Mac Poem
The Day the Bulldozers Came
Date: ________
The Day the Bulldozers Came by David Orme
Stanza
The day the bulldozers came
Rooks were building
Crazy egg baskets in the oaks;
Green flies sizzled by the pond
And a cold-eyed toad
Waited for them.
The day the bulldozers came
Squirrels were scattering
Up tree trunks,
And leapt from branches
That were hardly there.
The fox
Stirred in his sleep
As the ground trembled.
‘Ha ha!’ he thought,
‘I’m quite safe,
Deep down in the Earth,
No one can get me here.’
Then the bulldozer came.
(HW / ABS / REV)
Meaning 华文翻译
When the bulldozers came
to the forest, Rooks were
making nests in oak trees.
Green flies were buzzing
around the pond while a
toad was waiting to eat
them.
When the bulldozers came
to the forest, squirrels were
scared and they were
running up the trees. They
tried to leap from branch to
branch, but the tree
branches were no longer
there. The bulldozers had
knocked them down.
The fox woke up from his
nap but he went back to
sleep. He felt the ground
shake but he thought he
was safe deep down in the
foxhole. However, the
bulldozers can easily dig
him out of the soil.
Therefore, he is actually
not safe.
Themes
 Deforestation and habitat loss.
 All life is endangered when development starts.
 The effect of modern development on the environment.
 No one can escape change.

Messages
 We must preserve the forest and protect the animals.
 We must understand that progress comes with a price.
 We should treat our nature with respect, compassion and caution.
 We should always be ready to face change.

Practices
Exercise 1
Complete the blanks in the passage below about the poem. Use the words given.

The poem describes how a normal day in the countryside was interrupted by

the arrival of bulldozers. These (1) __________________ came to clear the (2)

__________________ and prepare the land for development. The natural (3)

__________________ of the creatures described in the poem was to be (4)

__________________ . The frightened animals had nowhere to (5) __________________

. Even the fox in his (6) __________________ den was not safe.

hide habitat machines

underground trees destroyed

Exercise 2
Answer the following questions.
1. What are rooks?
_____________________________________________________________________

2. What do ‘egg baskets’ refer to?

_____________________________________________________________________

3. What are ‘oaks’?

_____________________________________________________________________
4. What does the word ‘them’ in line 6 refer to?
_____________________________________________________________________

5. What does the description ‘cold-eyed’ tell us about the toad?

_____________________________________________________________________

6. What does the expression ‘scattering’ mean?

_____________________________________________________________________

7. What is the connection between the squirrels’ behavior and the coming of the
bulldozers?
_____________________________________________________________________

8. What does line 11 tell us about the trees?

_____________________________________________________________________

9. What animal is described in stanza 3?

_____________________________________________________________________

10. What was the fox doing when the bulldozers came?
_____________________________________________________________________

11. What does the word ‘stirred’ in line 13 mean?

_____________________________________________________________________

12. What literacy device is used in line 14?

_____________________________________________________________________

13. Why was the fox unafraid?

_____________________________________________________________________

14. Do you think the fox would be safe from the bulldozers? Give a reason for your
answer.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

15. What is the poem mainly about?

_____________________________________________________________________

16. Give an example of sound imagery in this poem.

_____________________________________________________________________

17. Describe how you feel about protecting wildlife after reading the poem.
_____________________________________________________________________
18. Why do you think the rooks built their nests in the oak tree?
_____________________________________________________________________

19. What were the rooks making?

_____________________________________________________________________

20. According to stanza 2, what was happening to the trees?

_____________________________________________________________________

21. What woke the fox up from his sleep?

_____________________________________________________________________

22. If you were one of the animals in the poem, how would you feel when the bulldozers
came? Give a reason to your answer.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

23. What was the toad waiting for?

_____________________________________________________________________

24. How were the squirrels behaving when the bulldozers came? Why?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

25. Why did the ground ‘tremble’?

_____________________________________________________________________

26. In your opinion, do you think the bulldozers should be stopped? Give a reason for
your answer.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
 Mac Poem
The Day the Bulldozers Came
Date: ________ (HW / ABS / REV)

