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。
- Have you ever seen a penguin in real life or on TV?
- What is one word you think of when you hear “Antarctica”?
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。
- number /NUHM-ber/
- reason /REE-zuhn/
- count /kount/
- weather /WETH-er/
- chick /chik/
[noun] – the total amount or count of people or things
The number of students in the class dropped after summer vacation.
[noun] – the cause or explanation for something
The reason for the delay was the heavy traffic.
[verb] – to find the total number of something
The teacher used stickers to count how many books each student read.
[noun] – the conditions in the air above the earth, such as wind, rain, or temperature, especially at a particular time over a particular area
The weather was too windy for flying a kite.
[noun] – a baby bird, especially a young bird just after hatching
The chicks stayed close to their mother in the nest.
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 new satellite study shows that emperor penguin numbers dropped by 22% from 2009 to 2024. The study came out on June 10, 2025. It looked at 16 penguin colonies in parts of Antarctica, including the Antarctic Peninsula, Weddell Sea, and Bellingshausen Sea. The main reason for the drop is the fast melting of sea ice. This is happening because the Earth is getting warmer. Emperor penguins need strong sea ice to make nests and to find food. A scientist named Peter Fretwell said that the ice is getting smaller and it is hurting the penguins’ home.The researchers used satellite pictures and math to count the penguins. These 16 colonies are about 30% of all the emperor penguins in the world. Scientists said that if the sea ice keeps melting, animals like leopard seals and orcas might come to the colonies earlier and eat the penguins. Also, the water is getting warmer and the weather is changing, which may make it hard for chicks to grow and find food. Another expert, Daniel Zitterbart, said this problem is very serious. The study shows that emperor penguins are in danger because of climate change.
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。
- A new satellite study shows that emperor penguin numbers dropped by 22% from 2009 to 2024.
- The study looked at parts of Antarctica, not Africa and Asia.
- Emperor penguins can survive without sea ice.
- The researchers used satellite pictures and math to count the penguins.
- The 16 colonies are less than 10% of all the emperor penguins in the world.
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。
| number | reason | count | weather | chicks |
- The farmworker fed the ______ every morning.
- We had to ______ all the chairs before the event started.
- The ______ of tourists at the beach decreased during the rainy season.
- The ______ she left early was because she felt sick.
- We stayed indoors because the ______ was stormy.