2014. március 24., hétfő

In the news: Warmer springs boost long-tailed tit survival

Az eredeti cikk ma jelent meg a BBC honlapján. Egy rövid részletet vizsgálunk meg belőle. Középfok körüli szintre ajánljuk.

Long-tailed tit on a branch
Warm spring weather boosts long-tailed tits' chances of surviving the winter, scientists have said.

The UK's population of these little birds has more than doubled in the last forty years. A 19-year study by researchers in Sheffield links rising spring temperatures to their improved survival. Biologists suggest the birds are rare "winners" when it comes to climate change.

The long-tailed tit is named for its distinctive rear feathers that are longer than its body. If judged solely on body size, it would be Britain's smallest bird.

In the past, scientists have suggested that cold, wet weather is bad for small birds as they have to expend energy to keep warm but food is less available. Bad weather during a breeding season has been linked to smaller populations because birds produce fewer young. But overall survival was thought to be connected to winter conditions.

Researchers at the University of Sheffield studied long-tailed tits living wild in the Rivelin Valley, South Yorkshire for 19 years. They caught the birds and fitted them with identifying rings before releasing them. The scientists returned between March and May every year to assess numbers and ring any new arrivals.

The long-term data collected allowed PhD student Philippa Gullett to investigate how the birds reacted to the weather. She found that survival rates were actually more closely connected with spring conditions and that winter weather had no effect.

"What seems to be going on is that the tits try to raise their chicks at any cost", said Ms Gullett, explaining that the birds only live for around three years, making each breeding season precious.
"If it's cold and wet in spring, that makes their job much tougher. Food is harder to find; eggs and chicks are at risk of getting cold. The result is that by the end of the breeding season, the adult birds are exhausted."

But when spring conditions are fine, the birds do not wear themselves out and are better able to cope with the autumn and winter weather later that year.

Adapted from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/26687503


Vocabulary

boost jelentősen megnövel
tit cinege
tail farok
when it comes to... a ...-ról beszélve
is named for ..-ról nevezték el/kapta a nevét
feather (madár)toll
solely csupán, kizárólag
expend felhasznál, ráfordít
breeding season költési időszak (to breed, bred bred)

Nyelvi jegyzetek

Alább néhány érdekes nyelvtani és nyelvhasználati jelenséget vizsgálunk meg, ezeket érdemes a tanulókkal megbeszélni a szövegfeldolgozás valamely fázisában.
 
Warm spring weather boosts long-tailed tits' chances of surviving the winter, scientists have said1.

The UK's population of these little birds has more than doubled2 in the last forty years. A 19-year3 study by researchers in Sheffield links rising spring temperatures to their improved survival4. Biologists suggest5 the birds are rare "winners" when it comes to climate change.

The long-tailed tit is named for6 its distinctive rear feathers that are longer than its body. If judged solely on body size, it would be Britain's smallest bird.

In the past, scientists have suggested7 that cold, wet weather is bad for small birds as they have to expend energy to keep warm but food is less available. Bad weather during a breeding season has been linked to8 smaller populations because birds produce fewer young9. But overall survival was thought to be connected to winter conditions.

Researchers at the University of Sheffield studied long-tailed tits living wild10 in the Rivelin Valley, South Yorkshire for 19 years. They caught the birds and fitted them with identifying rings before releasing them. The scientists returned between March and May every year to assess numbers and ring any new arrivals.

The long-term data collected11 allowed PhD student Philippa Gullett to investigate how the birds reacted to the weather. She found that survival rates were12 actually more closely connected with spring conditions and that winter weather had13 no effect.

"What seems to be going14 on is that the tits try to raise their chicks at any cost", said Ms Gullett, explaining that the birds only live for around three years, making each breeding season precious.
"If it's cold and wet in spring, that makes their job much tougher. Food is harder to find; eggs and chicks are at risk of getting cold. The result is that by the end of the breeding season, the adult birds are exhausted."

But when spring conditions are fine, the birds do not wear themselves out and are better able to cope with the autumn and winter weather later that year.

  1. present perfect igeidő - eredményszabály
  2. present perfect ismét - összefoglalás: eddig már. Súgónak ott az in the last forty years is. Érdekes még a more than kifejezés szórendi helye, de logikus, hiszen a double-ra vonatkozik.
  3. jelzői, melléknévi szerepben van a kifejezés, ilyenkor tilos többes számot használni. Lásd még: a ten-year-old girl etc.
  4. link something to something - vmit összekapcsol vmivel
  5. hívd fel a tanuló figyelmét, hogy a szó nem csak "javasol" jelentésű. Itt: azt mondják, úgy vélik. Máshol, főleg tanulmányoknál: arra enged követekeztetni, hogy...
  6. hívd fel a figyelmet a szenvedő szerkezet használatára!
  7. ismét present perfect - volt már ilyen, eddig már... Összefoglalás szabály
  8. ugyanaz, ugyanazért
  9. érdekes a szerkezet, főnevet csinált a melléknévből, számolható az így kapott főnév, de nem tesszük többes számba. Hasonlítsd majd össze a sheep, fish stb. főnevekkel, melyek ugyanilyenek. A melléknevekből képzett főnevek szokás szerint ilyenek, bár inkább kollektívumok: the rich are..., the poor are...
  10. participle szerkezet: olyan cinegék, amelyek vadon élnek
  11. ez is participle, de ez már múlt idejű: azok az adatok, amelyeket összegyűjtöttek - az összegyűjtött adatok
  12. reported speech, found a kezdete, ami múlt idő, ezért igeidő-egyeztetés kell, ez a were tehát jelenre vonatkozik: azt találta, hogy ez és ez VAN - most.
  13. meg ez is, ugyanazért
  14.  hívd fel a figyelmet a continuous infinitive-re. seems után infinitív kell, de egyszersmind folyamatos is.

Mit lehet még csinálni a szöveggel?

  • A tanulók mondják el a tartalmát röviden angolul
  • Írjanak hozzá kérdéseket angolul
  • Rövid beszélgetés: a témát magát megbeszélni feltehetőleg nem tudod majd, hacsak nem speciális érdeklődésűek a tanulóid. A témával akár lazán kapcsolatos kérdéseket azonban nagyon is meg lehet beszélni. Pl:
    • What do you think about this past mild winter?
    • What are some of the things you ususally do every spring?
    • What are some of the things that you associate with spring?
    • Do you have a garden? Do you hear/watch birds?
    • When was the last time you went to a forest? What did you do or see there?

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