Match titles and paragraphs.

	Major characteristics
	Auditory signals
	Incubation and brooding
	Nest building
	Locomotion

Answer the questions to Text 1.

1. Give the main characteristics of the class Aves.

2. How do birds move?

3. What can you tell about birds` behaviour?

4. What kinds of calls do birds use?

5. What are their nests made of?

6. What do you know about incubation and brooding?

Read the text using your dictionary.

Text 2

The Eagle

Because of the eagle's majestic appearance and power of flight, it has been called the “king of birds.” Since ancient times it has been a symbol of strength and courage. The Sumerians chose the “spread eagle” as their emblem of power 5, 000 years ago. So did imperial Rome many centuries later.

The American bald eagle was chosen by Congress in 1782 as the emblem of the United States. On the national seal the bird is shown with its wings spread, holding an olive branch in one claw and arrows in the other.

Only two species of eagles are found in North America—the bald and the golden. The more common bald eagle has white tail feathers and white plumes on the head and neck. Early colonists, used to the gray sea eagle of Europe, called these birds “bald-headed.” (Bald originally meant “white.”) The female is several inches larger. A sea eagle, the bald eagle migrates only if the body of water that it normally fishes, freezes. It returns each year to the same nest, called an aerie, with the same mate.

The golden eagle, a magnificent bird, is more common in the Old World than in the New, but it is found in the western part of North America from Mexico to Alaska. It is somewhat larger than the bald eagle, and its plumage is darker except for tawny feathers on its head and neck that shimmer like gold. The bald eagle has bare “ankles, ” whereas the legs of the golden eagle are feathered to the toes. The golden eagle builds its huge nest on a high mountain crag.

Eagles are birds of prey, related to vultures, hawks, and falcons.

All eagles are renowned for their excellent eyesight, and the bald eagle is no exception. They have two centers of focus, that allow the birds to see both forward and to the side at the same time. Bald eagles are capable of seeing fish in the water from several hundred feet above. This is quite an extraordinary feat, since most fish are counter-shaded, meaning they are darker on top and thus harder to see from above.

Young bald eagles have been known to make mistakes, such as attacking objects like plastic bottles floating on or just below the surface of the water. Bald eagles will locate and catch dead fish much more rapidly and efficiently than live fish, because dead fish float with their light underside up, making them easier to see.

Eagles have eyelids that close during sleep. For blinking, they also have an inner eyelid called a nictitating membrane. Every three or four seconds, the nictitating membrane slides across the eye from front to back, wiping dirt and dust from the cornea. Because the membrane is translucent, the eagle can see even while it is over the eye.

Eagles, like all birds, have color vision. An eagle's eye is almost as large as a human's, but its sharpness is at least four times that of a person with perfect vision. The eagle can probably identify a rabbit moving almost a mile away. That means that an eagle flying at an altitude of 1000 feet over open country could spot prey over an area of almost 3 square miles from a fixed position.

Eagles are not distinguished for their hearing, but this does not mean that they have poor hearing. Diurnal birds of prey like hawks and eagles use their hearing to locate prey or other birds, but the sharpness is not as essential as in some owls, which can locate prey in the dark only by their sound.

 

The text for translation into English.

Text 3

Пингвины

Пингвины - вид бескрылых, водоплавающих птиц, которые живут в естественной среде только в землях южного полушария. Пингвины проводят приблизительно половину своей жизни в океане, а другую половину - на суше. Как правило, большинство разновидностей пингвинов обитают в Антарктиде и в некоторых других самых холодных областях полушария. Определенные виды могут выжить в умеренных и даже тропических широтах.

Пингвины созданы для жизни в море. Их тяжелые, твердые кости действуют в воде как тяжелый пояс водолаза, позволяя пингвинам оставаться под водой. Крылья, сформированные как плавники, помогают двигаться под водой со скоростью до 15 миль в час. Обтекаемое тело, подобные веслу ноги, изолирующий слой жира и водонепроницаемые перья – все служит эффективному и комфортному пребыванию этих необычных птиц под водой. У них также есть замечательная способность глубоко нырять.

Жесткие, очень компактно расположенные перья (до 70 в кв. см), обеспечивающие гидроизоляцию, предотвращают потерю тепла. Пингвины покрывают перья жиром из железы около хвоста, чтобы увеличить водонепроницаемость. Черно-белая расцветка делает их почти невидимыми для хищников.

Пингвины, как полагают ученые, являются самыми социальными птицами. Колонии могут содержать тысячи особей. Даже в море они плавают и питаются группами.

Большинство разновидностей пингвинов строит гнезда, которые состоят из груды камней или пустот в грязи. Императорские пингвины не строят гнезд; они сохраняют яйцо между ног под складкой кожи, называемой карманом для выводка (pouch).

