8A Emperors

of the

A Emperor penguins live in large groups called colonies.

Before You Read

A. Quiz. What do you know about emperor penguins? Circle True or False
for the sentences below. Then check your answers at the bottom of the page.
1. The emperor penguin is one of five kinds of penguins in Antarctica. True False
2. After the mother penguin lays an egg. she walks to the ocean. True False
3. As soon as the egg hatches,' the baby penguin walks to the ocean. True False
4. Emperor penguins learn to fly when they"re about one year old. True False
• If a baby arimaI hatches. it comes out of an egg.

B. Predict. Look quickly at the photos. title. and headings on the next page. Check (.f)
the information you think you·U read about. Then read the passage to check your answers.

o adult penguins and their babies

o young penguins getting older
o global warrning and penguins
-.(u l,ueo S\J!I16ued 'ssre:l (to 'PtO SlIlUOW 9r.y lnoqe s.~ I.J94M
Ut1roO alll 01 S)j(eM ~eQ 9lU 'esi€::J {e -eru.l {?; 'ar\J.L ( ~

88 Uni t 8 Animal Wonders

 - -- -
'-- - -
Saturday, May 23: The Penguin Couple
I've arrived at the colonyl-a community of about 3,000
penguins. I'm studying two em peror pengui ns. I call the
male "Scar"2 (because of a ma rk o n his back) and the female
"Sunrise." They walked over a hundred kilomcters from the
ocean to get here. Soon Sunrise will lay an egg. Then she'll
walk back to the ocean to eat.

Tuesday, Jujy 29: Sharing the Work

Penguin parents work together to raise a baby. For two
months, Scar has been keeping the egg warm. It's on top of his
feet an d under a special piece of skin called the "brood patch ."
Sunrise returned yesterday, and the couple moved their egg
from Scar's feet to hers. This is difficult for penguins. If the
egg falls, it can freeze 3 quickly.
In this cold environment, Scar has lost almost half of his body
weight. He needs to reach the ocean soon to catch and eat fish.

Wednesday, September 9: New Life

The baby has hatched! Scar retu rned yesterday. Now it's
necessary fo r Sunrise to go to the ocean agai n .

Monday, October 19: Growing Up

The parents have made several trips" to the ocean fo r food.
The baby is growing quickly.
• A colony is a ~ 01 people or animals
of lhe same kind IMng together.
Sunday, December 27: Into the Water 1 A scar is a mark on the ski1 which is left

after a cui has healed.

The baby is now on its own. Soon it wiU enter the water fo r • If a liQuid or something contain;ng a liquid
f ree:tes , ~ becomes solid because of low
the first time. It will swim and eat until next April, and then tempemtl¥eS.
retu rn here. Mter a few more years, it too will start its • A trip is a journey that you make to a
partruar place.
own family.
SA Emperors of rhe Ice 89
 Reading Comprehension
A. Multiple Choice. Choose Ihe best answer for each question.
Gist 1. Another good title for this reading would be _ _ __
a. A Study of a Penguin Family
b. Penguins Around the World
c. The Future of Wildlife in Antarctica
d. The Life and Death of a Penguin
Detail 2. When does the male penguin care for the egg without the female?
a. from May to July
b. from July to September
c. from September to October
d. from October to December
Reference 3. The word hers (line 13) refers to _ _ __
a. her movement c. her feet
b. her egg d . her return
Inference 4. What will probably happen if the egg falls onto the ice?
a. The parents will not be able to find the egg.
b. The egg will break open and the baby will fall out.
c . Another penguin will take the egg.
d . The baby in the egg will die because of the cold.
Paraphrase 5. Another way to say on its own (line 24) would be _ __ _
a. staying with its parents
b. protecting its own egg
c. living without its parents
d. able to communicate

B. Completion. Complete the flow chart below. Fill in

each blank with one or two words from the reading .

From Egg to Baby Penguin

1. A baby penguin 's life begins when the mother penguin lays _ _ __

2. Penguin parents keep the egg warm on top of their _ __ _

under a piece of _ __ _
3. It's difficult to do, but penguins must _ _ _ _ their egg from one
parent 's feet to the other's, without letting it _ _ __
4. While one penguin parent keeps the egg warm, the other parent
walks to to eat.
5. When the egg hatches, the penguin parents see their _ _ __
for the first time.

90 Unir 8 Anima l Wonders