Learn English with English, baby!

Join for FREE!

Social_nav_masthead_logged_in
 
Insect Invasion

Insect Invasion

Date: Jul 25 2008

Themes: Pets

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

Going out to the woods always sounds like a good idea. And usually it is. But sometimes you get there and at first it looks just like you imagined: trees, a stream, no people around. But then you get out of the car and they start crawling on you, biting you, buzzing around your ears. Oh yes, you didn’t count on...bugs!

For some bugs, like mosquitos, we are food. But generally humans and bugs just coexist, the bugs occasionally crushed by a footstep or hand and the humans generally annoyed or itchy.

Of course, sometimes bugs and humans go to war. Listen to Mason and Jason talk about their battles with bugs.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

Log in to Listen

2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Jason

Jason

Mason

Mason

Jason:  There are certain parts of this world that I feel are just territory of the bugs.

Mason:  Bugs?

Jason:  We don’t control those parts of the world. The mosquitoes own that territory.

Mason:  Yeah, man, I feel like that part’s been my back yard lately.

Jason:  Really?

Mason:  Seriously. You go walking…and it’s only at certain times, like dusk, usually…but you’ll just be walking and then you just hit this cloud of bugs and if you happen to have your mouth open or if you’re catching an inhale, it’s just like, bugs for dinner.

Jason:  It’s so weird. How do people live in climates where you have to have a mosquito net around your bed and stuff like that?

Mason:  Yeah, I don’t know.

Jason:  It’s just such a huge part of your life, defense against these teeny-tiny armies.

Mason:  And let’s be honest. We’re talking about the annoying bugs. Because there’s 10 million different kinds of bugs. There’s some awesome bugs.

Jason:  Sure, like a ladybug isn’t going to bother anyone.

Mason:  Yeah, but I mean more like the death bugs like praying mantises and really huge beetles. Those are cool bugs. You wouldn’t mind those.

Jason:  Oh yeah. Old movies used to use praying mantises blown up to represent monsters destroying cities and stuff just because they look so cool. They’re intricate like…

Mason:  But just, you know, the everyday bugs, the mosquitoes, the ants, the moths, I don’t need those bugs.

Jason:  Well, for me it’s the ones that bite…that’s why mosquitoes are terrible. You just get covered in mosquito bites. And moths are awful because they’re kind of like zombies of bugs. They just fly at you and bounce off you and seem to have no brain and are just constantly bumping into things and being really annoying.

Mason:  And spiders. I gotta walk into their spider webs and that stuff just feels like it never gets off you.

Jason:  If I leave my car in place for like five minutes, there’s a spider web attaching it to whatever the nearest other object is.

Mason:  You gotta wonder though. Let’s take a minute and think of it from their perspective. We’re just constantly thwarting whatever they’re doing.

Jason:  That’s true.

Mason:  Like think of that poor little spider. “I guess I’ll make my web again.”

 

Quizzes

Go Super to take Quiz Go Super!

 

Lesson MP3

Go Super to download full lesson MP3 Go Super!

The iTEP® test

  • Schedule an iTEP® test and take the official English Practice Test.

    Take Now >

Discussion

Jason says that he thinks we ought to recognize that the bugs just own some places on Earth. There are too many of them there for us to live alongside them! But people live there anyway. Jason and Mason can’t imagine what it’s like to live in a place where you sleep in a mosquito net every night.

Or can they? Mason says his back yard has more and more bugs all the time. And not the cool bugs like praying mantises, but annoying or harmful bugs like ants and bees.

But then Mason starts to think about things from the bug’s perspective. What would it be like to have anything you build or do be destroyed by people? Being a bug wouldn’t be so easy.

Are there lots of bugs where you live? Do you like bugs or are you afraid of them?

 

Comments

Log in to Comment

kuangshengling

China

i am be afraid of the spiders!

but i  love the natrue!

12:56 AM Jul 31 2008 |

safi88

safi88

Saudi Arabia

goooood

07:24 PM Jul 30 2008 |

hulu32

China

I love them.Laughing,I love everything!

