The Reading / Listening - Animal Ears - Level 0

We all know elephants have the biggest ears. However, scientists tried to find which animal has the biggest ears for its body size. A natural history museum found out. It is the long-eared jerboa. The jerboa is a rodent. It lives in the deserts of China. It is nocturnal. This means it is active at night, but sleeps in the day.

A zoologist said the jerboa's body is 10 centimetres long. Its ears are up to 5cm long. This is 50 per cent as long as its body. Elephant's ears are 17 per cent of its body length. Jerboas live in very hot places. Their large ears release heat from their body. This helps them to keep cool.

Try the same news story at these levels:

    Animal Ears - Level 1,  Animal Ears - Level 2   or  Animal Ears - Level 3

Sources
  • https://www.livescience.com/largest-animal-ears-relative-to-body-size.html
  • https://www.bollyinside.com/news/which-animal-has-the-biggest-ears/
  • https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/biggest-ears-elephants-jerboa-bats


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Phrase Matching

Paragraph 1

  1. the biggest ears for
  2. A natural history
  3. It is the long-
  4. The jerboa is a
  5. It lives in the
  6. It is
  7. it is active
  8. sleeps in
  1. nocturnal
  2. its body size
  3. rodent
  4. the day
  5. at night
  6. museum
  7. deserts
  8. eared jerboa

Paragraph 2

  1. A zoologist
  2. 10 centimetres
  3. Its ears are up
  4. This is 50 per cent as long
  5. 17 per cent of its body
  6. Jerboas live in very
  7. Their large ears release heat
  8. This helps them
  1. hot places
  2. said
  3. to keep cool
  4. long
  5. from their body
  6. to 5cm long
  7. length
  8. as its body

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

(1) ___________________ elephants have the biggest ears. However, scientists (2) ___________________ which animal has the biggest ears for (3) ___________________. A natural history museum found out. (4) ___________________ long-eared jerboa. The jerboa is a rodent. It (5) ___________________ deserts of China. It is nocturnal. This means it (6) ___________________ night, but sleeps in the day.

A (7) ___________________ jerboa's body is 10 centimetres long. Its ears (8) ___________________ 5cm long. This is 50 per cent as long (9) ___________________. Elephant's ears are 17 per cent (10) ___________________ length. Jerboas live in (11) ___________________. Their large ears release heat from their body. This helps them (12) ___________________.

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

Weallknowelephantshavethebiggestears.However,scientiststriedto
findwhichanimalhasthebiggestearsforitsbodysize.Anaturalhistorymuseu
mfoundout.Itisthelong-earedjerboa.Thejerboaisarodent.Itlivesint
hedesertsofChina.Itisnocturnal.Thismeansitisactiveatnight,butslee
psintheday.Azoologistsaidthejerboa'sbodyis10centimetreslong.Its
earsareupto5cmlong.Thisis50percentaslongasitsbody.Elephant'sea
rsare17percentofitsbodylength.Jerboasliveinveryhotplaces.Theirlar
geearsreleaseheatfromtheirbody.Thishelpsthemtokeepcool.

Student survey

Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

(Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

Discussion — Write your own questions

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

(a) ________________

(b) ________________

(c) ________________

(d) ________________

(e) ________________

(f) ________________

(g) ________________

(h) ________________

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

(i) ________________

(j) ________________

(k) ________________

(l) ________________

(m) ________________

(n) ________________

(o) ________________

(p) ________________

Free writing

Write about this topic for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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Answers

(Please check your answers against the article above.

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