Who Owns the Water? : Section I

UNIT 1

Prose

Who Owns the Water?

Section I

READING

Listen to the teacher read this section.

Once upon a time, on the outskirts of a dusty little village, a tiny bird searched for a place to lay her eggs. The land was parched and dry and there wasn’t a bush or tree in sight. Finally in desperation, the little bird discovered a shallow depression in the ground. Using her claws to remove the stones and loosen up the packed earth, she broadened the hole and there, underneath the hot sun, she laid her eggs. The eggs hatched and the good mother protected and fed her babies until they were big enough to fly away… And here our story would have ended, except, this isn’t a tale of the little bird but a much more interesting one of the hole she used as a temporary nest.

“A hole?” you may ask. “ What could be interesting about a hole in the ground?” Well, this hole grew to be quite important, as you will discover.

For some time the hole remained dusty and untenanted, until one day a passing wild boar settled his rump into the depression. The pit was not comfortable enough and getting up, he scraped and dug, carving a pit of more hospitable proportions. Backing into this hollow, he turned around a few times and with a satisfied grunt settled down to a long snooze. A very long snooze it was too. The boar turned and scrabbled in his sleep, cosy dugout until the fading sun and the rumble in his stomach told him it was time to get up. With a mighty stretch and a final kick, the hungry boar departed his daybed without a backward glance.

“And is that it?” you will enquire. To which I will reply, “ No it isn’t, dear one. Not by a long shot. Our story has just begun.”

GLOSSARY

outskirts - the outer areas of a city   or a town        

parched - very dry  

desperation - losing hope 

untenanted - not occupied

rump - back part of a mammal's body or the part of the  body you use to sit

scrabbled - moved hands and feet around

cosy - comfortable

rumble - a low sound like thunder

put a (✓) for the correct and (×) for the incorrect statements.

1. A tiny bird looked for a place to lay her eggs. ✔

2. The land was wet and green.  ×

3. The little bird found a shallow hollow in the ground. ✔

4. The eggs hatched and the babies flew away.  ×

5. The pit was comfortable for the wild bear to sleep in. ✔

6. The wild boar got up from its day bed because it was disturbed by another boar.  ×

Do you know

WEATHER: The conditions in the atmosphere like rain, wind, or temperature at any time

CLIMATE: The general weather conditions of a place. (e.g.) a wam climate, cold climate

SEASONS: One of the four periods of the year which has its own typical weather conditions resulting from the earth's changing positions in its orbit around the sun