Elephants that Struck - Unit 6

Worksheets - Reader 8

Reading Worksheet 1a Student A Parrots and teamwork Studies show that African grey parrots display personality preferences during teamwork. According to findings published in Animal Cognition, scientists developed a series of tasks for the birds, which revealed that they understood how to co-operate. Studying the birds at a research centre in Paris, researchers found that some birds preferred to work alone, while others liked to work together. The problem-solving test administered to the parrots required two parrots to pull on a string at the same time, to bring a tray with food towards them."The birds were able to coordinate," explained Dr Dalila Bovet, who led the study. "They understood that they needed a partner to solve the task, and they waited for him." In addition, these birds had an even more impressive ability; they were able to collaborate, with each bird contributing to the task in a different way. "We used another task in which one bird had to climb on a perch in order to release the tray that was pulled by the second bird," said Dr Bovet. The parrots were able to carry out these different but complementary actions, although they did have trouble exchanging roles.

The three birds in this study also matched strategies to suit individual personalities and their equation with each other. "We carried out one test where we gave them the choice between two apparatusone that yielded a reward when handled alone and another baited with twice as much food per bird but which required co-operation to obtain it," explained Dr Bovet. In this choice test, each of the birds behaved differently. "One of them, Shango, behaved in a rather individualistic way, always choosing the 'solo' apparatus," Dr Bovet recalled. The female, Zoe, only chose the 'duo' task if a male parrot called Leo was present. "They were reared together and liked each other," said Dr Bovet. But Zoe refused to work with Shango. "She seemed to prefer not to cooperate with him, even if it meant less food, whereas Leo always preferred to work with a partner," said the researcher. This shows that personality traits and individual preferences played an important part in teamwork, even in the animal kingdom. Based on reports in BBC Earth News

Worksheet 1b Student B Elephants know how to co-operate Elephants appear to belong to an "elite group" of intelligent, socially complex animals, according to findings in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In an experiment using apparatus built by researchers from the University of Cambridge, two elephants had to work together to pull a rope bringing a platform close to them.

Researchers have also documented elephants in the wild helping each other Study leader Dr Joshua Plotnik from the University of Cambridge said it was exciting to study elephant behaviour in such detail. "We see them doing amazing things in the wild, but we can see from this that they're definitely co-operating." The Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in the study had been taught that pulling a rope brought a platform of food within reach. But in this experiment, a new twist was added to that simple task. One rope was threaded all the way around a platform like a belt through belt loops - so if one end was tugged, the rope simply slipped out and the platform did not move. But if two elephants each took an end of the rope and pulled, the platform moved and they could claim their

treat. "When we released one elephant before the other, they quickly learned to wait for their partner before they pulled the rope," Dr Plotnik said. And one elephant - the youngest in the study quickly learned that it did not have to do any pulling to get a treat. "She could just put her foot on the rope, so her partner had to do all the work," said Dr Plotnik. Many scientists, photographers and film-makers have documented remarkable behaviour by wild elephants, including "targeted helping" of other elephants that become stuck in mud. There have even been reports of elephants appearing to mourn their dead. Dr Plotnik hopes that his findings will help with the conservation of these endangered animals. Based on reports in BBC Earth News

Worksheet 1c (for Student A and Student B) Shared reverse reading activity: Understanding the text and tense practice. In pairs, ask and answer these questions based on Worksheets 1a and 1 b. _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ 1. What did they find? _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________

2. In what way will the findings help animals and human beings? _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ Now exchange your worksheet (1a or 1b) with your partner and check your answers.

Structure and Usage Worksheet 2 Verb patterns Complete the text using the correct form of the verb in brackets. Afzal wanted (1see) Deepak at the railway station before he left for boarding school in the hills. He knew it would mean (2 get) up early to catch the bus to be in time for the meeting but friendship means (3 have) to give up sleep, laughed Afzal and explained that he wanted (4 pack) breakfast for the two of them. Everything went well until he tried (5 adjust) their packets within his small bag. The bag gave way and Afzal decided (6 take) his school tiffin box for the meal. But the sandwiches were too large (7 fit ) in the box . He tried (8 use) a knife to cut the sandwiches but they crumbled in his hands. So he went to a shop and tried (9 borrow) a bun but he didnt have enough money. He then hurried (10 meet) Deepak at the station but he wasnt fast enough. He watched sadly as the train was (11 leave) the station and later tried (12 call) on his mobile.

Speech Practice Question forms Algorithms Worksheet 3 Note: An algorithm is a mathematical model or pattern that shows sequence and provides a clue to the next number (e.g. 1, 4, 9, 16, 25 ... the next number is 6x6). In this game, an algorithm is a special way to answer questions: True, False, True, False . First practise this example in pairs: i) ii) iii) iv) Ask your partner Geetha: "What's your name?" Geetha must say "Geetha."(True) Now ask her (she is wearing a white dupatta): "What colour is your dupatta?" She must say: "Red," etc (any colour but white). (False) Ask: "Are you a girl?" Geetha must say: "Yes."(True) Ask: "What time is it?" Geetha must say the wrong time. (False)

1. Now write out your algorithm: _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ 2. Write out 5 questions _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________

Writing Worksheet 4 Group activity Write an informal letter inviting a friend to visit your home town for a holiday. Procedure Preparation: 1. Form groups 2. Elect a leader 3. In groups set up the context for the letter. Decide on the layout to make sure that everyone knows how to lay out an informal letter.

Now each student writes the address and the opening greeting. The leader explains that when she/he says Stop, you stop writing even If you're in the middle of a sentence. Students then pass on their letter to the person on the left. Students read, correct, improve and continue writing on the sheet they have received till they hear Stop. They continue the letter that they've received. The leader checks that everyone has written something before saying Stop!. The process continues for a few minutes till the paper goes back to the first student just before the ending, with the same instruction - read, correct and improve .This time the leader says 'close'. So the letter is brought to its end.

Answers

Worksheet 2 Structure and Usage 1. to see 2. getting - the result would be this 3. having - again result 4 to pack 5. to adjust/ adjusting 6. to take 7. to fit 8. to use - he tried using would indicate that he encountered no problems but the context makes it clear that he could not complete the action, so the infinitive is the best fit. 9. to borrow - he tries borrowing would indicate that he encountered no problems but the context makes it clear that he could not complete the action, so the infinitive is the best fit. 10 to meet 11. leaving 12. to call/calling