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WINGED FRIENDS

Activity 2.1
2
Act out
Jeewaka and Yasith are very good friends. One day they watched a
very interesting TV programme on birds at Jeewaka’s house.

Yasith: It was a very

interesting
programme, wasn’t
it?
Jeewaka: It was indeed. I learnt
many new things
about birds.

Yasith: That’s true. This was

the first time I’ve
heard the names of
certain birds.

Jeewaka: Do you remember the beautiful white bird with a

crest? It was very beautiful, wasn’t it?
Yasith: Yes, you mean the Kagu? It’s sad that it can’t fly.
Jeewaka: Hmm. By the way, would you like to know more about
birds?
Yasith: Of course! They’re beautiful creatures. I wish I could
be as free as a bird and fly high in the sky.

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Jeewaka: Ha...ha…mind you, not all birds can fly.
Yasith: Really? Are there many flightless birds?
Jeewaka: Let’s go to my room. I’ve got something to show you.
Yasith: What is it?
Jeewaka: This is my sister’s scrap book. She’s a member of the
School Zoologists’ Association. She has many scrap
books. This one’s on birds in Sri Lanka, both local and
migrant.
Yasith: Wow! It’s so beautiful.
Jeewaka: Yes, she has a lot of other books too. You know Yasith,
she wants to become an ornithologist.
Yasith: What? I didn’t get it.
Jeewaka: Well, that is a person who studies about birds.
Yasith: Ah! That’s wonderful.

Activity 2.2
A) Are the following statements ‘true’ or ‘false’?

1. Yasith said that the programme was not interesting.

2. Yasith had heard before the names of all the birds that were
shown in the programme.
3. Kagu is a flightless bird.
4. Jeewaka’s sister is a member of the School Zoologists’
Association.
5. Jeewaka has many scrapbooks on different types of animals.

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B) Match the following words/phrases with their meaning.
Word/phrase Meaning
a. Crest 1. A collection of pictures and articles etc.
b. Flightless 2. A person who studies about birds
3. A growth of feathers at the top of a bird’s
c. Migrant
head
d. Scrap book 4. Not able to fly
e. Ornithologist 5. A bird or animal that travels regularly
from one part of the world to another.

Activity 2.3
Do you know that there are many birds in the world that cannot fly?
Yasith learnt about them from a book that he found in Jeewaka’s
sister’s collection. Read the descriptions and complete the grid.

Feugian Steamer Ducks: The

largest steamer duck in the world. These
South American ducks have got their name
as a result of a strange behaviour. They run
across water thrashing their short wings
like the wheels on a steamboat.
The male ducks weigh about 3.5 to 7
kilograms. They have bluish grey feathers
on the head and neck and have a reddish
brown throat. Females have darker grey
feathers and a dark reddish throat. They
eat small snails, insect larvae and small
crustaceans.
They are known to be very aggressive.
They usually fight with each other over
territory.

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Inaccessible Island Rail: The
smallest flightless bird in the world. It is
about 17 cm in length and has an average
weight of 30 grams. Its feathers are a
mixture of dark grey and dark rusty brown.
A bird with a loud trilling call; it has red eyes
and its bill is black in colour. It is found only
on Inaccessible Island – the only inhabited
island in the Tristan Archipelago. (Tristan
is the name of a remote group of volcanic
islands in the South Atlantic Ocean). They
live on steep slopes and grasslands and
eat, earthworms, moths,berries and seeds.
Since there are no threats from predators,
they roam freely all over the island.

Emperor Penguins: One of the most

known flightless birds. Adult emperor penguins
have a white stomach, a black head, back,
tails and wings. They also have yellow- gold
markings on the side of their head and neck.
They have a distinctive waddling walk owing to
their heavy bodies and short legs. On average,
they measure 115 cm in height. The emperor
penguins are only found in Antarctica. They
mostly feed on fish, squid and krill. The male
emperor penguins are in charge of keeping the
eggs safe and warm. They do so by balancing
the egg on their feet and covering it with its
feathered skin. They are very skilled swimmers
and divers.

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Takahe/taa-ku-hee/: A rare bird
found in New Zealand. It was believed to
have been extinct since the late 1800s,
but, was suddenly discovered to be alive in
1948.
The adult male is purplish-blue in
colour with a greenish back and inner
wings. They also possess a significant red
frontal shield. They have a red based pink
bill.
They feed on grass, shoots and
insects. As a bird, it has remarkable
longevity: it can live up to 20 years.
However, hunting, predation and habitat
loss have become a threat for their survival.
Takahe inhabits grasslands using shrubs
for shelter.

Kiwi: The National Bird of New

Zealand. There are five species of Kiwi and
all of them are flightless and nocturnal.
They are brown in colour and are the same
in size as a chicken. They have hidden
wings and soft hair like feathers. Unlike
other birds that have nostrils at the base,
kiwis have their nostrils on the tip of their
bill. The female birds lay comparatively
large eggs that can weigh up to about 500
grams. Relative to the size of the bird, this
is the biggest egg of any living species.

