The Reading / Listening - Dinosaur Sounds - Level 3

Dinosaurs disappeared 65 million years ago, so we don't really know what they sounded like. Of course, there are many movies with dinosaurs making all kinds of roars, screeches and screams. However, these noises are just guesses that movie directors make about how dinosaurs sounded. A new discovery has given scientists a better idea of the kinds of sounds dinosaurs made. The scientists examined a rare fossil. It was from a spiky, armoured dinosaur called an ankylosaur. The fossil is around 78 million years old. It includes a record of the ankylosaur's voice box. It is the world's oldest fossil of a voice box. The scientists believe the shape of the creature's voice box means it probably made bird-like sounds.

The research was led by Professor Junki Yoshida, a dinosaur researcher at the Fukushima Museum in Japan. Dr Yoshida did many tests on the shape of the fossilized voice box. He compared it with the voice box of dozens of birds, crocodiles, lizards and turtles. They now have a good idea of what the muscles around the voice box looked like. The muscles controlled the windpipe and sounds of the voice box. Yoshida's research may mean that movies like Jurassic Park got it wrong. Millions of years ago, the Tyrannosaurus rex probably made more of a tweeting sound, like a bird. Hollywood may have to change its scary roars and growls in future dinosaur films to a tweet-tweet sound.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Dinosaur Sounds - Level 0,  Dinosaur Sounds - Level 1   or  Dinosaur Sounds - Level 2

Sources
  • https://www.iflscience.com/spiky-armored-ankylosaurs-may-have-sounded-like-birds-according-to-a-rare-fossil-67719
  • https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/24/science/dinosaur-sounds-fossils.html
  • https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14840916


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Warm-ups

1. DINOSAUR SOUNDS: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about dinosaur sounds. Change partners often and share your findings.
2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, talk about these topics or words from the article. What will the article say about them? What can you say about these words and your life?
       dinosaurs / 65 million years ago / movies / noises / discovery / fossil / voice box /
       research . professor / birds / crocodiles / lizards / Tyrannosaurus rex / roars / tweet
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. DNA: Students A strongly believe scientists should bring dinosaurs back using DNA; Students B strongly believe this would be terrible. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. DINOSAURS: What do you know about these dinosaurs? What do you want to know? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

What I Know

What I Want to Know

Tyrannosaurus rex

 

 

Brontosaurus

 

 

Stegosaurus

 

 

Pterodactyl

 

 

Diplodocus

 

 

Triceratops

 

 
MY e-BOOK
ESL resource book with copiable worksheets and handouts - 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers / English teachers
See a sample

5. FOSSIL: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "fossil". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. YEARS AGO: Rank these with your partner. Put the most interesting ages to live at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • 65 million years ago
  • 10,000 years ago
  • 2,023 years ago
  • 1,000 years ago
  • 500 years ago
  • 200 years ago
  • 100 years ago
  • 50 years ago

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. disappeared a. The loud sound of a lion or other large animal.
      2. roar b. The action of finding something new.
      3. scream c. Gone; no longer here.
      4. discovery d. The shape or bones of a prehistoric plant or animal left in a rock.
      5. rare e. Not found very often; unusual because there are so few.
      6. fossil f. An animal, but not a human.
      7. creature g. A long, loud, sound we make when we are in pain or are in big danger.

    Paragraph 2

      8. shape h. The long, low sound a dog makes when it is a little angry.
      9. voice box i. The fibre and tissue in a body that gives the body strength to move and do things.
      10. compared j. Not correct or true; incorrect.
      11. muscles k. The outline of something or someone.
      12. wrong l. The part of our body that allows us to make sounds.
      13. probably m. Almost certainly.
      14. growl n. Looked at how two or more things are the same of different.

