©(Qiong Wu via AP)
Pre-reading questions:
I will read each question. Then, please answer them.
講師がそれぞれの質問を読むので答えましょう。
- Do you think insects are interesting?
- Have you ever seen an insect with a very strange body?
Vocabulary:
I will read the words, meanings, and sample sentences. Then, repeat after me.
単語、意味、例文を読みます。講師に続いて音読しましょう。
- publish /PUHB-lish/
- tiny /TAHY-nee/
- behavior /bih-HEYV-yer/
- shape /sheyp/
- valuable /VAL-yoo-uh-buhl/
[verb] – to make information, a book, or research available to the public
A new report published by NASA explains the future of space exploration.
[adjective] – very small in size
She found a tiny frog hiding under the leaf.
[noun] – the way a person, animal, or thing acts or responds
The behavior of dolphins shows they are very intelligent animals.
[noun] – the external form or appearance of something
The shape of the new building looks like a giant wave.
[adjective] – very useful or important
The old map gave us valuable clues about the treasure’s location.
Article reading:
Please read the whole article. Then, I will check your pronunciation and intonation.
記事を音読しましょう。講師はあなたの発音とイントネーションを確認します。
A recent study published in BMC Biology has uncovered a 99-million-year-old parasitic wasp trapped in amber from Myanmar’s Kachin region. This ancient wasp, named Sirenobethylus charybdis, lived during the time of dinosaurs and had a very unusual way of hunting. Female wasps had special flap-like parts on their abdomen, covered in bristles. These flaps looked like tiny Venus flytraps and worked like small bear traps—not to kill, but to tightly hold other insects. Researchers from the Natural History Museum of Denmark, Capital Normal University, and the Beijing Xiachong Amber Museum led the study. They think the wasp used the flaps to grip a host insect while laying an egg. Once the egg hatched, the baby wasp would eat the host from the inside—a common behavior in parasitic wasps. What makes this wasp special is the unique shape of its body, which shows a type of evolution not seen before in fossils. While some modern wasps have similar behaviors, none have the same complex body features. Scientists say this discovery gives valuable insight into insect evolution.
True or False:
Read the sentences and identify if they are true or false based on the article.
文章を読んで、記事に基づいて正誤を答えましょう。
- The wasp was found in a rock from Japan.
- The wasp lived a long time ago, during the time of dinosaurs.
- The female wasp had wings shaped like butterfly wings.
- The flaps on the wasp’s body were used to hold other insects.
- The wasp laid an egg on a leaf before flying away.
Fill in the blanks:
Choose the correct word from the table, then fill in the blanks.
適切な言葉を選んで空欄を埋めましょう。
published | tiny | behavior | shape | valuable |
- We used a ______ camera to film the insects in their nest.
- An article ______ in a health magazine warns about the dangers of poor sleep.
- This puzzle piece has a very unusual ______ that doesn’t fit anywhere.
- Teachers gave ______ advice to students before the exams.
- Scientists studied the ______ of robots in a busy environment.