Floating ducksFloating ducks11

Street scenesStreet scenes33

Moving picturesMoving pictures55African drummingAfrican drumming66

A design projectA design project99

The platypusThe platypus77

Earth factsEarth facts88

Snow and iceSnow and ice44

Fairtrade surveyFairtrade survey22

Term 1 Guess what it is?Term 1 Guess what it is?

Term 2 Tall storiesTerm 2 Tall stories

Term 3 Problem pagesTerm 3 Problem pages

12 PHOTOCOPIABLE © Oxford University Press | Incredible English 6The platypus

1 Read the text quickly and match the titles to the paragraphs.

1 Platypuses are very unusual animals. They live next to lakes, streams and rivers in eastern Australia and Tasmania. When English explorers discovered platypuses in the 1800s, they sent a dead platypus to England. Scientists in England thought it wasn’t a real animal because it had fur, a beak and webbed feet too. But they were wrong – it wasn’t a joke: it was real! Scientists called the strange animal ‘platypus’. This word comes from the Greek word for ‘flat foot’.

2 A platypus is 45 to 60 cm long, and weighs one to three kilogrammes. That is about the same size as a cat. It is a mammal but it is very unusual because it lays eggs. It has got a beak and webbed feet like a duck. Its front legs are very strong. It uses them for digging and swimming. It has got a flat tail like a beaver. The tail helps the platypus to swim. It has got special thick fur to keep it warm in very cold water, like a seal. Its legs are on the side of its body, so it walks like a lizard, not like other mammals. On its legs, it has got sharp spikes with poison inside them. It uses the poison to protect itself, like a poisonous snake. The poison is strong enough to kill a dog!

3 Platypuses dig holes in the ground, next to rivers, lakes and streams. Females dig two kinds of holes: a small one to sleep in, and a big one where they look after their babies. Platypuses dive under the water to look for food, but they come up to the surface to breathe. They can dive up to 75 times an hour! They eat small animals that live under the water, like worms and shrimp. Sometimes they eat frogs, fish and insects too.

4 Platypuses have got very good eyesight and hearing, but they close their eyes and ears when they swim underwater. They use their sense of touch to help them navigate under the water. Also, like sharks, they have a special sixth sense called ‘electro-reception’. This means they can pick up tiny electrical signals that come from other animals. The platypus is the only mammal in the world that has ‘electro-reception’.

a What does a platypus look like?

b Sight, hearing and touch

c Digging, swimming and eating

d A very strange discovery

13PHOTOCOPIABLE © Oxford University Press | Incredible English 6 The platypus

2 Find these words in the text. Write.

3 Complete the paragraph with animal words from the text.

4 Read the text again and write T (true) or F (false).

A platypus is like lots of other animals. It lays eggs and has got webbed feet and a beak, like

a 1 . It walks like a 2 . It has got a special sense called

‘electro-reception’, like a 3 . It has got special thick fur like a

4 . Its tail is flat like a 5 ’s tail. It protects itself with poison,

like a poisonous 6 .

5 Complete the crossword.

Clues:

Across )

3 Platypuses live next to streams, rivers and .

5 A platypus uses its strong front legs for and digging.

7 A platypus is about the same size as a .

Down º

1 Scientists in the 1800s thought the platypus was a .

2 A platypus closes its and ears underwater.

3 A platypus’s are on the side of its body.

4 Eyesight, hearing, touch, smell and taste are all .

6 Platypuses find their food under the .

Reading

w __ __ __ __ __

f __ __ __

(verb) d __ __ b __ __ __ __ __ l __ __ __ __ __

1 3 42

1 Platypuses live in Australia and Tasmania.

2 English explorers discovered platypuses in the 1900s.

3 Female platypuses look after platypus babies in a hole under the ground.

4 Platypuses eat worms.

5 Lots of mammals have got ‘electro-reception’.

L

1

2

3 4

65

7