 

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

  1. Dinosaurs first appeared on Earth 65 million years ago.     T / F
  2. Hollywood dinosaur movies use realistic noises for dinosaurs.     T / F
  3. The scientists used a fossil to work out dinosaur sounds.     T / F
  4. The scientists looked at a record of a dinosaur called an ankylosaur.     T / F
  5. The lead researcher works at a university in Japan.     T / F
  6. A researcher compared the dinosaur's voice box with a bird's.     T / F
  7. Muscles control voice boxes and sounds.     T / F
  8. Hollywood will no longer use roaring sounds in dinosaur movies.     T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

  1. disappeared
  2. kinds
  3. idea
  4. examined
  5. believe
  6. led
  7. controlled
  8. movies
  9. scary
  10. future
  1. looked at
  2. films
  3. think
  4. regulated
  5. vanished
  6. frightening
  7. opinion
  8. upcoming
  9. sorts
  10. conducted

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

  1. Dinosaurs disappeared
  2. dinosaurs making all kinds of roars,
  3. A new discovery has given scientists a better
  4. The scientists examined a rare
  5. it probably made bird-
  6. the shape of the fossilized
  7. dozens of birds, crocodiles, lizards
  8. The muscles controlled
  9. movies like Jurassic Park
  10. in future dinosaur
  1. voice box
  2. and turtles
  3. like sounds
  4. films
  5. fossil
  6. got it wrong
  7. the windpipe
  8. 65 million years ago
  9. idea
  10. screeches and screams

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
guesses
probably
sounded
record
discovery
roars
how
rare

Dinosaurs disappeared 65 million years ago, so we don't really know what they (1) _____________________ like. Of course, there are many movies with dinosaurs making all kinds of                           (2) _____________________, screeches and screams. However, these noises are just (3) _____________________ that movie directors make about (4) _____________________ dinosaurs sounded. A new                 (5) _____________________ has given scientists a better idea of the kinds of sounds dinosaurs made. The scientists examined a           (6) _____________________ fossil. It was from a spiky, armoured dinosaur called an ankylosaur. The fossil is around 78 million years old. It includes a (7) _____________________ of the ankylosaur's voice box. It is the world's oldest fossil of a voice box. The scientists believe the shape of the creature's voice box means it                   (8) _____________________ made bird-like sounds.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
windpipe
dozens
future
led
idea
change
shape
wrong

The research was (9) _____________________ by Professor Junki Yoshida, a dinosaur researcher at the Fukushima Museum in Japan. Dr Yoshida did many tests on the (10) _____________________ of the fossilized voice box. He compared it with the voice box of (11) _____________________ of birds, crocodiles, lizards and turtles. They now have a good (12) _____________________ of what the muscles around the voice box looked like. The muscles controlled the (13) _____________________ and sounds of the voice box. Yoshida's research may mean that movies like Jurassic Park got it (14) _____________________. Millions of years ago, the Tyrannosaurus rex probably made more of a tweeting sound, like a bird. Hollywood may have to (15) _____________________ its scary roars and growls in (61) _____________________ dinosaur films to a tweet-tweet sound.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) Dinosaurs disappeared 65 million years ago, so we don't really know what ______
     a.  they sound it like
     b.  they sound did like
     c.  they sounded alike
     d.  they sounded like
2)  Of course, there are many movies with dinosaurs making all ______
     a.  kinds of roars
     b.  kinds of laws
     c.  kinds of rears
     d.  kinds of rays
3)  However, these noises are just guesses that ______
     a.  movie directors fake
     b.  movie directors make
     c.  movie directors bake
     d.  movie directors cake
4)  The scientists examined ______
     a.  a rare fossil
     b.  a rear fossil
     c.  a roar fossil
     d.  a raw fossil
5)  the shape of the creature's voice box means it probably made ______
     a.  bird-likes sounds
     b.  bird-liked sounds
     c.  bird-like sounds
     d.  bird-lake sounds

6)  The research was led by Professor Junki Yoshida, ______
     a.  a dinosaur research a
     b.  a dinosaur researched
     c.  a dinosaur risk searcher
     d.  a dinosaur researcher
7)  He compared it with the voice box of ______
     a.  dozen of birds
     b.  dozens off birds
     c.  dozens of birds
     d.  dozens of bird
8)  Yoshida's research may mean that movies like Jurassic Park ______
     a.  got it long
     b.  got it wrong
     c.  got them wrong
     d.  got it wrongly
9)  the Tyrannosaurus rex probably made more of ______
     a.  a tweet in sound
     b.  a twee ting sound
     c.  a twee tin sound
     d.  a tweeting sound
10)  change its scary roars and growls in ______
     a.  future dinosaur film
     b.  future dinosaur films
     c.  future dinosaur flimsy
     d.  future dinosaur flans