12:38 PM Jul 29 2008 |

pink angel

pink angel

Saudi Arabia

very nice topic and amzing information

 

 

thank gad that we do not have alot of mouqueito

 

but we are suffering from flies specialy in summer

 

season you can find them every where

 

i enjoyed the audio part

 

 

thank very much

10:40 AM Jul 29 2008 |

christlee

christlee

China

Yeah ,I don't like those mosquitoes the same…They always make me can't enjoy a sweet sleep in summer…But not so..so… bad. As what Mason has said ,let's think things in their perspective,they are the living things just like us.We are coexist!what will you feel if some creatures disturb your life and distroy your bloody and weating work? It's not a good feeling ,right? So I can understand..By the way ,we can't imagine living in a world all of happiness and without any annoy things ,right.That's life, the real one.We have to learn how to live a better life while think of the other guys and creatures as well….

10:12 AM Jul 29 2008 |

todoly

todoly

South Korea

I do hate the mosquitoes!!!!

08:09 PM Jul 28 2008 |

VivienHu

China

I totally dislike insects like mosquito or fly, however I am interested in butterfly, spider,moth and etc. The kind of insect reminds me of the youth in hometown.So much fun in the open with partners.We chasing after butterfly, closely watching spider web before or after a storm or destry the web on purpose,haha.

So attractive.I love to go back to my childhood if I could.

10:48 AM Jul 28 2008 |

KEVINSTEPHEN

China

bug

 

10:32 AM Jul 28 2008 |

Prashant_Mahajan

India

Software bugs are also as annoying and harmful as real bugs. They irritates user by behaving in unexpected way. Most software developers are afraid of bugs in their code because those may cause significant losses to the customer. It takes a heavy toll to find and fix them.

QA engineers love to find bugs, because that adds to their credibility.  Its general assumption that greater the number of bugs QA engineer discovers, better the engineer he is.

 

 

 

07:01 AM Jul 28 2008 |

xiangjun303

China

bug is insect? yes or right …....i think so..

06:31 AM Jul 28 2008 |

晓吉

晓吉

China

   My english is poor ,but I think it is a bug.

10:15 PM Jul 27 2008 |

晓吉

晓吉

China

   My english is poor ,but I think it is a bug.

10:15 PM Jul 27 2008 |

Otonashi Saya

Saudi Arabia

just like they said bugs are very annoying . Moreover there are -human-bugs , very sorry to say that but some people are as annoying and harmful as bugs

03:41 AM Jul 27 2008 |

jabedn2003

jabedn2003

Bangladesh

The lessons is a good one. It introduced me with the style of conversation as well

01:47 AM Jul 27 2008 |

jabedn2003

jabedn2003

Bangladesh

yes, I like the bug story. This is the first time I am reading this English baby's lessons. I find the lessons extremely helpful there is some kinda expressions I was not introduced with. Thanks for the lessons.  I know My english need to be improved. .........

  and yes christoph07 your english is quite good.

01:46 AM Jul 27 2008 |

kirn

Pakistan

when mosquite bite me that time i was thinking this today i killed him….haha

06:42 PM Jul 26 2008 |

liweiruc

China

I hate these bugs, and Iam being annoyed by mosquitors everyday. God, I don't know how to get rid of them!

04:35 AM Jul 26 2008 |

skkiberry

China

it's really interesting!Cool

03:16 AM Jul 26 2008 |

Stitch

Stitch

Taiwan

Ha, The lesson is actually funny!

02:43 AM Jul 26 2008 |

jean___michel

Brazil

I live in Brazil… Here it is so easy find a bug, a spider, and differents kinds of them… I like it, I have no problem with them… I have the same thoughts as Christoph07, They make our ecological system in equilibrium… The mother earth its perfect, Idiot is the man that are making this perfect world disappear so quickly… by desire for money…

Byeeee!

06:11 PM Jul 25 2008 |

Likes (45):

See all >

Share this lesson:

  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Bebo
  • Share on Myspace
  • Share on Twitter
  • Email this to a friend
  • Share on Sina

Post Ebaby! lessons on your blog:

Ebaby! Cast