Work in pairs. Ask and answer questions about penguins. Ask about: • where penguins live?
• if they live near the North or the South Pole?
• in what penguins are different from other birds?
• what they look like?
• what they were like long ago?
• how it happened that they can’t fly?
• what they can do very well?
• why penguins don’t feel cold?
Where do penguins live?
They live along the Antarctic continent, in Peru, Brazil, Southwest Africa, New Zealand and in the south of Australia.
Do they live near the North or the South Pole?
They live near the South Pole.
In what are penguins different from other birds?
They can stand up straight and walk but they can’t fly.
What do they look like?
They look like people wearing black coats and white shirts.
What were they like long ago?
Ages ago, the penguins were about 2 metres tall and could fly as well as any other bird.
How did it happen that they can’t fly?
Many scientists say that it happened because penguins had very few enemies. They lived on the territories where there was practically nobody dangerous for them. So they could safely spend all the time on land or in the water. They stopped using their wings. In time those wings became very small, until today they are useless for flying.
What can they do very well?
Penguins are fantastic swimmers.
Why don’t penguins feel cold?
Penguins developed a thick coat of fat to protect them from the icy cold of the territories where they live.