Please read the vocabulary lesson at your natural speed, though it should not be too fast so that I could hear what you speak naturally and imitate yours. Thank you.
Describe your favourite animal
What is it?
When did you first see it?
Why is it special for you?
I’ve always been really keen on polar bears. I’ve really loved them ever since I was little though I can’t fully explain why. I suppose it has something to do with the fact that they seem so cute and cuddly, though actually, if you tried to cuddle one you would probably get your head bitten off. I’ve never actually seen a polar bear in the wild but I did see one when I was about eight years old, at a zoo. Actually, even at that age, I found it quite an unpleasant experience to see such a handsome animal in a cage. It was walking from side to side of the cage, prowling around and obviously not happy to be out of its natural habitat. One of the things I find most intriguing about polar bears is the cunning way they hunt for seals. Apparently, they sometimes spend days waiting outside a seal’s breathing hole and they have been known to swim towards seals with their bottom in the air, hoping the seals will mistake them for a piece of ice. According to a TV programme I once watched that hunting strategy sometimes works. Another thing I absolutely admire about these animals is their ability to be so solitary and self-dependent. They often go for months without meeting other bears and, apart from during the mating season, they seem to prefer to be alone rather than in a pack. Of course the really sad thing about polar bears is that they will probably be extinct within half a century. They depend on ice and, as ice forms later in the year now, because of global warming, the bears are getting hungrier and, consequently, more of them are not able to make it through the long winter. It would be such a shame if polar bears died out completely. They are one of the most beautiful animals in the world and we should do everything we can to preserve them.
Thank you so much!