Objective Proficiency p 24. Meerkats. Secrets of an Animal Superstar. Extra Listening. .

'14.''00
As result of years of 1__________________, researchers could get near the meerkats, which was a 2_____________________.
To check if meerkats thrive in groups the 3________________________ of them helping one another needed to be measured.
To carry out the tests the researcher tried to 4________________ them with food that might 5____________ their 6_______________ as for example 7____________________, chicken, peanut butter and 8_______________ milk.
In spite of the researcher's 9_________________ efforts, the meerkats 10______________________ everything. However, they would 11________________ get hold of 12_______________ eggs.
The meerkats didn't like raw eggs but they were spotted 13__________________ a cooked hen's egg.
Thankfully, after years of 14____________ failures came a 15___________________.
Although the meerkats' behaviour in the wild is not altered with 16______________ of boiled egg, they make them cooperative. Discovering this represented the 17__________________ the project needed. From here they started to 18____________ proper data on the meerkats. They started wearing radio 19_________________ in order not to be lost and the study could get 20______________ thanks to the 21___________ snack.
The group of meerkats is led into the increasingly dry and 22____________________ where they will find sufficient 23______________ and scorpions to eat.
The meerkats are both 24_________________ and 25__________. This is why with the 26______________ they have an early warning system. Their duty is to  27______________.
The researcher approached the meerkat standing guard with his 28_____________ boiled egg in order to distract it but it has a job to do and won't be 29____________. 30_____________ meerkats 31________________ him occasionally to check if it is still there. If they can't see him because something blocks their view they think it has 32_______________. When that happens others 33____________________________ to keep guard.
Working as a group also helps them when facing predators such as a cobra. They try to intimidate it while staying just 34_______________ distance until in the end the cobra feels 35______________.






KEY
1. hard graft
graft: hard work. E.g. Their success was the result of years of hard graft.



2. remarkable achievement 



3. costs and benefits
thrive: to become, and continue to be, successful, strong, healthy, etc. E.g. These animals rarely thrive in captivity. 



4. lure
lure somebody (+ adverb/preposition): (disapproving) to persuade or trick somebody to go somewhere or to do something by promising them a reward. Entice. E.g. The child was lured into a car but managed to escape.Young people are lured to the city by the prospect of a job and money.  The campaign is designed to lure tourists back to the province.  You hope your kids will not be lured into smoking.



5. tickle
tickle: to amuse and interest somebody. E.g. tickle somebody/something to tickle somebody's imagination.


6. taste buds 
taste bud: one of the small structures on the tongue that allow you to recognize the flavours of food and drink. 



7. mealworms
mealworm /ˈmiːlwɜːm/ a larva /ˈlɑːvə/ which is used to feed pet birds.



8. condensed



9. culinary  
culinary /ˈkʌlɪnəri/ connected with cooking or food. E.g. culinary skills. Savour the culinary delights of Mexico.



10. turned up their noses at 
turn your nose up at something (informal) to refuse something, especially because you do not think that it is good enough for you. E.g. We offered her a perfectly good job, and she turned her nose up at it.



11. go all out to 
go all out for something | go all out to do something to make a very great effort to get something or do something. E.g. Brazil is going all out to protect its markets.



12. plover's
plover: /ˈplʌvə(r)/ a bird with long legs and a short tail that lives on wet ground.

13. devouring
devour:  /dɪˈvaʊə(r)/ devour something to eat all of something quickly, especially because you are very hungry. Gobble. Wolf.  E.g. He devoured half of his burger in one bite.



14. valiant 
valiant /ˈvæliənt/ very brave or determined. E.g. valiant warriors. She made a valiant attempt not to laugh. 



15. eureka moment

eureka  /juˈriːkə/  moment the moment when you suddenly understand something important, have a great idea, or find the answer to a problem. E.g. Her eureka moment came when she was reading a bedtime story to her son.