Рост Императорского пингвина может достигать 1, 3 м, а вес - 45 кг. Это самый крупный из всех современных пингвинов.

Для того, чтобы согреться, императорские пингвины собираются в плотные группы, внутри которых температура поднимается до +35 градусов при температуре окружающего воздуха —20 °С. При этом пингвины постоянно перемещаются от края группы в центр и обратно, чтобы все особи находились в равных условиях.

Императорские пингвины начинают размножаться в мае-июне, когда в местах их обитания температура опускается ниже − 50 °C, а ветер дует со скоростью до 200 км/ч. Самка откладывает единственное яйцо на лапы и накрывает его сверху кожной складкой. Через некоторое время все заботы о яйце берёт на себя самец, а самка отправляется в море искать пищу. В возрасте пяти недель птенцы императорских пингвинов уже не помещаются в наседной сумке и уходят в так называемые «детские сады». Взрослые пингвины охраняют потомство от хищников.

 

Speaking and writing

15.Make a report about any bird you find interesting and unusual. Write a plan first and do not forget to mention the bird`s

appearance

habitat

feeding habits

way of reproduction.

 

Choose any of the following ideas (or propose your own), find information and write an essay (150 - 250 words).

The ancestors of birds.

The best singers.

The importance of birds to Humans.

Extinct and endangered species of birds.

Birds as symbols in human history.

 

Unit 7

Тема урока: Mammals текст 1 Mammals текст 2 Rodents текст 3 Dolphins текст 4 Многообразие млекопитающих

 

Words

1.	nourish	v. to provide with the food or other substances necessary for growth, health, and good condition
2.	hinge	v. to attach something to allow it to open and shut
3.	skull	n. a bone framework enclosing the brain of a vertebrate; the skeleton of a person's or animal's head
4.	cavity	n. a cavity is a space or hole in something such as a solid object or a person's or animal’s body
5.	persist	v. to continue to do something, although this is difficult, or other people oppose it
6.	womb	n. the organ in the lower body of a woman or female mammal where offspring are conceived and in which they develop before birth
7.	versatile	adj. able to adapt or be adapted to many different functions or activities (n. versatility)
8.	lineage	n. direct descent from an ancestor; ancestry or pedigree
9.	assess	v. to evaluate or estimate the nature, ability, or quality of
10.	precise	adj. marked by exactness and accuracy of expression or detail
11.	domesticate	v. to tame an animal and keep it as a pet or on a farm
12.	strain	n. a) a particular breed, stock, or variety of an animal or plant b) a natural or cultured variety of a micro-organism with a distinct form, biochemistry, or virulence
13.	captive	n. an animal that has been confined
14.	pelt	n. the skin of a dead animal, especially with the fur or hair still on it
15.	ivory	n. a hard creamy-white substance composing the main part of the tusks of an elephant, walrus, or narwhal, often used to make ornaments and other articles
16.	livestock	n. animals such as cows and sheep that are kept on a farm
17.	deplore	v. to disapprove of something very strongly and criticize it severely, especially publicly
18.	impact	n. the effect or influence that an event, situation etc has on someone or something
19.	afflict	v. (of a problem or illness) to cause pain or trouble to, to affect adversely
20.	fever	n. an abnormally high body temperature, usually accompanied by shivering, headache, and in severe instances, delirium
21.	rabies	n. a very dangerous disease that affects dogs and other animals, and that you can catch if you are bitten by an infected animal
22.	offend	v. to make someone angry or upset by doing or saying something that they think is rude, unkind etc
23.	span	n. the length of time for which a person or animal lives or a thing functions
24.	swamp	n. an area of low-lying, uncultivated ground where water collects, a bog or marsh
25.	attain	v. to succeed in achieving something after trying for a long time
26.	store	v. to keep or accumulate something for future use
27.	contaminate	v. to make something impure by exposure to or addition of a poisonous or polluting substance
28.	requirement	n. a thing that is needed or wanted
29.	gestation	n. the process or period of developing inside the womb between conception and birth
30.	prolific	adj. (of a plant, animal, or person) producing much fruit or foliage or many offspring
31.	possess	v. to have as an ability, quality, or characteristic
32.	dormant	adj. (of an animal) having normal physical functions suspended or slowed down for a period of time, in or as if in a deep sleep
33.	litter	n. a number of young animals born to an animal at one time
34.	inconvenience	n. the state or fact of being troublesome or difficult with regard to one's personal requirements or comfort
35.	insulate	v. to protect (someone or something) from unpleasant influences or experiences
36.	fur	n. the short, fine, soft hair of certain animals
37.	handle	v. to manage (a situation or problem)

 

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