Real-life Mowgli

Do you remember The Jungle Book and the famous story about a boy who was raised by wolves in the jungle? The boy and the jungle animals - wolves, a bear, a black panther and a large python - managed to understand each other, and helped and defended each other. When grown up, Mowgli went back to live happily with people. This story, written by Rudyard Kipling, is beautiful but unrealistic. It came from the writer’s imagination. True, stories about children who are raised by animals really happen. However, these stories cannot be considered happy ones. If a child communicates with animals and is isolated from people, it affects his brain development, his speech and communication skills, which can never be fully restored.

However, Mowgli's message about people and animals living in harmony - “We are of the same blood - you and I!” - was delivered to civilized society by another child. The story of Tippi Degré is a real and a happy one. As a child, she communicated with wild animals easily and amazingly well, but she had never been lost in the jungle. She had her parents’ love and care, books and educational toys. She spoke French as her mother tongue and English as a foreign language and, as a bonus, she had the most unusual childhood, full of adventures and fantastic experiences.

Tippi Degré was born in Africa to a family of French wildlife photographers and filmmakers, Alain and Sylvie. Because of her parents’ job Tippi did not grow up in her own counrty but rather in the African desert. She spent the first ten years of her life in Namibia living close to tribespeople and, of course, to the animals. There were no other kids nearby and she played with the animals. From her very early childhood Tippi had no fear of animals. Later she said that she spoke with them with her mind, or through her eyes and that they understood each other. She was on the same wavelength as them. Her best friend was the huge African elephant Abu. Unlike European kids of her age, Tippi didn’t dream of getting a hamster or a kitten for her birthday and she didn’t go to the zoo. Instead, she played with lion cubs and baby zebras, with leopards and cheetahs and she even believed that an African snake was her friend.

Tippi’s parents took lots of photographs of their daughter playing with different animals, riding an ostrich or climbing the trees with monkeys. These photos were published in the most famous wildlife journals, which made Tippi a world celebrity. Several books and documentary films about Tippi and her family’s adventurous lifestyle were made and became hits.

At the age of ten, Tippi went to school in France but she could not forget her African life and revisited the places she had known before. After school she studied cinematography at the university in Paris. Now she is in her twenties and she lives in Paris. However, her love for animals will last forever and she does a lot to promote the idea that humans and animals are of the same blood.

11

Rudyard Kipling’s book about Mowgli was based on the real life story of an Indian boy.

1) True

2) False

3) Not stated

Ответ:

12

1) True

2) False

3) Not stated

In her early years, Tippi’s favourite book was the book about Mowgli.

Ответ:

13	Tippi’s nationality is French. 1) True 2) False 3) Not stated

Ответ:

14

As a small child, Tippi spent a lot of time playing with her neighbours’ children.

1) True 2) False 3) Not stated

Ответ:

15

The parents prohibited Tippi from playing with wild animals.

1) True 2) False 3) Not stated

Ответ:

16

Tippi became famous due to her unusual childhood experiences.

1) True

2) False

3) Not stated

Ответ:

17	Tippi was educated in Europe. 1) True 2) False 3) Not stated

Ответ:

18

As an adult, Tippi protests against keeping animals in zoos.

1) True

2) False

3) Not stated

Ответ:

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1. Status and location 5. The country’s policy towards young people 2. Old traditions and new 6. Clothes for all occasions technologies 3. Ancient history 7. Main holidays and celebrations 4. People and their lifestyle 8. Food and eating habits

1. The first written information about Japan was found in Chinese historical texts that date back to the 1st century AD, but people were living there much earlier than that. Researchers say that humans inhabited the Japanese islands as early as in the Stone Age. Those people were skilled in making polished stone tools. And the scientists suggest that they learned to make them much earlier than humans in other parts of the world.

2. Tokyo is a very special city in more than one way. It is a capital city and the largest city in Japan. It lies northwest of Tokyo Bay which opens on to the Pacific Ocean. The city stretches for about 90 km from east to west and for about 25 km from north to south. There are also two island chains that administratively belong to Tokyo although they are more than a thousand kilometres from the mainland.

3. Japan is a country where the past and the future go hand-in-hand. Many Japanese are still fond of old craft arts like ikebana, which is arranging flowers in a very special design, the national performing art kabuki, and many other things. They have observed their customs and kept them unchanged through centuries. At the same time, Japan is the world leader in robotics, electronics biomedical research, and in many other industries.

4. Nowadays Japan is a country where the literacy level is close to 100%. School education is free and compulsory up to the lower secondary level. After that, many families choose private upper secondary and university education. University education is quite expensive and most students take part-time jobs and borrow money through the Scholarship Association to pay for their expenses. In general, the educational system is very effective and most scholars see it as a key factor in the rapid economic growth of the country.

5. Tourists from different countries enjoy visiting Japan. Most of them say that Japan is a world apart, as it differs so much and in so many ways from other countries. Most travellers to Japan talk about the amazing carefulness and punctuality of the people - the public transport runs right on time, all public facilities are spotless and in perfect order, and every detail in pieces of art is precise and complete. Japanese people seldom reveal their feelings. It looks like they live their inner life and don’t want it to be displayed to others.

6. Another thing that tourists always notice is Japanese cuisine. Fish (including raw fish) and rice have been basic foods for the Japanese people for centuries. The local people do not eat much but they pay attention to every detail when selecting the ingredients for their dishes, cooking and serving them. It makes no difference whether you dine in an expensive restaurant or in a street takeaway - the staff will do their best for their clients anyway.

7. If you are lucky enough to be invited to a traditional tea ceremony, you are likely to see people wearing kimonos. Even today, Japanese people still wear kimonos for different events and occasions. There are different kimonos for males and females, for happy celebrations, casual occasions, and sad events. Kimonos cannot be called practical and comfortable clothes. They are made from a lot of fabric wrapped around the body in a special way, and they often have floor-length sleeves.

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