Meeting Penguins

BBC Learning EnglishPeople and PlacesMeeting PenguinsAmber: Hello, I’m Amber 3 and you’re listening tobbclearningenglish.comIn People and Places today, we meet Meredith Hooper who’sbeen toAntarctica to get to know these noisy creatures …ActualityWell, for those of you who didn’t guess, I can reveal thatis the sound of theAdélie penguin 1! Meredith Hooper has been following thelives of the Adélie penguins 2 in Antarctica - she’s writtena book called ‘The Ferocious 4 Summer’ in which shedescribes the events from the end of 2001 to March 2002(whichis summer time in Antarctica) when severe weather affectedthe Adélies during their breeding season.
　　Adélies and Emperor penguins are the only ice-dependentPolar penguin species, and scientists believe that theAdélies may be among the indicators 5 of how our climate ischanging. Their numbers are falling and this is linked tothe fact that the sea ice is melting and the penguins needthis ice to build their nests on. As the climate changes,the penguins are losing their habitat, their homeenvironment.
　　So what is Antarctica like? Well, it’s an absolutely vastspace, sprawled 6 across the bottom of the world, and it hasice 2 to 4 kilometres thick weighing it down. But accordingto Meredith Hooper, it is utterly 7 beautiful. As you listento her describing Antarctica, try to catch why she is so ‘amazed and enchanted 8’ by theplace. If you’re ‘enchanted’ by something, you arecharmed and delighted by it.
　　I’m an Australian and I didn’t grow up with snow and ice,and I am totally amazed andenchanted by the beauty of ice and it draws me back toAntarctica, to be honest. Ice is there in all forms andshapes and colours. It’s like an endless sculpture. It’salso very forbidding.
　　There are a hundred-foot ice cliffs that are breaking intothe sea with intense drama and beauty - deep blues 9 insidethe cracks - and you watch them compulsively, wonderingwhen the next slide will come and then, suddenly, there’sa crack!
　　Amber: So Meredith says she ‘didn’t grow up with snowand ice’ – she’s an Australian!
　　That’s partly why she’s so captivated by Antarctica. Butmost of all, she’s impressed by the beauty of the ice,which ‘cracks’ or breaks unexpectedly as it melts andthen slides into the sea. Notice she compares the ice with‘an endless sculpture’ – it’s like a beautiful three-dimensional work of art that appears to have no end. Butfor all its beauty, she says Antarctica is also a ‘veryforbidding’ place – it’s hostile, dangerous andthreatening.
　　Listen again.
　　Meredith HooperI’m an Australian and I didn’t grow up with snow and ice,and I am totally amazed and enchanted by the beauty of iceand it draws me back to Antarctica, to be honest. Ice isthere in all forms and shapes and colours. It’s like anendless sculpture. It’s also very forbidding.
　　There are a hundred-foot ice cliffs that are breaking intothe sea with intense drama and beauty - deep blues insidethe cracks - and you watch them compulsively, wonderingwhen the next slide will come and then, suddenly, there’sa crack!
　　Amber: Next, Meredith talks about the Adélie penguins. Shesays ‘they’re everybody’s idea’ of the ‘classic’
　　Antarctic penguin. ‘Classic’ means of the highest qualityand a perfect example of its kind.
　　Then Meredith uses several ‘human words’ to describe thepenguins – words we can use to describe people. Try topick these out.
　　Ah, I think they’re everybody’s idea of the classicAntarctic penguin. They’re noisy – youheard the sound. They smell wonderful. They smell of richliving to me! Some people don’t like it! When you’re withthem, you think it’s a wonderful smell!
　　They’re … I’m going to use human words – they’reconsidered aggressive. The first explorers thought thatthey stole; they thought that they fought, they thoughtthat they argued. I learned to respect them hugely – they’re tough, they’re determined 10; they have a very hardlife.
　　Amber: How did you do? Penguins are ‘noisy’,‘aggressive’, ‘tough’ and ‘determined’
　　– they don’t sound very friendly or cuddly 11, do they? Nowhere’s a recap of the language in the programme.
　　enchanted – charmed, delighted habitat – home environmenta sculpture – a three-dimensional work of art forbidding– dangerous and threateningclassic – of the highest quality, a perfect example of itskind and the adjectives we heard to describe penguins werenoisy’, ‘aggressive’, ‘tough’ and ‘determined’
　　More stories of people and places – with languageexplanations – next time, at bbclearningenglish.com