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Dinosaurs disappeared 65 (1) ____________________, so we don't really know what they sounded like. Of course, there are many movies with dinosaurs making all (2) ____________________, screeches and screams. However, these noises are just guesses that movie directors make about how dinosaurs sounded. A (3) ____________________ given scientists a better idea of the kinds of sounds dinosaurs made. The scientists examined (4) ____________________. It was from a spiky, armoured dinosaur called an ankylosaur. The fossil is around 78 million years old. It (5) ____________________ of the ankylosaur's voice box. It is the world's oldest fossil of a voice box. The scientists believe the shape of the creature's voice box (6) ____________________ made bird-like sounds.

The research (7) ____________________ Professor Junki Yoshida, a dinosaur researcher at the Fukushima Museum in Japan. Dr Yoshida did many tests on (8) ____________________ the fossilized voice box. He compared it with the voice box of dozens of birds, crocodiles, lizards and turtles. They now have a (9) ____________________ what the muscles around the voice box looked like. The muscles controlled (10) ____________________ sounds of the voice box. Yoshida's research may mean that movies like Jurassic Park got it wrong. Millions of years ago, the Tyrannosaurus rex (11) ____________________ of a tweeting sound, like a bird. Hollywood may have to (12) ____________________ roars and growls in future dinosaur films to a tweet-tweet sound.

Comprehension questions

  1. When does the article say dinosaurs disappeared?
  2. What sounds do movies show dinosaurs making besides screeches?
  3. Who makes guesses about dinosaur sounds?
  4. How old is the fossil the researchers examined?
  5. What makes the voice box produce a bird-like sound?
  6. Where does Professor Junki Yoshida work?
  7. What did Yoshida compare the fossilized voice box to besides birds?
  8. What controls the windpipe in the voice box?
  9. What movie did Yoshida suggest got it wrong?
  10. What sound will future Hollywood dinosaurs have to make?

Multiple choice quiz

1) When does the article say dinosaurs disappeared?
a) 87 million years ago
b) 65 million years ago
c) 56 million years ago
d) 78 million years ago
2) What sounds do movies show dinosaurs making besides screeches?
a) whispers and wheezes
b) grunts and growls
c) caws and cries
d) roars and screams
3) Who makes guesses about dinosaur sounds?
a) palaeontologists
b) bird lovers
c) movie directors
d) all of us
4) How old is the fossil the researchers examined?
a) 78 million years old
b) 87 million years old
c) 68 million years old
d) 86 million years old
5) What makes the voice box produce a bird-like sound?
a) pipes
b) its shape
c) a tweet chamber
d) air

6) Where does Professor Junki Yoshida work?
a) Fukushima Museum, Japan
b) Fukushima University
c) Japan University
d) the Museum University
7) What did Yoshida compare the fossilized voice box to besides birds?
a) flutes and whistles
b) songs and poems
c) crocodiles, lizards and turtles
d) real voice boxes
8) What controls the windpipe in the voice box?
a) muscles
b) wind
c) air
d) the stomach
9) What movie did Yoshida suggest got it wrong?
a) One Million Years B.C.
b) Walking with Dinosaurs
c) The Land that Time Forgot
d) Jurassic Park
10) What sound will future Hollywood dinosaurs have to make?
a) a cute sound
b) a terrifying chirp
c) a tweet-tweet sound
d) a blood-curdling hoot

Role play

Role  A – 65 Million Years Ago
You think the best period in time was 65 million years ago. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their times. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): 2,023 years ago, 500 years ago or 50 years ago.

Role  B – 2,023 Years Ago
You think the best period in time was 2,023 years ago. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their times. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): 65 million years ago, 500 years ago or 50 years ago.