 

 

 

16. crumbs

crumb /krʌm/ a very small piece of food. E.g. She stood up and brushed the crumbs from her sweater.

 

 

 

17. kick-start

kick-start: an impetus given to start or resume a process. E.g. new investment will provide the kick-start needed to escape from recession.

 

 

 

18. gather

 

 

 

19. collars

collar: /ˈkɒlə(r)/ a band of leather or plastic put around the neck of an animal, especially a dog. E.g. a collar and lead/leash.

 

 

 

20. underway

underway: having started and in progress; being done or carried out. E.g. recruitment is well under way. Get underway (=begin):  The concert got underway at exactly 8.00.

 

 

 

21. tiny 

 

 

 

22. unforgiving bush

unforgiving:  (of a place, situation, etc.) unpleasant and causing difficulties for people. E.g. The island is an unforgiving place in winter.

the bush: an area of wild land that has not been cleared.

 

 

 

23. grubs

grub: the young form of an insect, that looks like a small fat worm. Larva.

24. predators

25. prey

26. sentinel /ˈsentɪnl/ a soldier whose job is to guard something. E.g. (figurative) a tall round tower standing sentinel over the river. Large dark pines stood like sentinels guarding the wintry (typical of winter) garden.

 

 

 

27. keep a lookout 

be on the lookout (for somebody/something)| keep a lookout (for somebody/something) (informal) to watch carefully for somebody/something in order to avoid danger, etc. or in order to find something you want. E.g. The public should be on the lookout for symptoms of the disease.

 

 

 

28. trusty (old use or humorous) that you have had a long time and have always been able to rely on. Reliable. E.g. a trusty friend. She spent years touring Europe with her trusty old camera.

 

 

 

29. swayed

sway: sway somebody to persuade somebody to believe something or do something. Influence. E.g. He's easily swayed. She wasn't swayed by his good looks or his clever talk. Do not allow yourselves to be swayed by these arguments.

30. foraging 

forage (for something) /ˈfɒrɪdʒ/ (especially of an animal) to search for food. E.g. The female only leaves the young when she forages for food.

 

 

 

31. glance up at

glance: to look quickly at something/somebody. E.g. She glanced at her watch. He glanced around the room. I glanced up quickly to see who had come in.

 

 

 

32. vanished 

 

 

 

33. put themselves up 

put up for something/ put yourself up for something to offer yourself as a candidate for a job or position. E.g. She is putting up for election to the committee. 

 

 

 

34. out of striking

within striking distance (of something) also in striking distance (of something)

1. very close to something. E.g.  The great thing about the house is that the ocean is within striking distance. We live within striking distance of both Baltimore and Washington.

2. very close to achieving something. E.g. The Republicans are within striking distance of winning the election.

 

 

 

35. outnumbered 

outnumber somebody/something to be greater in number than somebody/something. E.g. The demonstrators were heavily outnumbered by the police. In this profession, women outnumber men by two to one (= there are twice as many women as men). Despite being outnumbered, they managed to fight back bravely.  An area where sheep outnumber humans by twenty to one.

 

Speaking
1. Discuss with a partner what the meerkats teach us about the importance of...
- teamwork "all for one and one for all" and the power of group effort
- cooperation and collaboration
- communication
- solidarity
2. Have you ever gone to remarkable lengths to help somebody?

3. Have you ever bent over backwards to do something for somebody and they haven't even noticed or appreciated it and have turned their nose up at it?

