Saturday, July 2, 2022

(Upper-Intermediate) Strandbeests



Kinetic sculptor Theo Jansen builds 'strandbeests' from yellow plastic tubing that is readily available in his native Holland. The graceful creatures evolve over time as Theo adapts their designs to harness the wind more efficiently. They are powered only by the wind and even store some of the wind's energy in plastic bottle 'stomachs' to be used when there is no wind.

Watch:

Strandbeests


1. What does the creature need to spring into life?

2. Why don't the creatures have to eat?

3. How long has Theo been evolving his creatures?

4. What are the creatures made from?

5. What was the first challenge for Theo?

6. What is nature's best wind design ever?

7. What does Theo find interesting about trying to make a fully independent creature?



Use these words to summarise the video:

creature - spring into life - new forms of life - live - evolve - live permanently - animal-like - animals - scuttle - offspring - generation - gave them wings - become independent - survive - raise children - to die - to live on


Verbs

a slight breeze

windswept

sand dunes

scuttle

off spring

trial and error

the creator

kick out

to live on


Grammar Review 


Match to make relative clauses


1. an incredible creature

2. in Edenburg, Holland

3. out on the beaches

4. try to make new forms of life

5. you discover



where I work every day

which the real creator must have had

where they can live in the future

that only needs a slight breeze

which keeps me busy



Other clauses: (Purpose-Result-Reason-Achievement)


1. they don't have to eat ____ they gather energy from the wind

2. He's evolving ___ clever designs ____ one day

3. But Theo didn't want to always have to pull his offspring up the beach, ___ the next generation got a propellor.

4. And then ___ give them more running power, he borrowed nature's best wind design ever ___ gave them wings.

5. Then I could die quietly _____ that I will live on

Listen and check

















More Strandbeests

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