2.4 Comprehension

Furthermore, many of the attacks that do occur are thought to be the result of sharks mistaking people for their usual prey or because the sharks are feeling threatened.

YOU magazine: 23 February 1995

Read the passage "Deadly dentures" and answer the questions that follow:

1. Where, according to the passage, is the only place one would encounter the massive prehistoric monster?

(1)

1. How big are some of the shark teeth fossils that have been found?

(1)

1. Explain what you think is meant by the following: "Either way this ancient giant makes the infamous great white shark that prowls our modern oceans seem like child's play."

(2)

1. Where is the mouth of a shark situated in most cases?

(1)

1. Describe, in your own words, the jaws of a shark.

(3)

1. What is the purpose of the several rows of teeth in a shark's mouth?

(1)

1. Why do the teeth of hunting sharks have serrated edges?

(2)

1. Write down the name given to the tiny teeth on a shark's skin.

(1)

1. What is "shagreen"?

(2)

1. Explain what people in the past used dried sharkskin for.

(2)

1. Is the following statement true or false? Quote a phrase from the passage to support your answer. "Many people are attacked and killed by sharks every year."

(1)

1. Give two possible reasons for why sharks attack people.

(2)

Vocabulary: What do the following words mean?

• gaping:
• dredged:
• diminutive:
• hallmark:
• massive:
• infamous:

(5)

Total: [25]

SPELLING AND VOCABULARY

Let's make a spelling and vocabulary chart of words that appear in the passage.

Write down any words that you would find difficult to spell, and also words that you don't know the meaning of.

Write down all the new spelling words that your teacher gives you on this chart as well.

Remember!

1. Look up the meaning of the words that you do not understand. Write these down.
2. Add to this chart after each lesson.

ADJECTIVES

Look at these examples:

1. The Robber was wearing a brown jacket, a furry hat and a small mask over his face.
2. John looked scared .

(Adjectives usually come before a noun; but they can be separated from their noun and come afterwards).

1. Underline the adjectives in the following paragraph:

The little fur seal lies in the net, a round ball with two big eyes full of fear. The hunters scared away his mother so that they could catch him and her frantic cries can still be heard in the distance.

This is a seal hunt. These hunters won’t simply club the pups to death: this snowy, watery landscape won’t run red with blood as it has in the past. These hunters will “kidnap” the young animals before killing them. They are caught by their hind legs and bundled into netting sacks that will cause the minimum of damage to their prized coats. They are put into big crates and taken by helicopter to ships at the edge of the ice-bound sea, and then carried to their destiny at fur farms further south. There the traders wait until they have lost all the fine white fur of their infancy – and then kill them by injection before removing the pelts .

Adapted from: YOU , 28 June 1990

Write down the meaning of the words in bold. Use the dictionary to help you.

WRITTEN WORD

These strange and enchanting creatures live in the ocean. Write a paragraph in which you describe how you would feel if you were swimming and you came face to face with any one of them. Try to use as many adjectives as possible.

Assessment

Memorandum

1.

(a) in a museum

(b) more than 15cm long

(c) This extinct monster shark was far more fearsome than the terrible great white shark we know.

(d) On the underside of the head.

(e) The jaws are very strong. They are made of cartilage and have several rows of teeth – even up to 14 rows in one species.

(f) They replace the teeth that wear off or are lost.

(g) To cut and rip through skin, flesh and bones of the shark’s prey.

(h) denticles

(i) Dried shark’s skin, used as sandpaper.

(j) Sandpaper for polishing wooden furniture.

(k) False

(l) They mistake people for their real prey. They feel threatened.

(m) (i) wide open

(ii) dragged up

(iii) small

(iv) characteristic feature / trademark

(v) huge

(vi) notorious

3. (c)

The little fur seal lies in the net, a round ball with two big eyes

full of fear. The hunters scared away his mother so that they could catch him and her frantic cries can still be heard in the distance.

This is a sealhunt. These hunters won’t simply club the pups to death: this snowy , watery landscape won’t run red with blood as it has in the past. These hunters will “kidnap” the young animals before killing them. They are caught by their hind legs and bundled into netting sacks which will cause the minimum of damage to their prized coats. They are put into big crates and taken by helicopter to ships at the edge of the ice- bound sea, and then carried to their destiny at fur farms further south. There the traders wait until they have lost all the fine white fur of their infancy and then kill them by injecting before removing the pelts.