The document discusses various mythical and mysterious creatures that have been reported but not proven scientifically. It begins by asking readers questions about creatures they find frightening and stories of strange creatures. It then lists and matches descriptions of several reported creatures including the kraken, coelacanth, okapi, yeti, champ, sauropod, and Loch Ness monster. The passage discusses scientific findings of some creatures like the giant squid and rediscovery of the coelacanth. It explores the purpose of cryptozoology organizations in cataloging unusual beasts and investigating reported sightings of sea monsters, giant animals, and other anomalies.

2. Before you read
A. Answer the following questions.
1. Are there any animals that especially frighten or bother
you? Which ones? Why do you feel that way about
them?
2. Do you know any stories about strange creatures that
are reported to exist but that scientists haven’t been
able to find?
3. Do you believe in sea monsters? Why or why not?
4. Do you think that one day science will be able to
catalog all the life on planet Earth? Explain your
answer.

3. Reading skill
A. How many of the following oddities and mysteries
of nature do you know. Try to match them with
the descriptions on the right. If you’re not sure
about any, just read the names and descriptions
and think about them.

4. 1. kraken
2. coelacanth
a. a large creature that reportedly lives in
Lake Champlain in the state of New
York
b. a furry, human-like creature
occasionally sighted in Himalayas
3. okapi
c. a giraffe-like animal
4. yeti
d. an ancient name for the giant squid
5. champ
e. an odd-looking fish once thought to be
extinct
6. sauropod
f. a long-necked creature resembling a
dinosaur
7. the Loch Ness
monster
g. an occasionally sighted creature said to
live in a lake in Scotland

5. Kraken
d.an ancient name for the giant squid
Coelacanth
e.an odd-looking fish once thought to be
extinct
Okapi
c. a giraffe-like animal
Yeti
b. a furry, human-like creature occasionally
sighted in the Himalayas

6. Champ
a.a large creature that reported lives in
Lake Champlain in the state of New York
Sauropod
f. a long –necked creature resembling a
dinosaur
The Loch Ness
g. an occasionally sighted creature said to
live in a lake in Scotland

8. Mermaid

9. Griffin (griffon)

10. Unicorn

11. In 1555, Olaus Magnus said: “One of these sea
monsters will drown easily many great ships.”
Kraken (sea
monster )

13. The giant squid
• Japanese scientists reported that they hooked a
giant squid ( estimated at 26 feet long-some 3,000
feet down )
• It seemed less terrifying than its ancient image

15. Richard Ellis, a naturalist, is author of
two books about ocean animals :
• “Singing Whales, Flying Squid, and Swimming
Cucumbers” catalogues recent discoveries of
previously unknown whales, dolphins, and other
creatures. They are quite strange, odd.
• “Monsters of the Sea.”
He wrote: “The sea being so deep and large, I’m sure
other mysteries lurk out there, unseen and unsolved.
This book also showed that odd squid is more than
20 feet long with fins and very skinny arms and
tentacles…”

16. Coelacanth
It was thought to be extinct 70
million years ago

17. In 1938, a fisherman pulled up a
coelacanth (an odd, ancient-looking fish
with stubbly, limb-like fins)
Fins

18. Okapi

19. Okapi
• 1900, Sir Harry H. Johnson, an English explorer,
found a giraffe-like animal known as the okapi. It
was called as a living fossil.
• 1982, a group founded the International Society of
Cryptozoology and used okapi as its symbol.

20. At the website for the group ,
there is a list of 15 classes
about unusual beasts

21. Big cat

22. Giant crocodile

23. Huge
snake

24. Large
octopus

25. Mammoth

26. Yeti in the Himalayas

27. Sauropod

28. The Loch Ness monster

29. Champ in Lake Champlain

32. Then there are the blobs ( gooey masses )
• As large as a school bus
• At first they thought it came from
giant octopods
• Then last year, biologists applied
DNA analysis and turned out from
old whale blubber.