The Day the Bulldozers Came by David Orme

Stanza Meaning 华文翻译
The day the bulldozers came When the bulldozers came 当推土机来到森林里，
Rooks were building to the forest, Rooks were 秃鼻乌鸦在橡树上筑
Crazy egg baskets in the oaks; making nests in oak trees. 巢。当一只癞蛤蟆在
Green flies sizzled by the pond Green flies were buzzing 等待着吃绿色苍蝇的
And a cold-eyed toad around the pond while a 时候，它们在池塘周
Waited for them. toad was waiting to eat 围嗡嗡叫着。
them.
The day the bulldozers came When the bulldozers came 当推土机来到森林里，
Squirrels were scattering to the forest, squirrels were 松鼠害怕得跑上树。
Up tree trunks, scared and they were 他们试图从树枝上跳
And leapt from branches running up the trees. They 到另一根树枝上，树
That were hardly there. tried to leap from branch to 枝却不见了。推土机
branch, but the tree 把它们撞倒了。
branches were no longer
there. The bulldozers had
knocked them down.
The fox The fox woke up from his 狐狸从午睡中醒来，
Stirred in his sleep nap but he went back to 但他又睡着了。它感
As the ground trembled. sleep. He felt the ground 到地面在摇晃，但它
‘Ha ha!’ he thought, shake but he thought he 认为它在深坑里是安
‘I’m quite safe, was safe deep down in the 全的。然而，推土机
Deep down in the Earth, foxhole. However, the 可以轻易地把它从土
No one can get me here.’ bulldozers can easily dig 里挖出来。因此，他
Then the bulldozer came. him out of the soil. 其实并不安全。
Therefore, he is actually
not safe.
Themes
 Deforestation and habitat loss.
 All life is endangered when development starts.
 The effect of modern development on the environment.
 No one can escape change.

Messages
 We must preserve the forest and protect the animals.
 We must understand that progress comes with a price.
 We should treat our nature with respect, compassion and caution.
 We should always be ready to face change.

Practices
Exercise 1
Complete the blanks in the passage below about the poem. Use the words given.

The poem describes how a normal day in the countryside was interrupted by

the arrival of bulldozers. These (1) __________________ came to clear the (2)

__________________ and prepare the land for development. The natural (3)

__________________ of the creatures described in the poem was to be (4)

__________________ . The frightened animals had nowhere to (5) __________________

. Even the fox in his (6) __________________ den was not safe.

hide habitat machines

underground trees destroyed

Exercise 2
Answer the following questions.
1. What are rooks? Rooks are birds which look like crows.

2. What do ‘egg baskets’ refer to? The ‘egg baskets’ refer to the rooks’ nests.

3. What are ‘oaks’? They are a type of tree.

4. What does the word ‘them’ in line 6 refer to? It refers to the green flies.
5. What does the description ‘cold-eyed’ tell us about the toad? The toad is
cruel/merciless.

6. What does the expression ‘scattering’ mean? It means to run in all directions.

7. What is the connection between the squirrels’ behavior and the coming of the
bulldozers? The squirrels were in a panic because they were frightened of the
noisy big machines.

8. What does line 11 tell us about the trees? Line 11 tells us that the tree branches
have been cut off.

9. What animal is described in stanza 3? A fox.

10. What was the fox doing when the bulldozers came? It was sleeping.

11. What does the word ‘stirred’ in line 13 mean? It means awoke.

12. What literacy device is used in line 14? Personification.

13. Why was the fox unafraid? He thought he was safe from any danger because he
was deep underground.

14. Do you think the fox would be safe from the bulldozers? Give a reason for your
answer. No, I don’t think the fox would be safe. After telling us that the fox
thought he was safe, the narrator begins the next line with ‘then’. This means
that what the fox thought was no longer true. // this is because a bulldozer is very
heavy. Sometimes bulldozers are used to dig up the earth.

15. What is the poem mainly about? The poem is mainly about the destruction of
nature by machines.

16. Give an example of sound imagery in this poem. sizzled

17. Describe how you feel about protecting wildlife after reading the poem. I feel that it
is very important to protect the creatures. If we do not, animals will become
extinct. // I realized what happens to animals in the wild when humans destroy
their habitat for development or logging activities. They will lose their homes
and food supply.

18. Why do you think the rooks built their nests in the oak tree? The oak trees are large,
sturdy and hardy and will always be there. // the leafy branches provide shade
and security.
19. What were the rooks making? The rooks were making nests.

20. According to stanza 2, what was happening to the trees? The trees were being cut
down.

21. What woke the fox up from his sleep? The coming of the heavy bulldozers, which
made the earth shake, woke the fox up.

22. If you were one of the animals in the poem, how would you feel when the bulldozers
came? Give a reason to your answer. I would be very frightened because the
bulldozers are going to destroy the trees and my home.

23. What was the toad waiting for? The toad was waiting to catch the green flies for
food.

24. How were the squirrels behaving when the bulldozers came? Why? The squirrels
were running about in panic. They were afraid of the big machines which were
destroying their homes.

25. Why did the ground ‘tremble’? The ground was shaking because of the big heavy
bulldozers.

26. In your opinion, do you think the bulldozers should be stopped? Give a reason for
your answer. Yes, the bulldozers should be stopped. They were going to destroy
the trees and homes of the animals. The animals will die.