Wild animals

主" 持" 人：祖瑞 正高級教師，江蘇省特級教師，任教于江蘇省南京市將軍山中學。

Pre-reading

Do you like birds or other wild animals？ How much do you know about them？

Birds are members of wild animals. They are an important part of nature. The birds that live around the sea， ocean or river are referred as water birds. Water birds are also known as aquatic birds. Most of the water birds eat small fish， insects， crustacean. Some of the birds also eat insects or worms from agricultural lands. Learning about water birds are very useful and also interesting for us.

Penguin is an aquatic， flightless bird， whose wings have evolved into flippers， rather than wings. Penguins have counter shaded dark and white plumage. Penguins feed on krill， fish and other forms of sea life. They spend about half of their lives on land and half in the oceans. The largest penguin species is the emperor penguin with about 1.1 m tall and weighs 35 kg. The smallest penguin species is the little blue penguin， also known as the fairy penguin with about 40 cm tall and weighs 1 kg.

Kingfisher is a beautiful small to medium-sized， colourful bird. There are three types of kingfishers： river kingfishers， tree kingfishers， and water kingfishers. Kingfishers mainly hunt and eat fish. Sometimes， they eat aquatic insects or crustacean. The largest kingfisher species is Megaceryle maxima with about 48 cm long.

Egret is a white coloured bird which is similar to a heron but usually has a white plumage and lives in the marsh lands. Its wingspan is about 1.3 to 1.7 meters. There are different types of egrets which are Great egret， Cattle egret， Little egret， Eastern reef egret， Western reef egret， Snowy egret， etc. Egrets hunt and live in both saltwater and freshwater marshes. They feed on small aquatic creatures， insects， crustacean， or tiny fishes， etc.

White Ibis， also known as American White Ibis is a large white coloured bird with a long orange-coloured bill used for fishing. It has long legs to walk in the marsh land waters. White Ibis lives in tropical mangroves， and wetlands， such as salt marshes and swamps. They prey on insects and small fishes.

Spoonbill is a large， long-legged wading bird with large， flat， spatulate bill. The name spoonbill is due to the spoon-shaped bill. Spoonbill preys on small aquatic creatures such as insects， crustacean， or tiny fish. They live in both fresh water and sea water.

While-reading

Which water bird do you prefer？ Why？ You can search on the Internet and learn more about it， then make a poster.

Post-reading

To protect wild animals， we should protect their ecosystems first. Moreover everybody should take action right away to protect them in different ways. Please write an article titled “How to protect ...”.

You can follow the structure below and use charts to organize your ideas. You can also make a list of the main points you want to cover.

· Start by choosing a wild animal you like or know， and then describe it.

· State the dangers that it faces.

· Give some ideas to protect it.

原文呈現

How to Protect Polar Bears

My favourite animals are polar bears. They’re cute with long， white hair， but they’re terrible predators of various sea fishes and seals. This kind of species lives in the Arctic Ocean surrounded by huge ice all year long. But today they are struggling for food and living place.

As we all know， the Earth is getting warmer and warmer because of greenhouse effects， and the ice glaciers are melting quickly. Eventually， many polar bears are losing their homes while experiencing starving，and some are even dying. What can we do to protect them？

Firstly， we’d better ride bikes or walk rather than drive cars to go to school， and then there will be less environmental pollution. Secondly， we should use green energy such as electric energy， wind energy， and solar energy. There is a good trend that more and more people drive electric vehicles instead of gasoline cars today. Lastly， we can use renewable bags when we go shopping to reduce plastic pollution.

Anyway， we should start doing anything good to protect the environment from now on， no matter how small it is. It means a lot to the polar bears as well as to us.

對北極熊的描述要與之后其遭遇的困境相對應，面臨的威脅可以介紹得更全面一些。在提到溫室效應導致北極熊失去棲息地時，可以詳細解釋其中的因果關系，使邏輯更加嚴密。

文中的建議更多是一般性的環境保護措施，可以進一步說明這些措施是如何具體幫助到北極熊的。

段落間的過渡不夠自然，在討論溫室效應后引出如何保護北極熊時，可以增加類似 “Given these challenges， there are several ways we can help protect polar bears.”這樣的過渡句。

升格展示

How to Protect Polar Bears

My favourite animals are the polar bears. They are cute with long， white fur， but they are also skilled hunters that feed on fish and seals. These animals live in the Arctic， where they rely on sea ice to hunt and survive. However， due to climate change， they are now struggling to find enough food and maintain their habitat.

As we all know， the Earth is getting warmer and warmer because of the greenhouse effect. When the world gets hotter， the ice in the Arctic melts quickly， causing polar bears to lose their homes. What’s more， humans are catching too many seals and fish， reducing the food available for polar bears. Moreover， pollution in the oceans， such as plastic bags and other trash， can harm polar bears if they eat them by mistake. As a result， many polar bears are facing starvation， and some are even dying.

To protect polar bears， there are some things we can do. Firstly， we should try to walk， ride bikes， or take public transportation instead of driving cars. It can reduce air pollution and help slow down global warming， which will help save the ice. Secondly， we should use green energy like solar and wind power because it is cleaner and better for the environment. Finally， we should use fewer plastic products and choose reusable bags when we shop. It can help reduce the amount of trash that ends up in the ocean.

In conclusion， protecting the environment starts with small actions that everyone can do. Even small changes in our daily habits can make a big difference for polar bears and our planet. Let’s start today to protect them and our world.

（江蘇省南京市第二十九中學初中部 龔天恩；指導教師 姚睿捷）

綜合點評

小作者運用簡潔明了的語言，通過用詞和句式的變化有效傳達了自己的觀點，“small actions that everyone can do”和 “help slow down global warming”具有一定的號召力。升格文由介紹北極熊、闡述威脅、提出保護措施和總結四個部分構成，結構更加清晰，每個部分的內容緊密圍繞主題展開，段落間的過渡更自然，易于讀者理解。