…House, garden, a big tree, a woman, a sleeping baby, a lion bending over the baby.
Imagine what will be the story. Appoint a bunch of students to make up a simple story according to the picture. There stories may be different from the text.
Step IV Listening
Tell the students “we are going to read a story called Escape from the zoo”. Give them to read the text quickly to work out the question:
How did the lion escape?
…A tree fell onto its cage in the hurricane.
Step V Reading
Show a list of comprehension questions :
1. What did the radio ask people to do if they saw the lion?
2. What happened to the baby when she was cooking in the kitchen?
3. How did Mrs. Cousins feel at the moment when she saw the animal bending over the baby?
4. How did Mrs. Cousins manage to get the lion away from her baby?
5. What did Mrs. Cousins do after the lion went into the bush with the meat?
Answer:
1. asked the people to telephone the zoo and the police
2.A lion had got into her garden, jumped onto the table and was looking at her baby.
3.She held her breath, and her whole body went cold.
4.She picked up the leg of pork, went to the back door and opened it .
5.Mrs. Cousins ran to the table, picked up her baby in her arms, ran inside and shut the door.
Step VI Language points
Go over the questions with the whole class. Make sure the students understand and what to do. Ask them to read the text carefully to figure out the answers. Check the answers with the students. Deal with language points briefly.
A.the surprise of her life: a very great surprise
B.stood quite still: stood without moving
C.stared = looked in a fixed way
D.held her breath: stopped breathing
E.at that very moment: note the use of very to add emphasis
F.her whole body went cold: her whole body became cold with fear
G.worse still: what would be even worse
H.There was not a moment to lose: she had to act quickly
Step VII Practice
One night a hurricane struck Green Park Zoo. A big tree _____ onto the lion’s cage, and a young lion______ from the zoo. It might be dangerous to people and animals. The radio asked people to ______ the zoo and police when they ______ it.
The next day it was sunny. Mrs Cousins _______ her baby out into the garden. She ______ the baby in a basket on the table under a tree and ______ into the kitchen to ______ vegetables for lunch. When she had almost ______ the cooking, she ______ to the window to see. The everything was all right. She______ the young lion ______ beside her baby. She was so frightened that she did not know what to ______ . Suddenly she had an idea. She quickly took out a leg of pork from the fridge and ______ it in her hand so as to ________ the lion’s attention. Then she threw it as far as she could. The lion ______ off the table and _____ to the meat. Mrs Cousins ______ her baby buck inside the house and closed the door.