Role  C – 500 Years Ago
You think the best period in time was 500 years ago. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their times. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): 2,023 years ago, 65 million years ago or 50 years ago.

Role  D – 50 Years Ago
You think the best period in time was 50 years ago. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their times. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): 2,023 years ago, 500 years ago or 65 million years ago.

After reading / listening

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words...

'dinosaur'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • and 'bird'.

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • • Share your findings with your partners.

    • Make questions using the words you found.

    • Ask your partner / group your questions.

    2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

    •Share your questions with other classmates / groups. •Ask your partner / group your questions.

    3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

    4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

    5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

    • disappeared
    • screams
    • better
    • called
    • 78
    • believe
    • researcher
    • tests
    • compared
    • controlled
    • tweeting
    • change

    Student survey

    Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

    (Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

    Discussion - Dinosaur Sounds

    STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

    1. What did you think when you read the headline?
    2. What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'dinosaurs'?
    3. What do you know about dinosaurs?
    4. What's your favourite dinosaur?
    5. Did you love dinosaurs when you were a child?
    6. What do you think dinosaurs sounded like?
    7. What would it be like to have dinosaurs now?
    8. Do you have a favourite dinosaur movie?
    9. What do you think of fossils?
    10. What would you like to know about dinosaurs?

    STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

    1. Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
    2. What do you think of when you hear the word 'birds'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. Would you like to be a dinosaur researcher?
    5. What do crocodiles, lizards and turtles sound like?
    6. What do you know about the Tyrannosaurus rex?
    7. Is it better that dinosaurs had a bird sound or a roar?
    8. What are your favourite animal sounds?
    9. Would you like scientists to use DNA to bring dinosaurs back?
    10. What questions would you like to ask the scientists?

    Discussion — Write your own questions

    STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

    (a) ________________

    (b) ________________

    (c) ________________

    (d) ________________

    (e) ________________

    STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

    (f) ________________

    (g) ________________

    (h) ________________

    (i) ________________

    (j) ________________

    Language — Cloze (Gap-fill)

    Dinosaurs disappeared 65 million years (1) ____, so we don't really know what they sounded like. Of course, there are many movies with dinosaurs making (2) ____ kinds of roars, screeches and screams. However, these noises are just guesses that movie directors make about (3) ____ dinosaurs sounded. A new discovery has given scientists a better idea of the kinds of sounds dinosaurs (4) ____. The scientists examined a rare fossil. It was from a spiky, armoured dinosaur called an ankylosaur. The fossil is around 78 million years old. It includes a (5) ____ of the ankylosaur's voice box. It is the world's oldest fossil of a voice box. The scientists believe the shape of the (6) ____ voice box means it probably made bird-like sounds.

    The research was led (7) ____ Professor Junki Yoshida, a dinosaur researcher at the Fukushima Museum in Japan. Dr Yoshida did many tests (8) ____ the shape of the fossilized voice box. He compared it with the voice box of dozens of birds, crocodiles, lizards and turtles. They now have a (9) ____ idea of what the muscles around the voice box looked like. The muscles controlled the windpipe and sounds of the voice box. Yoshida's research may (10) ____ that movies like Jurassic Park got it wrong. Millions of years ago, the Tyrannosaurus rex probably made more (11) ____ a tweeting sound, like a bird. Hollywood may have to change its (12) ____ roars and growls in future dinosaur films to a tweet-tweet sound.

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     passed     (b)     ago     (c)     age     (d)     before    
    2. (a)     whole     (b)     all     (c)     every     (d)     single    
    3. (a)     why     (b)     that     (c)     what     (d)     how    
    4. (a)     did     (b)     made     (c)     was     (d)     sounded    
    5. (a)     anecdote     (b)     summary     (c)     data     (d)     record    
    6. (a)     creatures     (b)     creature     (c)     creature's     (d)     creatives    
    7. (a)     by     (b)     of     (c)     on     (d)     at    
    8. (a)     of     (b)     at     (c)     on     (d)     to    
    9. (a)     goodly     (b)     goodness     (c)     goods     (d)     good     
    10. (a)     mean     (b)     meanie     (c)     meaning     (d)     meant    
    11. (a)     of     (b)     on     (c)     to     (d)     as    
    12. (a)     scary     (b)     scared     (c)     scarily     (d)     scares

