Learn English with PBS

Check the words you already know. Marca las palabras que ya conoces. Marque as palavras que você já conhece. 이미 아는 단어에 체크하세요. Позначте слова, які ви вже знаєте.

• ☐ ☐ ☐ impale v. - make a large hole with a long sharp weapon or tool
• ☐ ☐ ☐ next to impossible exp. - almost impossible
• ☐ ☐ ☐ fearsome adj. - scary, dangerous
• ☐ ☐ ☐ wield v. - use (a weapon)
• ☐ ☐ ☐ plod along phv. - walk slowly and without grace or skill
• ☐ ☐ ☐ packing adj. - containing
• ☐ ☐ ☐ pierce v. - make a hole with a sharp instrument
• ☐ ☐ ☐ quills n. - the hollow sharp spines of a porcupine [image]
• ☐ ☐ ☐ a decoy n. - a thing used to mislead or lure an animal or person into a trap
• ☐ ☐ ☐ spikey adj. - like a spike, sharp
• ☐ ☐ ☐ mess with phv. - bother
• ☐ ☐ ☐ bristle v. - make hair (or quills) stand up away from the skin [image]
• ☐ ☐ ☐ densest adj. - thickest
• ☐ ☐ ☐ stink v. - smell bad
• ☐ ☐ ☐ coated adj. - covered
• ☐ ☐ ☐ waxy adj. - covered in wax (a thick yellow liquid, the material of candles)
• ☐ ☐ ☐ grease n. - a thick oily liquid
• ☐ ☐ ☐ pungent adj. - having a bad smell
• ☐ ☐ ☐ musky adj. - a bad smell
• ☐ ☐ ☐ back off phv. - get away (from someone)
• ☐ ☐ ☐ a myth n. - not true
• ☐ ☐ ☐ a hypodermic needle n. - a medical needle [image]
• ☐ ☐ ☐ a tip n. - the sharp point or end of something
• ☐ ☐ ☐ microscopic adj. - very very small
• ☐ ☐ ☐ a barb n. - a sharp projection near the end of an arrow or fishhook [image]
• ☐ ☐ ☐ lodged in adj. - stuck in
• ☐ ☐ ☐ an infection n. - becoming sick with disease because of bacteria or dirt
• ☐ ☐ ☐ an antibiotic n. - a medicine that fights bacteria and infection
• ☐ ☐ ☐ inhibit v. - prevent, reduce, slow
• ☐ ☐ ☐ a surgical staple n. - a metal device used to close wounds [image]
• ☐ ☐ ☐ clumsy adj. - awkward in movement
• ☐ ☐ ☐ stay put v. - not move
• ☐ ☐ ☐ take hold v. - become fixed, stable, common
• ☐ ☐ ☐ dissolve v. - change from solid to liquid, disappear
• ☐ ☐ ☐ sharp adj. - smart, clever

n. - noun,    v. - verb,    phv. - phrasal verb,    adj. - adjective,    exp. - expression

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1. Porcupine quills are _____ to remove.
   easy
   almost impossible
   impossible
   
   
2. Porcupines tend to eat _____, _____, and _____.
   bark
   quills
   leaves
   acorns
   insects
   pine cones
   
   
3. Porcupines have about _____ quills.
   3000
   30 000
   300 000
   
   
4. Porcupine quills are _____ the long white hairs.
   under
   over
   
   
5. The quills are densest _____.
   around their face
   on their backside
   on their tail
   
   
6. The quills smell bad because they are covered in _____.
   feces (shit)
   poison
   bacteria
   a pungent grease
   
   
7. Porcupines can also _____ to defend themselves.
   bite
   use their tails
   shoot their quills
   
   
8. The tips of porcupine quills are covered in _____.
   fans
   barbs
   bacteria
   antibiotics
   
   
9. Getting stuck with a quill _____ to infection.
   doesn’t usually lead
   usually leads
   
   
10. The quills' grease _____ the growth of bacteria.
    promotes
    reduces
    stops
    
    
11. Porcupines are quite _____.
    fast
    heavy
    clumsy
    aggressive
    
    
12. Researchers want to make surgical staples that work like porcupine quills because _____.
    they are very sharp
    they dissolve over time
    they will reduce infection
    they are inexpensive to produce
    
    
13. Normal surgical staples _____ and _____
    cause damage
    are not very sharp
    are expensive to produce
    increase the risk of infection
    
    

Score:

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Directions: Write sentences about the video clip using the words given. You can change the word form or add words, but you cannot change the word order.
( ) = optional   [ ] = necessary

Instrucciones: Escriba oraciones sobre el videoclip usando las palabras dadas. Puede cambiar la forma de la palabra o agregar palabras, pero no puede cambiar el orden de las palabras.

Instruções:: Escreva orações sobre o videoclipe usando as palavras-chave. Você pode alterar a forma da palavra ou adicionar palavras, mas não pode alterar a ordem das palavras.

지시 : 주어진 단어를 사용하여 비디오 클립에 대한 문장을 씁니다. 어형을 변경하거나 단어를 추가할 수 있지만 어순은 변경할 수 없습니다.

Інструкції: Напишіть речення про відеокліп, використовуючи подані слова. Ви можете змінювати форму слова або додавати слова, але не можете змінювати порядок слів.

porcupine / have / razor / sharp / quill / that / design / impale

Porcupines have razor sharp quills that are designed to impale.

although / porcupine / slow / clumsy / they / safe / predator / because / quill

Although porcupines are slow and clumsy, they are safe from predators because of their quills.

porcupine / quill / under / layer / long / hair

Porcupine quills are under a layer of long hair(s).

porcupine / usually / keep / quill / flat / against / body / but / they / bristle / when / they / danger

Porcupines usually keep their quills flat against their body, but they bristle when they are in danger.

quill / smell / bad / because / they / coat / pungent / wax / grease

The quills smell bad because they are coated in (a) pungent waxy grease.

porcupine / not / actual / shoot / quill

Porcupines [can't/don't] actually shoot (out) their quills.

tip / quill / cover / microscopic / backward-face / barb

The tips of [their/the] quills are covered in microscopic, backward-facing barbs.

when / you / try / remove / quill / barb / fan / out

When you try to remove the quills, the barbs fan out.

When you try to remove a quill, its barb fans out.

get / stuck / quill / not / usually / lead / infection / because / grease / act / like / natural / antibiotic

Getting stuck [with/by] a quill doesn’t usually lead to infection because the grease acts like a natural antibiotic.

because / porcupine / quite / clumsy / they / sometimes / accident / quill / self

Because porcupines are quite clumsy, they sometimes accidentally quill themselves.

researcher / want / copy / design / porcupine / quill / for / surgical / staple

Researchers want to copy the design of porcupine quills for surgical staples.

these / staple / cause / less / damage / and / keep / infection / out

These staples [will/would/could] cause less damage and keep infection out.

1. What are the three most interesting facts that you remember about porcupines?
2. Researchers want to make surgical staples that are similar to porcupine quills. Explain why. Try to use these words:
       bacteria, barbs, curved, damage, dissolve, infection, speed up, wounds
3. Can you think of any other technology or innovation that was inspired by some animal body part or feature? Can't think of any? Check out this [ article ] for more information.
4. Have you ever seen a porcupine? Do you know where (in which countries) they are common? Are they common in your country?
5. A group of porcupines (mother + babies) is called a prickle. These words also refer to animal groups - a school, a pride, a murder, a pod. Can you guess which animal each word is associated with?

   a school - a group of fish
   a pride - a group of lions
   a murder - a group of crows
   a pod - a group of whales
   

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