33. Reading comprehension
A. How much do you remember about the reading?
For each question, choose the best answer.

34. 1. What is the main idea of the article?
a. Many of the myths about strange animals are true.
b. Unusual creatures, both real and imaginary, have
always fascinated humans.
c. Scientists have shown that all monster myths are false.
d. Most monsters are actually real animal.
2. What is the author’s purpose in writing this
article?
a. To argue in favor of discovering more mysterious
creatures
b. To persuade us that mythical animals really exist
c. To warn us that sea monsters and similar animals still
threaten us
d. To entertain and inform the reader with information
about extraordinary creatures

35. 3. Why is Richard Ellis mentioned in the article?
a. He captured a giant squid
b. He is an author of two books about ocean animals.
c. He is president of the International Society of
Cryptozoology.
d. He has doubts about the existence of the giant squid.
4. What is the symbol of the International Society of
Cryptozoology?
a.
b.
c.
d.
The giant squid
Champ
The okapi
The Loch Ness monster
a.
b.
c.
d.
Whale blubber
The remains of sea monsters
Long tentacles
Living fossils
5. What did the blobs on beaches turn out to be?

36. Reading comprehension
B. Decide if the following statements about the
reading are true (T) or false (F). If you check ()
false, correct the statement to make it true.

37. T
1 The kraken was just a myth.
2 Richard Ellis wrote a book entitled Flying
Whales, Swimming Squid, and Singing
Cucumbers.
3 Lake Champlain is allegedly the home of
a monster.
4 The mystery of the blobs was solved by
using DNA analysis.
5 Scientists have completed their studies of
the giant squid.
F

38. Reading comprehension
C. Critical thinking
Discuss these questions with a partner
1. The author asks monster lovers to take heart . Are you
a monster lover? Explain your answer.
2. Would you like to join the International Society of
Cryptozoology? If not, why not? If yes, what creatures
would you be looking for?

39. Vocabulary comprehension
A. Look at the following target vocabulary items
from the passage. Use the strategies outlined on
pages 66 and 126 and the context for the items
within the passage to work out the meaning of
each one

40. Vocabulary
Pronunciation
Part of
Speech
Definition
1.
embroider
upon
/im'brɔ idə
ə'pɔ n/
exp
‒to make a story more interesting
by adding details that are not
always true
2.
3.
4.
5.
malevolent
shattering
take heart
forthcoming
/mə'levələnt/
/'∫ætəriη/
/teik hɑ :t/
/fɔ :θ'kʌ miη/
adj
adj
exp
adj
‒evil or harmful
‒to expose or to reveal the truth
6.
7.
bizarre
stumbled on
/bi'za:/
/'stʌ mbl ɔ n/
adj
exp
‒odd, weird
8.
9.
hauled
paranormal
v
/hɔ :ld/
/,pærə'nɔ :ml/ adj
‒to carry a load
/'giəriη ʌ p/
‒to prepare, put on equipment
10. gearing up
exp
‒regain faith or be encouraged
‒going to happen, be published,
etc. very soon
‒find or reach accidentally or
unexpectedly
‒a supernatural occurrence or
something that has no scientific
explanation

41. Vocabulary comprehension
B. Complete the paragraph below using the
vocabulary items from A. Be sure to use the
correct form of each word

42. • Me and My Imagination
As a child, I was absolutely obsessed with hunting monsters. It seemed that
around nearly every corner, there was a monster lurking in the shadows –
not good monsters, but rather (1) ____________ones that were trying to “
malevolent
get me” . I walked around my house at night in terror, jumpy at every
creaking door or whistling% window, sure that I would ( 2) ____________ a
stumble on
sleeping monster and be his midnight snack. When I ran to my parents for
help recounting for them in detail my encounters with monsters they would
tell me to go back to bed and stop (3) embroidering upon things that had
__________________
simple explanations. They thought this monster obsession was ( 4)_______
bizarre
but they hoped I’d grow out of it. One day, I planned a monster hunt in our
neighbor’s fish pond. I (5) ___________by putting on my bathing suit, a
geared up
mask, and borrowing my mother’s biggest barbecue fork. Then I jumped in.
When they (6) _______ me out of the pond, I was holding out neighbor
hauled
prize-winning Japanese carp. I knew that a stern lecture would be
(7)___________ from my father. That’s when he told me that there simply
forthcoming
no monsters- they didn’t exist, and I had to forget about them. Well, I grew
depressed. My fantasy world was(8)__________ I did my best not to think
shattered.
about monsters, until one day, on TV, I saw a show about UFOs, ghost and
other(9) ____________phenomena, I learned that other people believed in
paranormal
monster, too. No longer depressed, I(10) took heart and used the
__________,
information I learned from that show to rebut my father’s claim that
monster didn’t exist.