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. Dinosaurs dedpparaeis 65 million years ago
    2. all kinds of asrro, screeches and screams
    3. A new cdeyriosv
    4. a ysipk, armoured dinosaur
    5. It is the world's oldest osifsl
    6. it abobpryl made bird-like sounds

    Paragraph 2

    1. a dinosaur hrcerserea
    2. dzosne of birds
    3. crocodiles, lizards and rtulset
    4. the cessulm around the voice box
    5. the epipindw and sounds of the voice box
    6. tfueru dinosaur films

    Put the text back together

    (...)  in Japan. Dr Yoshida did many tests on the shape of the fossilized voice box. He compared it with the voice box of
    (...)  like. Of course, there are many movies with dinosaurs making all kinds of roars, screeches
    (...)  around the voice box looked like. The muscles controlled the windpipe and sounds of the voice box. Yoshida's
    (...)  78 million years old. It includes a record of the ankylosaur's voice box. It is the world's oldest fossil of a voice
    (...)  and screams. However, these noises are just guesses that movie directors make about how dinosaurs
    (...)  box. The scientists believe the shape of the creature's voice box means it probably made bird-like sounds.
    (...)  ago, the Tyrannosaurus rex probably made more of a tweeting sound, like a
    (...)  examined a rare fossil. It was from a spiky, armoured dinosaur called an ankylosaur. The fossil is around
    (...)  bird. Hollywood may have to change its scary roars and growls in future dinosaur films to a tweet-tweet sound.
    (...)  The research was led by Professor Junki Yoshida, a dinosaur researcher at the Fukushima Museum
    (...)  dozens of birds, crocodiles, lizards and turtles. They now have a good idea of what the muscles
    (...)  sounded. A new discovery has given scientists a better idea of the kinds of sounds dinosaurs made. The scientists
    (  1  ) Dinosaurs disappeared 65 million years ago, so we don't really know what they sounded
    (...)  research may mean that movies like Jurassic Park got it wrong. Millions of years

    Put the words in the right order

    1. like   .   they   what   don't   really   know   We   sounded
    2. dinosaurs   kinds   making   all   roars   .   with   of   Movies
    3. Guesses   movie   directors   dinosaurs  make  about   sounded   .  how
    4. of   oldest   The   world's   a   box   .   voice   fossil
    5. box   .   voice   shape   the   The   of   creature's
    6. tests   on   the   of   shape   Many   fossil   .   the
    7. box   .   voice   it   He   compared   the   with
    8. muscles   the   like   .   around   What   box   looked   voice
    9. windpipe   of   Muscles   box   .   the   the   controlled   voice
    10. Hollywood   may   have   its   change   to   roars   .   scary

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    Dinosaurs disappeared 65 million years ago, so we don't really / real know what they sounded like. Of course, there are many movies with dinosaurs making all kinds of rears / roars, screeches and screams. However, these noises are just guessed / guesses that movie directors make about what / how dinosaurs sounded. A new discovery that's / has given scientists a better idea of / at the kinds of sounds dinosaurs made. The scientists examined a rare fossil. It was that / from a spiky, armoured dinosaur called an ankylosaur. The fossil is around 78 million years old / age. It includes a record of the ankylosaur's voice box. It is a / the world's oldest fossil of a voice box. The scientists believe the shape of the creature's voice box means it probably made bird-like sounds / sound.

    The research was led by / on Professor Junki Yoshida, a dinosaur researcher at the Fukushima Museum in Japan. Dr Yoshida did much / many tests on the shape of the fossilized voice box. He compared them / it with the voice box of dozens of birds, crocodiles, lizard / lizards and turtles. They now have a good idea of what / that the muscles around the voice box looked like. The muscles controlled the drainpipe / windpipe and sounds of the voice box. Yoshida's research may mean / meaning that movies like Jurassic Park got it wrongly / wrong. Millions of years ago, the Tyrannosaurus rex probably made more / most of a tweeting sound, like a bird. Hollywood may have to change its scary roars and growls in / on future dinosaur films to a tweet-tweet sound.

    Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct. Look up the definition of new words.

    Insert the vowels (a, e, i, o, u)

    D_n_s__rs  d_s_pp__r_d  65  m_ll__n  y__rs  _g_,  s_  w_  d_n't  r__lly  kn_w  wh_t  th_y  s__nd_d  l_k_.  _f  c__rs_,  th_r_  _r_  m_ny  m_v__s  w_th  d_n_s__rs  m_k_ng  _ll  k_nds  _f  r__rs,  scr__ch_s  _nd  scr__ms.  H_w_v_r,  th_s_  n__s_s  _r_  j_st  g__ss_s  th_t  m_v__  d_r_ct_rs  m_k_  _b__t  h_w  d_n_s__rs  s__nd_d.  _  n_w  d_sc_v_ry  h_s  g_v_n  sc__nt_sts  _  b_tt_r  _d__  _f  th_  k_nds  _f  s__nds  d_n_s__rs  m_d_.  Th_  sc__nt_sts  _x_m_n_d  _  r_r_  f_ss_l.  _t  w_s  fr_m  _  sp_ky,  _rm__r_d  d_n_s__r  c_ll_d  _n  _nkyl_s__r.  Th_  f_ss_l  _s  _r__nd  78  m_ll__n  y__rs  _ld.  _t  _ncl_d_s  _  r_c_rd  _f  th_  _nkyl_s__r's  v__c_  b_x.  _t  _s  th_  w_rld's  _ld_st  f_ss_l  _f  _  v__c_  b_x.  Th_  sc__nt_sts  b_l__v_  th_  sh_p_  _f  th_  cr__t_r_'s  v__c_  b_x  m__ns  _t  pr_b_bly  m_d_  b_rd-l_k_  s__nds.

    Th_  r_s__rch  w_s  l_d  by  Pr_f_ss_r  J_nk_  Y_sh_d_,  _  d_n_s__r  r_s__rch_r  _t  th_  F_k_sh_m_  M_s__m  _n  J_p_n.  Dr  Y_sh_d_  d_d  m_ny  t_sts  _n  th_  sh_p_  _f  th_  f_ss_l_z_d  v__c_  b_x.  H_  c_mp_r_d  _t  w_th  th_  v__c_  b_x  _f  d_z_ns  _f  b_rds,  cr_c_d_l_s,  l_z_rds  _nd  t_rtl_s.  Th_y  n_w  h_v_  _  g__d  _d__  _f  wh_t  th_  m_scl_s  _r__nd  th_  v__c_  b_x  l__k_d  l_k_.  Th_  m_scl_s  c_ntr_ll_d  th_  w_ndp_p_  _nd  s__nds  _f  th_  v__c_  b_x.  Y_sh_d_'s  r_s__rch  m_y  m__n  th_t  m_v__s  l_k_  J_r_ss_c  P_rk  g_t  _t  wr_ng.  M_ll__ns  _f  y__rs  _g_,  th_  Tyr_nn_s__r_s  r_x  pr_b_bly  m_d_  m_r_  _f  _  tw__t_ng  s__nd,  l_k_  _  b_rd.  H_llyw__d  m_y  h_v_  t_  ch_ng_  _ts  sc_ry  r__rs  _nd  gr_wls  _n  f_t_r_  d_n_s__r  f_lms  t_  _  tw__t-tw__t  s__nd.