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Cassowary: The third tallest and
second heaviest living bird. It is a native
bird of the tropical forests of Papua New
Guinea and Indonesia and northeastern
Australia. The cassowary has a dagger like
claw that can grow up to 4 inches in length
on the middle toe of each foot. Cassowaries
are known to be shy. If provoked, they
are capable of having deadly attacks on
humans or any other animals. These
birds have a colourful “helmet” or casque.
Cassowaries feed on fruit, shoots and grass
seeds.

Name Habitat Physical food Any other

features information
1. e.g.: Feugian South Bluish small Known to be
Steamer Duck America grey snails, agressive, fight
feathers.. insect over territory
larvae...
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Activity 2.4
A) Read the following story.

There was once a peacock who lived in the forest. He was very
unhappy. A fox, who was passing by, stopped to speak to the peacock.
‘Hello, my friend. Why do you look so sad? The peacock did not
respond. The fox was not discouraged by the peacock’s behaviour.

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He decided to try again. ‘Come on, my friend, why aren’t you talking
to me? You must have a reason. Did anyone ill- treat you, or are you
angry with me?’ Asked the fox. ‘No’, said the peacock in a low voice.
‘Then, what happened?’ Asked the fox. ‘I don’t like my voice. Every
time, I open my mouth to sing, I hear an unpleasant sound.’ Replied
the peacock. ‘But you are one of the most beautiful birds in the animal
kingdom. Why should you worry about your voice?’ said the fox. ‘I
want to sing as beautifully as a nightingale,’ ‘replied the peacock. ‘Oh,
was that the reason why you looked so unhappy? Do you know, just
as much as it is impossible for a nightingale to be as beautiful as you
are, you too cannot sing as beautifully as a nightingale.’ Replied the
fox. ‘Remember, my friend, we should not compare ourselves with
others, we have to be happy and content with what we have.’ The fox
said.
Answer the question given below.
Find one word for each of the following phrases from the text.
a) Feeling sad -
b) Unable to be done -
c) to make someone feel discomfort -
d) to treat badly -
e) to make someone lose confidence -

Word Guide-Antonyms
The opposite meaning of a word or the antonym can be formed by
adding in-un-, im-, il- and dis- at the beginning of certain words.
Look at the following words.
1. happy - unhappy 2. possible - impossible
3. pleasant – unpleasant 4. legal - illegal
5. encourage – discourage 6. correct - incorrect
An antonym can also be a different word as shown below.
1. most – least 3. happy – sad
2. simple – complex 4. major – minor
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B) Use words given in Antonym Jar and complete the antonyms
chart.

maximum kind
happy patient
present impossible urban local
ugly sad impatient beautiful possible
absent true
minimum rural
unkind false
foreign

C) Use a dictionary and find antonyms for the following words.

1. Victory
2. Cheap
3. Answer
4. Uncommon
5. Local
6. Complex
7. early
8. Narrow
9. Legal
10. fortunate

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LEARNING POINT
Read the following sentences taken from the story.
1. We should not compare ourselves with others.
2. We have to be happy and content with what we have.
3. You must have a reason.
We use have to / must / should + infinitive to talk about obligation,
things that are necessary to do, or to give advice.
Read the following sentences with “have to” and “has to”
4. Nurses have to wear a uniform.
5. The teacher has to correct our books.
“have to” expresses impersonal obligation.

should must

Here, must and have to are both used for obligation and should is
used to give advice.

Activity 2.5

Speaking / Grammar
Study the following table and form sentences.
fasten the seat belts when
driving.
You should/should not smoke. It’s not good for
A student must/ must not health.
We have to go to bed early because
Children has to you have to go to school
Passengers tomorrow.
An adult learn this well. It’ll be
useful.
obey our elders.
set examples to children.
help others.

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Activity 2.6
Grammar
Complete the following blanks using must, have to/has to or should.
1 A: Ruwini is not well.
B: She………………..leave early.
2 When a tyre is punctured the driver ………… change it.
3 I ……………….. wash all my clothes myself.
4 If you are a prefect you ……………….. be responsible for many
things.
5 The principal said, “You ……………….. be punctual”.
6 Pedestrians ……………….. use the zebra crossing.
7 “Whenever the dog wants to go out I ……………….. open the door
and let it out”, Roy said.

Activity 2.7
Write 3 sentences each using must, have/has to or should or with
the negative form.

Activity 2.8

Listening
Listen to your teacher and follow the instructions.

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Activity 2.9

Read and enjoy

Brainy, the painter

has to paint all walls.
First the wire brush
on walls prior to all.
Then the black broom
to clean all soon.
It is a must he knows
and does it all soon.
Walls with bricks or with blocks,
whether it’s blue or even black,
his brown brush runs all over the walls
no complains he attends to them all.

Complete the following table with words that begin with ‘br’ and ‘bl’.
Bread /br/ Blank /bl/

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