43. Vocabulary comprehension
C. Answer these questions. Share your answer with
a partner.
1. Do you know anyone who has a tendency to
embroider upon stories and make them more
interesting to listen to than they were in reality?
Ba phi uncle
2. Can you think of a malevolent character from a
movie?
Vampire in “Underground”, “Twilight”

45. Vocabulary comprehension
3. Over the course of human history, what myths that
people believed have been shattered?
The flat shape of the earth
4. When you feel afraid of lacking in confidence, what
can help you take heart?
A deep breath, a cup of water
5. Are there any forthcoming movies, concerts, or
exhibitions that you are looking forward to attending?
The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn
Treader (3d), Kungfu Panda 2

46. Vocabulary comprehension
6. What animal do you think is bizarre?
Proboscis, warthog, aye-aye
7. What are some examples of paranormal
phenomena?
Ghost, Extrasensory perception (ESP)
8. What do you do to gear up for a job interview?
Possibly asked questions

47. Vocabulary skill
A. Look at the words below. What do you think they
mean? Use your knowledge of prefixes, suffixes,
and word roots to match them to the definition.

48. 1.
fiction
h. type of story or writing that is about imaginary
characters and situations
2.
discriminatory
b. prejudiced; marked by unfair treatment
3.
verbal
g. spoken or expressed aloud in words
4.
payment
i. money given in exchange for a service or goods
5.
stop
e. to pause or stay in a place
6.
violent
a. forcible or rough; severe
7.
flammable
c. capable of burning quickly
8.
existent
f. being real; present in the world
9.
conformist
d. someone who behaves according to a group’s
usual expectations and standard

49. Vocabulary skill
B. Complete the sentences below by adding the
prefix non to the correct word from A.

50. 1. My favorite form of literature is
non-fiction
__________________. I especially love reading
autobiographies.
2. Their landlord sued them in court for
non-payment
__________________ of three months’ rent.
non-conformist
3. Gregory tends to have very _________________
opinions about marriage and society.
non-stop
4. By taking the ________________ flight to Sydney. I’ll
get there two hours earlier than the flight that stop in
Brisbane.
5. Our company is highly regarded by others in the
non-discriminatory
industry in terms of its ___________________ policies
on gender, race, and religion.
non-verbal
6. Many animal use ______________ways to
communicates, as sounds may alert enemies to their
presence.

51. Real life skill
A. Work with a partner to match the
names of these animals with
their young. Use your dictionary
to check any that you are not
sure of.

52. Cat
Dog
i. kitten
h. puppy
Frog
g. tadpole
Hen
f. chick
Horse
e. foal
Cow
c. calf
Bird
nestling
Deer
Sheep
Goat
a. fawn
d. lamb
b. kid

53. Real life skill
B. Now write the plural form of each of these
animals. Use your dictionary to help.
1.a mouse 
2.a goose 
3.a fish 
4.an ox 
5.a puppy 
6.a wolf 
7.a sheep 
two
many
ten
a pair of
three
several
nine
mice
geese
fish
oxen
puppies (pup)
wolves
sheep

54. Real life skill
C. Groups of very different
animals can share the
same name. When we use
these term the plural form
of the animal name is
always used. Look at the
group names below and
write the plural forms of
the correct animals on the
appropriate line.

55. Kitten wolf
horse
Seagull
bird
puppy
A herd of
A flock of
A school of
A pack of
A little of
A colony of
ox
cow
shark
fish
sheep
bat
cows, oxen, horses, sheep
birds, seagull, sheep
sharks, fish
wolves
puppies, kittens
bats