Australia Network - English Bites - Series 8

Contact Us

Mailing Lists

Episode 6: Taronga Zoo

Episode 6: Taronga Zoo
This story take us to Taronga zoo in Sydney with Priya. We'll look at phrases with the word close and what it means to pick and choose. First, what's Priya doing at the zoo?

Transcript

This story take us to Taronga zoo in Sydney with Priya. We'll look at phrases with the word close and what it means to pick and choose. First, what's Priya doing at the zoo?

I'm going to be a volunteer today. I'm very excited about that. I get to be up-close with the animals and it's a great opportunity. I'm doing this because I love animals and also it's a great opportunity actually be behind the scenes.

She's being a volunteer – she's working for no pay, just to help. She gets to be 'up close' with the animals. Being 'up close' means being closer than usual. Notice she says up close and not close up. You say close up to describe film or pictures like this. Now listen for another phrase that means the same as 'up close':

One of the most important things again that we need to do every day is have a good look at our animals and a good way of doing that is to come up and give them a little something to eat. And that then gives us the opportunity to just get in close and have a good look and make sure they're all healthy.

Get in close. She could have said get close in to mean the same thing. Now listen for the way the keeper asks Priya to do something:

So we're just going to feed out Priya. If you want to grab some of these branches..

She says 'if you want to grab some of these branches' - this is an indirect and polite way of asking someone to do something. Remember, she's a volunteer. Listen again:

So we're just going to feed out Priya. If you want to grab some of these branches..

Sure.

So we bring them in new food every single day. Is there any reason why the entire branch is being brought in or?

They're really fussy so they like to pick and choose which of the leaves they want to eat. So they're much better at telling apart which ones are good for them and which ones aren't, so we tend to leave the choices to them

The koalas are fussy and like to 'pick and choose'. To 'pick and choose' is to take the time to choose what you really want. Next, listen for a word that describes koalas who like to pick and choose:

So they're much better at telling apart which ones are good for them and which ones aren't, so we tend to leave the choices to them. And they are quite picky.

Picky means the same as fussy – they only take particular leaves. Now let's look at an animal that's no so picky.

This tree kangaroo is the Goodfellow's Tree Kangaroo. They're actually from Papua New Guinea. They're a kangaroo that has evolved to live up in the trees instead of on the ground.

He used 'a' in an unusual way. He said 'they're a kangaroo that has evolved to live up in the trees.' This is a way of saying they're a type of kangaroo. A type of kangaroo is singular, so he uses has. Listen:

They're a kangaroo that has evolved to live up in the trees instead of on the ground.

When he refers to the tree kangaroos in general as 'they', the subject is plural, so he uses 'have', they have:

Basically they have been hunted in their native habitat for their beautiful coat.

So we've seen that to be up close is to be closer than usual, that close in or in close means very near and that to pick and choose means to choose carefully. We'll finish with Priya describing her experience of being a volunteer:

Today's trip to the zoo was absolutely wonderful. I've had so much interaction with the animals and I didn't expect to work so close with the animals. I got to pet them, I got to feed them and it was just absolutely amazing. Coming to Taronga Zoo has just been such a wonderful experience and I'll never forget it.

English Bites is an informative and entertaining way to improve your knowledge of the English language.