Intro
Spiders get a bad rap, but are they so bad?
Sure, they’re covered in hair and have eight eyes. Yes, some spiders are poisonous and
a few can kill you. But there are thousands of harmless and beneficial spiders in the world that eat bugs we don’t like. If there were no
spiders, the world would have way too many insects.
It’s easy to understand why some people have arachnophobia. And there are almost 44,000 kinds of spiders in the
world, so they’re definitely everywhere you look. Spiders have amazing skills,
though. Perhaps the most interesting fact about spiders is how they catch their
dinner with webs. People have certainly learned a thing or two from these
creepy creatures.
Who is
scared of spiders, Marni or Rafael? Find out by reading today’s English lesson!
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Dialogue
Marni:
Oh!
Rafael:
What happened? Are you OK?
Marni: I
just saw a spider.
Rafael:
You’ve got to love spiders. Don’t be afraid of them.
Marni: Are you serious? I have arachnophobia. I can’t
stand them!
Rafael: They may be poisonous, but they’re
also industrious. Let me put it this way. I have tons of
ants and flies in my house. The spiders will catch them for you and they’ll eat
them.
Marni: Yeah, and so will chemicals.
Rafael: I think spiders, in general, just get a bad rap.
Most of them are harmless, anyway.
Marni:
Hmm. I don’t know. They’re not all poisonous, but they sure can be creepy.
Think about the big, hairy ones. And you travel internationally, and you see
these spiders that you’ve never seen before. And you don’t know if they’re
poisonous. Some spiders could actually kill you. It’s so creepy.
Rafael: OK. One word, Marni. Biodiversity. It’s beneficial.
Marni: I
guess, but oh!
Discussion
Marni is afraid of spiders. They make her uncomfortable,
and she doesn’t like not knowing which ones are poisonous and
which ones are harmless. Marni says that it’s a particular problem when traveling
to a country where you don’t know the spiders. She has serious arachnophobia.
Rafael
tries to make Marni feel more comfortable around spiders. He appreciates the
spiders in his house because they eat ants and flies. Rafael likes that spiders
are hard-working and feels that they are helpful for the environment. Without
spiders, there would be a lot more insects in his home!
How do
you feel about spiders? Talk about the most interesting spider you have ever
seen.
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Grammar Point
Adjectives
Rafael
and Marni describe spiders as poisonous, industrious, harmless and creepy.
They use several adjectives.
Adjectives are words that describe nouns and pronouns, for
example, pretty,happy, ugly,
or smart. Adjectives usually come
before the noun, as in, “That was a dirty movie!”
Marni and Rafael use four different adjectives to describe the noun “spiders.”
Sometimes, adjectives follow a verb, like in the
sentence, “Your baby is very cute.”
But in this case, the adjective still modifies the subject of the sentence
(your baby), not the verb (is).
Remember,
unlike in some other languages, adjectives have only one formin English. They don’t have
a singular and plural form or a masculine and feminine form. For example, you
wouldn’t say, “Those girls are beautifuls.” Even though there is more than one
girl, you’d still say, “Those girls are beautiful.”
Adjectives look the same no matter what noun they describe.
Which is
correct, “Did you see those blacks spiders?” or, “Did you see those black
spiders”?
Vocab
can't stand v.
Definition
strongly dislike
Example
I can’t stand rude people.
-------------------
industrious adj.
Definition
hard-working
Example
My mom is one of the most industrious people I know.
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tons n.
Definition
a lot, many, large numbers
Example
Tons of people have their hair colored these days! It’s so
popular!
You could hardly see the ground there were so many bugs. There
were just tons of them.
-------------------
chemical n.
Definition
product made with the use of chemistry
Example
There’s a chemical in paint that gives me a headache.
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bad rap expr.
Definition
negative talk about a person or thing without good reason
Example
“I think Jerry has gotten a bad rap. He’s not a bad guy. He just made some
mistakes.”
“Christina
Aguilera is getting a bad rap. She’s not an evil person, but people talk
about her like she’s one of the worst people on the planet.”
“Eminem gets
a bad rap because
he says a lot of controversial things, but in truth, he’s one of the most
talented living musicians.”
“In Hollywood, you have to be careful not to get a bad rap or you won’t get
jobs in movies.”
“Is Kobe
Bryant getting a bad rap? I guess we’ll find out during the trial.”
“Possums get a bad rap because they’re ugly, but they’re very helpful.
They eat cockroaches, rats and snakes.”
-------------------
poisonous adj.
Definition
able to cause death or illness if taken into the body
Example
Some snakes are poisonous, so be careful in the forest.
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harmless adj.
Definition
not causing any damage or pain; innocent
Example
Marc acts tough, but he’s really harmless.
-------------------
beneficial adj.
Definition
helpful, useful; resulting in good
Example
It’s always beneficial to do some research before taking a trip.
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biodiversity n.
Definition
variety of life in the world
Example
Without biodiversity, Earth would be a boring place.
-------------------
arachnophobia n.
Definition
fear of spiders
Example
I don’t have arachnophobia, but I do think spiders are creepy
and ugly.
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