节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2012-06-11
难易度:High
关键字:primate, inhabit, offspring, adorable, pygmy marmoset, tawny, sap
Welcome back.
I hope you all had a great break.
Our ANIMALS feature this month introduces us to an animal that I never knew
existed before - the finger monkey.
These cute little creatures are real monkeys that live and play in the forests
and jungles of South America.
Let's get back to our lesson and find out what these little guys eat on line 14.
(Music).
Finger Monkeys.
They dig holes in trees with their sharp claws to eat a gum formed from the
trees' sap.
They also eat leaves, fruit and some small reptiles.
Finger monkeys live in groups of six to 10, consisting of one male, one female
and their offspring.
The father and older offspring care for the babies during their first few weeks
of life.
It takes about two years for them to become adults, and they usually live
between 11 and 15 years.
Some countries permit people to keep finger monkeys as pets.
These little creatures can be aggressive and require lots of attention, however.
But for some, the delight of having these adorable animals clinging to their
fingers makes the effort of caring for them worthwhile.
We are talking about tiny little tawny-colored monkeys called pygmy marmosets,
also known as finger monkeys.
We know how big they are, or should I say how small they are and that they live
along the edge of a field and a forest.
But that didn't answer exactly where they live.
Yeah. We want to know a little bit more about where they live and how they live.
We see they dig holes in trees with their sharp claws in order to eat a gum that
is formed from the trees' sap.
So they would live in the trees that they would eat from as well.
Now so they would be digging inside the tree to get to a gum. And a gum would be
like a sticky texture that's very chewy.
And they're going to be eating it.
It's made out of trees' sap, so it'd probably be pretty sweet.
Yeah. Um, actually, I'm going to define sap.
But first, I want to talk a little bit more about the word "gum." We usually we
talk about gum as being something that you chew.
And it's usually fun to chew on.
But here this is describing, like Kaylah said, the type of material in the
trees.
This isn't what you chew for fun.
That's right. It would have the same kind of texture that is sticky and
chewable,
but it wouldn't be something... it would actually dissolve and you would eat it.
Right.
But it's made out of trees' sap; so could you define "sap" for us?
Absolutely.
Tree's "sap" is a liquid that you can find inside trees.
And sometimes you can use this tree's sap in other kinds of foods.
That's right. Syrup is actually made from maple tree's sap.
So you know that syrup is very delicious and sweet.
So you can understand why maybe a pygmy marmoset would like to eat this gummy,
sweet textured sap.
Yeah, probably very delicious.
Now they also eat leaves, fruit and some small reptiles as well.
So they have a well-rounded diet.
They eat leaves, which would be greens, fruit and reptiles, which are little
animals.
So that means they're probably getting protein as well.
And they would have to be very tiny reptiles if a pygmy marmoset would eat it.
Yeah, probably reptiles you can think of is being like lizards, maybe small
snakes as well.
Those are reptiles.
But they would have to be extremely small.
Yeah. They would have to be very small because these monkeys are only... only
the adults are 15 centimeters tall.
That's right. They're very small.
Well, how do they live?
So we know what they eat and where they live, but they are very social animals.
Yeah. They live in groups of six to 10 monkeys consisting of one male, one
female and their offspring.
So they live in family groups.
They have a mom and a dad, and then a bunch of babies between 10 and six of
them.
So that'd mean probably between 4 and 8 babies.
Yeah, babies, like you said, that is "offspring." It means babies or children.
So it's just a mom and a dad and their kids. They all live together in a group
of six to 10 monkeys.
Now the father and older offsprings care for the babies during the first few
weeks of life, which is actually abnormal in the animal kingdom.
Yeah. Typically, it's the mother that cares for children.
Just like we do as humans, usually the mother is better at taking care of kids,
or usually takes care of the kids.
And now, even though that's changing today, we see the monkeys are already ahead
of us.
It's the father and the... some of the offspring, the older offspring that take
care of the babies.
Now I can give maybe two other examples of the father caring for the... baby
animal.
First, that would the penguins do that as well, as well as seahorses.
So it's not all that common, but it's cool to see it in the monkeys as well.
That's right. This is very impressive.