4. Can you think of a job that was finished on time, thanks to the sheer hard graft of those involved.

5. What remarkable achievements have been splashed across the front pages of the Sunday papers lately?

6. Why do you think young people are lured to the city nowadays?

7. What food tickles your taste buds? 

8. What tickles your imagination?

9. Are you going all out to achieve something?

10. Who has good extraordinary culinary skills in your family? 

11. Has there been an eureka moment in your life?

12. What do you think could kick-start an upturn in our economy?

13. Have you ever lived in an unforgiving place in winter?

14. Have you ever had a trusty old car? Tell us about it.

15. Do you think the electorate can be easily swayed nowadays?

16. What kind of job or position would you put yourself up for?

17. What lies within striking distance of the place where you live?

18. How do you feel about living in a place where the locals are outnumbered by tourists

 

Vocabulary 

go to any, some, great, etc. lengths (to do something) to put a lot of effort into doing something, especially when this seems extreme. E.g. She goes to extraordinary lengths to keep her private life private. 

bend/lean over backwards (to do something) to make a great effort, especially in order to be helpful or fair. E.g. I've bent over backwards to help him. I bent over backwards to make it easier for her and she didn't even notice. She falls over backwards when she sees her mother-in-law.
He bent over backwards to get us tickets for the concert.

turn your nose up at something (informal) to refuse something, especially because you do not think that it is good enough for you. E.g. We offered her a perfectly good job, and she turned her nose up at it.
 

graft: hard work. E.g. Their success was the result of years of hard graft.  

splash something across/over something to put a photograph, news story, etc. in a place where it will be easily noticed. E.g. The story was splashed across the front pages of the Sunday papers. The name of their sponsors is splashed across the team's football shirts.

lure somebody (+ adverb/preposition): (disapproving) to persuade or trick somebody to go somewhere or to do something by promising them a reward. Entice. E.g. The child was lured into a car but managed to escape.Young people are lured to the city by the prospect of a job and money.  The campaign is designed to lure tourists back to the province.  You hope your kids will not be lured into smoking.

tickle: to amuse and interest somebody. E.g. tickle somebody/something to tickle somebody's imagination. The story of Peter Pan tickles my imagination.

taste bud: one of the small structures on the tongue that allow you to recognize the flavours of food and drink. 

go all out for something | go all out to do something to make a very great effort to get something or do something. E.g. Brazil is going all out to protect its markets.
culinary /ˈkʌlɪnəri/ connected with cooking or food. E.g. culinary skills. Savour the culinary delights of Mexico.
eureka  /juˈriːkə/  moment the moment when you suddenly understand something important, have a great idea, or find the answer to a problem. E.g. Her eureka moment came when she was reading a bedtime story to her son.
kick-start something to do something to help a process or project start more quickly. E.g. The government's attempt to kick-start the economy has failed.
upturn (in something) a situation in which something improves or increases over a period of time. E.g. an upturn in the economy. A sharp upturn in the number of tourists visiting the capital. Their fortunes have taken an upturn. The restaurant trade is on the upturn. 

unforgiving:  (of a place, situation, etc.) unpleasant and causing difficulties for people. E.g. The island is an unforgiving place in winter.

trusty (old use or humorous) that you have had a long time and have always been able to rely on. Reliable. E.g. a trusty friend. She spent years touring Europe with her trusty old camera.

electorate: /ɪˈlektərət/  the people in a country or an area who have the right to vote, thought of as a group. E.g. Only 60% of the electorate voted in the last election.

sway: sway somebody to persuade somebody to believe something or do something. Influence. E.g. He's easily swayed. She wasn't swayed by his good looks or his clever talk. Do not allow yourselves to be swayed by these arguments.

put up for something/ put yourself up for something to offer yourself as a candidate for a job or position. E.g. She is putting up for election to the committee.

within striking distance (of something) also in striking distance (of something)

1. very close to something. E.g.  The great thing about the house is that the ocean is within striking distance. We live within striking distance of both Baltimore and Washington.

2. very close to achieving something. E.g. The Republicans are within striking distance of winning the election.

outnumber somebody/something to be greater in number than somebody/something. E.g. The demonstrators were heavily outnumbered by the police. In this profession, women outnumber men by two to one (= there are twice as many women as men). Despite being outnumbered, they managed to fight back bravely.  An area where sheep outnumber humans by twenty to one.