale exciting to watch?
How heavy can a blue whale become?
Which word means "very old"?
Which word means "places"?
Genius Question: What is a leviathan?

Part Two - Grammar Groans

AT, IN and ON

These are the three most important prepositions used when talking about time. There are rules for how and when to use these prepositions, but also a few exceptions to the rules.

AT is used when speaking of exact points in time.

For example: We saw the first whale at 9.35. At the end of the tour, we stopped to watch the whales.

IN is used when speaking about time periods (except whole days). For example: We had a picnic on the rocks in the afternoon.

Whales often give birth in winter. The blue whale was declared a protected animal in 1967. We are going to Hermanus in the next week.

ON is used when we mention the name of a day. For example: She saw ten whales on Saturday. On Christmas Day I was given a book about whales.

Here are the most important EXCEPTIONS to these rules:

AT is also used when talking about a holiday period or a weekend. For example: We went to De Hoop nature reserve at Easter.

AT is also used when talking about the night-time. For example: It's very difficult to see whales at night.

Your Turn

Complete the following sentence with the correct preposition (AT, IN or ON).

There were only 100 southern right whales ___ 1940.
We watched the whales ___ Monday ___ the afternoon.
The tour started ___ eleven o'clock.
___ Christmas time we travelled to Gordon's Bay to see the whales.

Part Three: Funnies

An expert on whales was telling friends about some of the unusual findings he had made. "For instance," he said, "some whales can communicate at a distance of 300 miles."

"What on earth would one whale say to another 300 miles away?" asked an astounded member of the group.

"I'm not absolutely sure," answered the expert, "but it sounds something like 'Can you still hear me?'"

If swimming is so good for your figure, how do you explain whales?

What do you call a fish with no eyes ? Fsh !

Part Four: Famous Words

Sometimes I find myself thinking, rather wistfully, about Lao Tzu's famous dictum: 'Govern a great nation as you would cook a small fish.' All around me I see something very different, let us say - a number of angry dwarfs trying to grill a whale. - J.B. Priestley

Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. - The Bible

Part Five: Tongue Twisters

"Surely Sylvia swims!" shrieked Sammy, surprised. "Someone should show Sylvia some strokes so she shall not sink."

There was a young fisher named Fischer Who fished for a fish in a fissure. The fish with a grin, Pulled the fisherman in; Now they're fishing the fissure for Fischer.

Part Six: Links

Oceans Alive

Oceans Alive is a nice Australian site about whales, seals and the oceans:

http://www.abc.net.au/oceans/alive.htm

Cambridge English Learner's Dictionary

An excellent English dictionary for English learners is the Cambridge English Learner's Dictionary which you can find at:

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/

Answers

Answers to Part One

Whales have blowholes on the top of their heads so that they can breathe when they come up to the surface of the water.
The humpback whale is exciting to watch, because it enjoys jumping and diving.
The blue whale can weigh up to 130 000kg.
Ancient
sites / areas
The original meaning of leviathan is a sea animal of enormous size. In English we also use it to refer to anything that is very big and strong.