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EnglishClub


Listen&Learn: Charles Darwin

18th August 2021 by Jaksyn Peacock

Pre-listening vocabulary

  • naturalist: someone who studies natural history
  • evolution: a theory that states that species change over time in order to survive
  • origin: where something came from
  • organism: a living being
  • unpopular: disliked by the public

Listening activity

Gapfill exercise

Charles Darwin was an English naturalist. He is known for forming the theory of evolution, a explanation for the origin of on Earth. Darwin was born in 1809 in Shrewsbury, England. In 1831, he got a on a ship called the HMS Beagle, which was taking a five-year trip around the world. Darwin got to visit many and study different plants and animals. He started to form his theory while studying birds on the Galápagos Islands. In 1859, he published a book called On the Origin of Species, which stated that all life on Earth may have from one organism. This theory was unpopular at the time, because society was very religious. However, over time, more people started to accept Darwin’s ideas. Darwin died in 1882, at age 73.

Comprehension questions

[wp_quiz id=”20530″]

Discussion/essay questions

  1. Why do you think so many religious people rejected the theory of evolution? Is it possible to believe in both religion and evolution?

Transcript

Charles Darwin was an English naturalist. He is known for forming the theory of evolution, a scientific explanation for the origin of life on Earth. Darwin was born in 1809 in Shrewsbury, England. In 1831, he got a job on a ship called the HMS Beagle, which was taking a five-year trip around the world. Darwin got to visit many countries and study different plants and animals. He started to form his theory while studying birds on the Galápagos Islands. In 1859, he published a book called On the Origin of Species, which stated that all life on Earth may have evolved from one organism. This theory was unpopular at the time, because society was very religious. However, over time, more people started to accept Darwin’s ideas. Darwin died in 1882, at age 73. 

The Monkey’s Disgrace

6th May 2020 by Editor

Three monkeys sat in a coconut tree
Discussing things as they’re said to be.
Said one to the others: “Now listen you two,
There’s a certain rumour that can’t be true
That man descended from our noble race –
Why, the very idea is a disgrace!

“No monkey ever deserted his wife,
Starved her babies and ruined her life;
And you’ve never known a mother monk
Leave her babies with others to bunk,
Or pass them on from one to another
‘Til they scarcely know who is their mother.

“And another thing you’ll never see –
A monk build a fence round a coconut tree,
Forbidding all other monks to taste
And letting the coconuts go to waste.
Why! if I built a fence round a coconut tree
Starvation would force you to steal from me.

“Here’s another thing a monk won’t do:
Go out at night and get in a stew,
Or use a gun or club or knife
To take some other monkey’s life.
Yes, man descended, the ornery cuss,
But brother he didn’t descend from us!”

Author unknown
Voiced by Josef Essberger

rumour (noun): a story or report that could be untrue
man (noun): human beings; the human race
descend 1 (verb): come from something that happened before; (you are descended from your parents and grandparents)
noble (adjective): of excellent quality
race (noun): a major division of living creatures
disgrace (noun): something regarded as shameful and unacceptable
desert (verb): abandon
starve (verb): cause (somebody) to die from having no food
ruin (verb): cause great damage to
monk (noun): [informal] – short for monkey
bunk (verb): sleep in a bunk or bed
forbid (verb): not allow; refuse to allow
starvation (noun): death or suffering caused by having no food
get in a stew (idiom): get into a difficult situation that causes great worry
descend 2 (verb): go down; decline or deteriorate in quality; degenerate
ornery (adjective): bad-tempered; difficult to deal with
cuss (noun): an annoying or unpleasant person

Comments from monkeys welcome below…