Learning English

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Hard: Upper intermediate level and above, B2 and above 

Introduction

Read the article and answer the questions below. To listen to this article, click here for an audio download.

Read

1   Animals build their homes to achieve different living goals. Bees build hives to store and protect food, spiders spin webs to catch prey and beavers build dams to create pools. But, as you walk around a town or stroll along a countryside pathway, you may notice some unique homes up on the treetops – nests.

2   Like architects, birds carefully engineer their nests before building them. A report named Architectural traditions in the structures built by cooperative weaver birds says that their designs are influenced by those before them. A study released by iScience finds that birds follow a culture that gets passed down. Not the high culture of art, literature and music, but an older process of transmitting traits and skills through generations.

3   Bird nest building: visions for the future, says that birds who are first-time builders will often copy familiar individuals, highlighting how important this individual, perhaps the parent, is. Sound familiar? An article in the National Library of Medicine explains how children learn by imitating their caregiver.

4   These behaviours, though, can also change in response to pressures of natural selection, a term coined by Charles Darwin in his theory of evolution. Competition is one of the three components of that theory.

5   And it's not just in the human world where certain property locations are highly desirable. Some species of birds even steal nest locations from others. Studies at the Zoological Society of London have discovered that invasive species will compete with native birds for suitable trees to build their nests in. Experiments published in Science Direct also show that most female birds look for fresh, green nests when choosing their mate. A report from RSPB further adds that in some species of birds, such as wrens, the male will build multiple nests from which the female can choose her favourite and even tidy it up. This tells us that, like humans, the quality of a home, in addition to its location and cleanliness, can influence whether a pair of birds decide to live and start a family there.

Questions

1. Match the headings to the paragraph.

Paragraph 1 _______
Paragraph 2 _______
Paragraph 3 _______
Paragraph 4 _______
Paragraph 5 _______

a. Bird behaviours can change
b. Bird behaviours never change
c. Birds and other animals' homes
d. Birds compete for the best home
e. Birds copy behaviours
f. Birds have culture

2. Choose the correct option based on the content of the article.

1. You'll often find birds' nests on the grounds in the countryside.
a. True
b. False
c. Not given

2. Birds are influenced by …
a. beavers.
b. bees.
c. other birds.

3. Research published in the National Library of Medicine explains that children's ability to learn…
a. can come from copying.
b. can only improve by going to school.
c. comes from their genetics.

4. Charles Darwin created the theory of evolution by…
a. natural competition.
b. natural protection.
c. natural selection.

5. Research from the Zoological Society of London shows us that birds will compete for the nest location to build their homes.
a. True
b. False
c. Not given

3. Use the words from the list to complete the summary of the article.

The 1) _______ of nests is often 2) _______ as part of bird culture. They often learn by 3) _______ other birds around them and will try to build the best nest with hopes of finding a 4) _______. Scientists think that these behaviours are part of birds' 5) _______.

architecture
evolution
imitating
generations
mate
passed down
transmitting

Answers

1. Match the headings to the paragraph.

Paragraph 1 c) Birds and other animals' homes
Paragraph 2 f) Birds have culture
Paragraph 3 e) Birds copy behaviours
Paragraph 4 a) Bird behaviours can change
Paragraph 5 d) Birds compete for the best home

2. Choose the correct option based on the content of the article.

1. b. False.But, as you walk around a town or walk along a countryside pathway, you may notice some unique homes up on the treetops – nests.

2. c.Like humans and architecture, birds carefully engineer their nests before building them, and their designs would’ve been influenced by those before them.

3. a. … An article published in the National Library of Medicine explains how children learn by imitating their caregiver.

4. c.These behaviours, though, can also change in response to pressures of selection – or natural selection. Coined by Charles Darwin, competition is one of the three components of the Darwinian theory of evolution.

5. a. True.Studies at the Zoological Society of London have discovered that invasive species of birds will compete with native birds for suitable trees.

3. Use the words in the box to complete the summary of the article.

The architecture of nests is often passed down as part of bird culture. They often learn by imitating other birds around them and will try to build the best nest with hopes of finding a mate. Scientists think that these behaviours are part of birds' evolution. 

Vocabulary

hive
a home for bees

spin
(of a web) when spiders make their homes

dam
a wall built to stop or control water

nest
a home built by animals (like birds) for eggs or babies

architect
a person who designs buildings

pass down
give something (like traits or knowledge) from parent to child

transmit
send something from one place or person to another

trait
a feature or characteristic of a living thing

imitate
to copy someone or something

caregiver
who looks after someone else

coin
to invent a new word or phrase

evolution
the slow change of living things over time

invasive
has spread quickly in a new place and caused harm

mate
who you choose to reproduce or have babies

Next

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