Post-reading tasks:

Task 1. Answer the following questions.

1. What species do the most common reptiles include?

2. Are reptiles warm-blooded or cold-blooded animals?

3. What can you say about the lifestyle of crocodilians?

4. What is the skin of crocodiles studded with?

5. How do crocodiles use their tail?

6. How can crocodiles and alligators be distinguished?

7. What amazing characteristic do the snakes have?

8. What are similar in all of venomous serpents?

9. How many venomous snakes are there?

10. Why are snakes beneficial?

Task 2. Match the first half of a sentence in column A with the appropriate second half in column B.

1. The skin of crocodiles is studded with heavy bony plates	a) because they can't regulate their own body temperature.
2. Reptiles are air-breathing animals,	b) several species are confirmed man-eaters.
3. Most snakes lay eggs;	c) although some snakes are longer.
4. The crocodilians are a remnant of a group of reptiles	d) long before we thought of one.
5. The poison glands correspond to salivary glands	e) that lived millions of years ago.
6. Crocodiles will eat any animal they can overcome;	f) in addition to the smaller scales.
7. Reptiles are often called cold-blooded	g) and are located at the angle of the jaw, one on each side.
8. Of the approximately 2400 known species,	h) although many live not only on land but in water.
9. The crocodilians are the bulkiest of living reptiles,	i) only some 200 have venom that is dangerous to man.
10. Venomous snakes had an excellent hypodermic apparatus	j) but a few species are ovoviviparous.

Task 3. Say if the following statements are correct. If not, give the right variant.

1. Reptiles have been around for 400 million years, even before the dinosaur age.

2. The most noticeable feature of reptiles is their huge jaws.

3. Although reptiles breathe through lungs, some reptiles can also absorb oxygen in water through membranes in their nose.

4. The tail is flattened from side to side and is used in swimming.

5. Crocodiles and alligators can be distinguished, by the shape of the body.

6. One of the oldest and most widely believed snake stories is that the males swallow their young to protect them.

7. Many snakes do eat the young of other snakes, but they do so to satisfy hunger.

8. There are several kinds of venomous serpents, and the poison glands and the mechanism for injecting the venom are different in all of them.

9. There are a lot of venomous snakes.

10. Many snakes are beneficial because they eat rats, mice, and other harmful rodents.

Task 4. Fill in the blanks below using words from the box.

rodents	nostrils	snake	nocturnal	tongue
cold-blooded	prey	skin	birth	carnivores

The anaconda is the biggest 1)_______ in the world. Also known as the Water Boa, this giant, semi-aquatic meat-eater lives in swampy areas of tropical South America. It spends a lot of time in shallow water, hidden from unsuspecting prey. They give 2)_________ to live young; 20 to 40 baby snakes are born at one time.

Like all snakes, anacondas are 3)____________; they are the same temperature as the environment. They continue to grow all their lives, getting bigger and bigger each year. The longest anaconda ever found was 37.5 feet (11.4 m) long, there are probably even bigger anacondas that have not been seen. Anacondas are greenish-brown with a double row of black oval spots on the back and smaller white markings on the sides. Their scaly 4)________ glistens but is dry is to the touch. The 5)________ are on top of the snout, letting the snake breathe easily when it is in the water. It smells with its 6)________ and has no fangs.

Anacondas are 7)___________. They mostly hunt at night (they are 8)___________). Anacondas kill by constricting (squeezing) the prey until it can no longer breathe. Sometimes they drown the prey. Like all snakes, they swallow the 9)______ whole. Anacondas eat pigs, deer, caiman (a type of crocodilian), birds, fish, 10)_______ and other animals. After eating a large animal, the anaconda needs no food for a long time, and rests for weeks.

1. On which continent are anacondas found?

2. Are anacondas venomous?

3. How do anacondas usually kill their prey?

4. Can an anaconda eat an animal wider than itself?

5. Which part of its body does an anaconda use to detect odors?

TRANSLATION: Translate the sentences into English.

1. Крупнейшие наземные животные принадлежали к динозаврам — представителям древних рептилий.

2. Черепахи практически сразу после рождения оставляют своё потомство, крокодилы же следят за ним.

3. Большинство рептилий относится к плотоядным животным. 

4. Кожа большинства рептилий лишена желез и покрыта щитками.

5. Современные рептилии, насчитывающие более 6500 видов, относятся к четырем отрядам.

6. Рептилии, подобно земноводным и более низко организованным животным, холоднокровные, т.е. температура их тела зависит от окружающих условий. 

7. В отличие от амфибий рептилии дышат только легкими. 

8. Ядовитые железы — довольно частое явление у змей. 

9. На различных животных яд действует по-разному. 

10. Большинство ящериц и змей, уничтожая значительное количество вредных насекомых, моллюсков и грызунов, приносит пользу сельскому хозяйству. 

SPEAKING: Give a short summary of the information you’ve studied.

WRITING: Write an essay “Reptiles: the beautiful and the deadly”.