Quiz 2 – The Simple Present Tense, Grammar and Listening Comprehension

Denice Culqui Martinez

David Attenborough - African Kalahari Desert

Kudu Persistence Hunt

…But there are (1)____ people that can interpret even the faintest marks on the
ground. (2)____ hunt in silence. The hand sign indicates that one of them has found
the track of a group of Kudu. These are the San People of the (3)________ Desert.
The last tribe on earth to use what some believe is the most ancient hunting
technique of all: The persistence hunt. They run down their prey. They start to feel
the rhythm of the animal’s movements (4)____ the spacing of the tracks. The group
is not moving fast.

The (5)_______ have taken fright. They will concentrate on the (6)____. He will be
carrying a heavy set of horns; and therefore, will tire more quickly; to do that they
must separate him from the herd, (7)__ that his tracks won’t be confused by those
of others. The sun is directly overhead, and the men sense a change in the Kudu’s
pace. He’s slowing.

After hours of tracking they vented an almost trance-like state of concentration. At

times it’s impossible to see any sign of the Kudu’s tracks, and the hunters must
imagine (8)___ path it will have taken. The heat is hard on the hunters, but they are
now close enough for the next stage in the hunt: “The (9)_____.”

This is the signal for it to begin, (10)___ only one man will undertake it: Keroe, the
runner. He must be relentless. It’s now a test of endurance. Who will collapse first,
the man, or the animal? This was how men hunted before they had weapons; when
the hunter had nothing more than his own physical (11)_________, with which to gain
his prize. Running on two feet is more efficient over long distances than running on
four. A man sweats from tans all over his body, and so cools himself. A Kudu sweats
much less and has to find shade, if it’s to cool down. And the man has hands with
which to carry water, so during the chase, he can replenish the (12)______ he loses
as sweat.

Hours pass and (13)_____ is getting closer, but then, the (14)____ runs into thick
cover. The tracks have disappeared. Keroe, tries to put himself into the mind of the
Kudu, and himself reenacts the moment when it heard him approaching as it tried
to rest in the (15)_____. He deduces the direction in which it must have fled. It’s
close by. The chase has lasted eight hours; hunter and hunted (16)___ both at the
end of their strength. Neither can go on much longer.

And then, the Kudu collapses from sheer exhaustion. It’s close to death. (17)_______
spear throw now is scarcely more than (18)_ symbolic gesture. The hunter pays
tribute to his quarry’s courage and strength, with ceremonial gestures that ensure
that its spirit returns to the desert sands from which it came. While it was alive, he
lived and breathed with it, and felt its every movement in his own body, and the
moment of its death, (19)__ shared its pain. He rubs its saliva into his own legs to
relieve the agony of his burning muscles, and he gives thanks for the life he has
taken so (20)____ he may sustain the lives of his family, waiting for him back in their
settlement.
Quiz 2 – The Simple Present Tense, Grammar and Listening Comprehension
Denice Culqui Martinez

I. Choose words from the list below (A – T) and place them above in their
corresponding blank spaces (1 – 20) to complete the transcript for the You
tube video “David Attenborough – African Kalahari Desert Kudu
Persistence Hunt”:

A. some
B. are
C. that
D. a
E. from
F. he
G. the
H. so
I. They
J. but
K. liquid
L. bull
M. Keroe’s
N. shade
O. animals
P. Keroe
Q. endurance
R. chase
S. Kudu
T. Kalahari

II. Comprehension and Research Questions:

21.Do the San people live in Australia?

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22.Where is the Kalahari Desert?

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23.What does “endurance” mean?

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24.Who is Keroe?
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25.Do all the hunters do “the chase”?

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Video Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUpo_mA5RP8