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    dinosaurs disappeared 65 million years ago so we dont really know what they sounded like of course there are many movies with dinosaurs making all kinds of roars screeches and screams however these noises are just guesses that movie directors make about how dinosaurs sounded a new discovery has given scientists a better idea of the kinds of sounds dinosaurs made the scientists examined a rare fossil it was from a spiky armoured dinosaur called an ankylosaur the fossil is around 78 million years old it includes a record of the ankylosaurs voice box it is the worlds oldest fossil of a voice box the scientists believe the shape of the creatures voice box means it probably made birdlike sounds

    the research was led by professor junki yoshida a dinosaur researcher at the fukushima museum in japan dr yoshida did many tests on the shape of the fossilized voice box he compared it with the voice box of dozens of birds crocodiles lizards and turtles they now have a good idea of what the muscles around the voice box looked like the muscles controlled the windpipe and sounds of the voice box yoshidas research may mean that movies like jurassic park got it wrong millions of years ago the tyrannosaurus rex probably made more of a tweeting sound like a bird hollywood may have to change its scary roars and growls in future dinosaur films to a tweettweet sound

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    Dinosaursdisappeared65millionyearsago,sowedon'treallyknowwha
    ttheysoundedlike.Ofcourse,therearemanymovieswithdinosaursma
    kingallkindsofroars,screechesandscreams.However,thesenoisesare
    justguessesthatmoviedirectorsmakeabouthowdinosaurssounded.A
    newdiscoveryhasgivenscientistsabetterideaofthekindsofsoundsdin
    osaursmade.Thescientistsexaminedararefossil.Itwasfromaspiky,ar
    moureddinosaurcalledanankylosaur.Thefossilisaround78millionyea
    rsold.Itincludesarecordoftheankylosaur'svoicebox.Itistheworld'sold
    estfossilofavoicebox.Thescientistsbelievetheshapeofthecreature'sv
    oiceboxmeansitprobablymadebird-likesounds.Theresearchwasledb
    yProfessorJunkiYoshida,adinosaurresearcherattheFukushimaMuse
    uminJapan.DrYoshidadidmanytestsontheshapeofthefossilizedvoice
    box.Hecompareditwiththevoiceboxofdozensofbirds,crocodiles,lizar
    dsandturtles.Theynowhaveagoodideaofwhatthemusclesaroundthe
    voiceboxlookedlike.Themusclescontrolledthewindpipeandsoundsof
    thevoicebox.Yoshida'sresearchmaymeanthatmovieslikeJurassicPar
    kgotitwrong.Millionsofyearsago,theTyrannosaurusrexprobablymad
    emoreofatweetingsound,likeabird.Hollywoodmayhavetochangeitss
    caryroarsandgrowlsinfuturedinosaurfilmstoatweet-tweetsound.

    Free writing

    Write about the lesson page for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

     

    Academic writing

    We need to spend a lot more money on researching dinosaurs. Discuss.

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

     

    Homework

    1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.
    2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about this news story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
    3. DINOSAUR SOUNDS: Make a poster about dinosaur sounds. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. HOLLYWOOD: Write a magazine article about Hollywood making all future dinosaur movies with dinosaurs making bird sounds. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against this.
    Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).
    5. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.
    6. LETTER: Write a letter to an expert on dinosaur sounds. Ask him/her three questions about dinosaur sounds. Give him/her three of your ideas. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

    A Few Additional Activities for Students

    Ask your students what they have read, seen or heard about this news in their own language. Students are likely to / may have have encountered this news in their L1 and therefore bring a background knowledge to the classroom.

    Get students to role play different characters from this news story.

    Ask students to keep track of this news and revisit it to discuss in your next class.

    Ask students to male predictions of how this news might develop in the next few days or weeks, and then revisit and discuss in a future class.

    Ask students to write a follow-up story to this news.

    Students role play a journalist and someone who witnessed or was a part of this news. Perhaps they could make a video of the interview.

    Ask students to keep a news journal in English and add this story to their thoughts.

    Also...

    Buy my 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers eBook. It has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for:

    • News
    • Warm ups
    • Pre-reading / Post-reading
    • Using headlines
    • Working with words
    • While-reading / While-listening
    • Moving from text to speech
    • Post-reading / Post-listening
    • Discussions
    • Using opinions
    • Plans
    • Language
    • Using lists
    • Using quotes
    • Task-based activities
    • Role plays
    • Using the central characters in the article
    • Using themes from the news
    • Homework

    Buy my book

    $US 9.99

    Answers

    (Please look at page 26 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

    Back to the top

    Help Support This Web Site

    • Please consider helping Breaking News English.com

    Sean Banville's Book

    Thank You