Bats!

(A2)
A Before you start
Answer the questions with a partner.
1. What do you know about bats?
2. Do you ever see bats near your house?
3. Are they a protected species in Brazil?
B Listen and answer
Read these statements. Then listen (without reading) and write T (true) or F (false).
1.The bats of Austin fly out in the evening and return to the bridge in the morning.
2. The bats are mostly females.
3. There were no bats in Austin before 1980.
4. The show lasts for hours.
5. The bats cause damage to agriculture.
6. Visitors to the bridge can buy souvenirs with pictures of bats on them.
7. You need an umbrella because it often rains in Austin.
8. The bats fly out at exactly the same time every evening.
C Read and answer
Read the article and the fact file and answer the questions.
1. What are the bats looking for when they fly out every evening?
2. Where do they arrive from in spring?
3. Where do the females make their nests?
4. Why did the number of bats increase after 1980?
5. What wrong ideas did people have about bats in the past?
6. What financial advantages do the bats bring to the countryside and the town?
7. When do baby bats become independent?
8. What unpleasant characteristic do bats have?
D Learn it! Use it!
Complete these sentences with words from the glossary. (You may have to adapt the expression in
some way; e.g. change the verb tense.)
1. I think its going to rain. Look at those dark ________ in the sky.
2. Youll never manage to lose ________ if you keep eating chocolate bars.
3. These cut flowers are already dead. They didnt ________ very long.
4. Our dog wont hurt you. He looks ferocious but hes really ________.
5. Theres no room for a table and chairs in this kitchen. Its too ________.
6. You cant wear those socks. Theyre full of ________.
7. My cats very old but hes still able to ________ mice.
8. Female gorillas usually ________ ________ to one baby gorilla. Twins are rare.

E Ready for KET? (Paper 1, Reading and Writing: Part 7)

Complete this email. Write one word for each space.
Hi Karen,
Im 1________ you this email from Austin, Texas. We arrived here at 10.30 2_________ night. This
morning we walked around 3________ town and visited a couple of museums. Then we 4________
lunch in a great Tex-Mex restaurant. This evening were going to Congress Avenue Bridge
5
________ see the famous bats. They say 6________ are millions of them. My little brother isnt
very happy about going because he 7________ frightened of bats. At the tourist office, they
8
________ us to take an umbrella with 9________. I expect you can imagine 10________!
F Check your pronunciation
One of the four words in each group has a different vowel sound. Which one?
1. fly time bridge buy
2. search farmer return birth
3. hair there their near
4. people live eat deep
5. habitat save sale dangerous
H Talk about it
In pairs or groups.
1. Are you afraid of bats? If so, why?
2. What would you do if you found a bat flying around in your house?
3. What other animals or insects are many people afraid of?
4. Can you think of any reasons why?

Answers
B Listen and answer
1. T 2. T 3. F- There have always been bats in Austin. 4. F It lasts for an hour. 5. F Its
the insects that damage crops, not the bats. 6. T 7. F You need an umbrella, but not for the
rain. (The umbrella is to protect you from bat excrement.) 8. F The Bat Hotline will tell you
what time the bats will come out.
C Read and answer
1. They are looking for food. 2. They arrive from Mexico. 3. In the holes or deep openings in
the bridge. 4. Because they restored the bridge in 1980 and made deep openings which were a
perfect habitat for the bats. 5. They thought they were pests and that they were dangerous and
flew into peoples hair. 6. The farmers save money on pesticides because the bats eat 50,000 to
10,000 kilos of insects every night. The town makes $10 million every year from the tourists that
come to see the bats. 7. When they are five weeks old. 8. They smell.
D Learn it! Use it!
1. clouds 2. weight 3. last 4. harmless 5. narrow 6. holes 7. catch 8. give birth
E Ready for KET?
1. writing/sending 2. last 3. the 4. had/ate 5. to 6. there 7. is 8. told/advised 9. us
10. why
F Check your pronunciation
1. bridge 2. farmer 3. near 4. live 5. habitat