Now it takes about two years for these monkeys to become adults, and they
usually live between 11 and 15 years.
Which explains why there would be larger families - because it takes two years
before they're adult enough to go off and have their own families.
And they live between 11 and 15 years.
So a male and female can make a lot of... have a lot of babies.
Yeah, that's true.
This is pretty interesting.
Now some countries permit people to keep finger monkeys as pets.
Which would be really fun if you think about having a finger monkey as a pet.
But these little creatures can be aggressive and require lots of attention,
however.
That means they can be very fighting; they can fight against humans.
And they need a lot of care and attention.
That's right.
But some people they want to have these adorable monkeys clinging to their
fingers, and they want to take care of them.
That would be worthwhile.
"Adorable," of course, meaning cute or lovable.
That's right.
It makes it worthwhile for them.
The effort of carrying is worthwhile.
Well, it's exciting to see little bitty animals.
And maybe you learn something new today.
Well, that's our Grammar on the Go sentence.
So let's visit Liz, and then see today's skit.
Hi, friends.
Greetings from Eastern Peru.
My name is Liz, and it's time for Grammar on the Go.
This is where you can find finger monkeys.
Speaking of finger monkeys, we've read how people in different countries like to
keep finger monkeys as pets.
Our writer writes: ... the delight of having these adorable animals clinging to
their fingers makes the effort of caring for them worthwhile.
That's our Grammar Tip sentence.
Our focus is on the phrase at the end of the sentence: ... makes the effort of
[doing something] worthwhile.
We use this phrase to mean that even though something might be challenging,
people don't mind doing it because it is also very rewarding.
In the case of today's sentence, having a finger monkey as a pet is not easy,
but owners don't mind all the hard work.
Why? Because it is very exciting to have finger monkeys cling to their fingers.
It is worth it.
Let's have a look at some example sentences.
Suppose Simon went to help his daughter move to her new apartment, and he had to
move a lot of heavy furniture.
Although he was very tired, it felt very rewarding when she gave him a big hug.
So we can say:
For Simon, getting a big hug from his daughter made the effort of helping her
move worthwhile.
Or, let's say Esther spent many long evenings practicing for her dance
competition, and she did win first place eventually. So we can say:
For Esther, winning first place made the effort of practicing for the
competition worthwhile.
So friends, use this phrase when you need to talk about how something was worth
doing even though it was not easy.
And that's all the time we have for today.
This is Liz with Grammar on the Go, signing off, in Peru. Bye-bye.
This little animal is called a pygmy marmoset.
Oh! This monkey is so tiny.
These creatures are among the world's smallest primates.
It's small enough to wrap its arms around my finger.
That's right.
Sometimes they're called finger monkeys.
Oh. It can fit into my pocket.
And sometimes they're called pocket monkeys.
Where do these little monkeys come from?
Pygmy marmosets inhabit forests of South America.
They spend their days climbing along the tree branches.
Oh. What do they eat?
They dig into trees and eat the sap.
They also eat leaves, fruit and some small reptiles.
These finger monkeys are adorable.
Yes, they are.
Yes. I want one.
I want a finger monkey.
Well, these little monkeys require lots of attention.
I want one. I want a finger monkey.
And many countries do not permit people to keep monkeys as pets.
Yeah. I want one.
I want a finger monkey!
Finger monkeys can also be aggressive.
They have sharp claws and teeth.
Oh. I want a finger monkey!
Give me... Ah!
Oh.
It... it bit my finger.
So do you still want a finger monkey?
No.
I want my finger.
Hi, everyone. I'm Michelle.
(Chinese).
And that concludes our Language Tips today.
I'll see you soon. Bye-bye.
Thank you, Michelle.
Now friends, before you want to go out and buy a finger monkey, you should first
find out if owning one in your state or country is legal or not.
Then you need to know that these cute little creatures require a lot of time and
attention - much like a real little human baby.
Many owners prefer their finger monkeys to wear monkey diapers which need to be
changed often.
And it's not like you can run down to the pet store and buy a bag of finger
monkey food.
You'll need to prepare it yourself.
OK, everyone. Have a great Monday.
We'll see you tomorrow.