Vocabulary – National Geographic - Close Encounters of the Giant Kind

A. Pre-viewing

Before watching a video in which Brian Skerry talks about photographing a curious, 45-foot-long right whale, familiarize yourself with the following entries:

expedition - an organized journey for a particular purpose
Yukon Island - is a significant archaeological site in Alaska, the United States
sub-Antarctic - is a region in the southern hemisphere, located immediately north of the Antarctic region
submarine - a ship that can travel underwater

B. Comprehension

Watch the video and answer the following questions or complete the sentences:

Click here to watch the video

Brian said the whale he met in the sub-Antarctic…( you can choose more than one answer)

is gigantic

is forty-five feet in length

is perfect

is as big as a city bus

approached them gently

is threatening

Correct! Sorry!Try again!

“My assistant, who is a great diver just kind of posed perfectly standing on the bottom and was dwarfed by this massive animal.”
What does to ‘dwarf’ mean in this context?

◯ to scare something/ someone skilfully ✔ ✘
◯ to move something/ someone away by force ✔ ✘
◯ to make something/ someone seem smaller by comparison ✔ ✘
“But there is no threat by this animal (the gigantic whale); it just had a great deal of curiosity about us.”
What does ‘a great deal of’ mean?

◯ safe ✔ ✘ ◯ much ✔ ✘ ◯ special ✔ ✘
Select the word that is used in the video:
[00:44] “…it (the whale) is looking at you, and it is thinking and you see its tail moving, and your heart is ____________….”

◯ pumping ✔ ✘ ◯ bumping ✔ ✘ ◯ pounding ✔ ✘
Brian said the whale looks like a submarine at the bottom of the ocean.

◯ true ✔ ✘ ◯ false ✔ ✘ ◯ not given ✔ ✘
Brian said that this experience with the whale tops the list of his encounters with wild animals.

◯ true ✔ ✘ ◯ false ✔ ✘ ◯ not given ✔ ✘

C. Synonym

In the exercise below, three synonyms are provided for each bolded word in the following sentences taken from the talk. Watch the video again and observe how these words are used in a larger context. Select the synonym that best fits that context. Consult a dictionary when necessary.

So on this one day, this gigantic whale, forty-five feet in length, as big as a city bus, just swim down and gently approached us on the bottom.

◯ huge ✔ ✘ ◯ excessive ✔ ✘ ◯ monstrous ✔ ✘
I think our heart was beating out of our chest because it was just so exhilarating.

◯ intoxicating ✔ ✘ ◯ breathtaking ✔ ✘ ◯ uplifting ✔ ✘
But there is no threat by this animal; it just had a great deal of curiosity about us.

◯ bluff ✔ ✘ ◯ blackmail ✔ ✘ ◯ danger ✔ ✘
My brain is racing thinking: Don’t screw up, get the picture.

◯ spoil ✔ ✘ ◯ break ✔ ✘ ◯ confuse ✔ ✘
You know, nobody’s going to believe this. I’ve had some magnificent animal encounter out there in the wild, but I have to say this one tops the list.

◯ commanding ✔ ✘ ◯ luxurious ✔ ✘ ◯ amazing ✔ ✘

D. Using vocabulary

Complete the following sentences using the words in the box. Use the correct grammatical form of the words. There may be more than one correct answer for each sentence.

expedition
gigantic
dwarf
encounters
pound
exhilarating
screw up
magnificent
threat

Scott died while he was on an ✘ expedition to the Antarctic in 1912.
We went for an ✘ exhilarating magnificent walk in the beautiful mountains last Sunday.
In order to become a superpower that possesses an overwhelming political and military strength internationally, a country needs simply ✘ gigantic financial resources.
Drunken drivers pose a serious ✘ threat to other road users.
The new skyscraper will ✘ dwarf all other buildings near it.
The pilot told us that we might ✘ encounter turbulence during the flight.
I could feel my heart ✘ pounding as I went on stage to collect the prize.
I reckon I would totally ✘ screw up the chemistry exam because I did not revise for it.
This show is a real festive treat because the performance is simply ✘ exhilarating magnificent.

E. Adjectives that describe size/ shape

The followings are words that can be used to describe the size/ shape (of an object or a person). Place them into the right category in the table below. Consult a dictionary whenever necessary.

Select the most appropriate answer to complete the following sentences.

The bike is ✘ enough to cope with bumpy tracks.
Changing what the patients eat, how they exercise, how they think and how they live can make a ✘ difference in their weight and their overall health and wellness.
Since my elder sister is so ✘ and I am so much bigger physically, everyone thinks that I am the older one.
He is muscular yet very ✘ , he always wants to look a bit leaner.
It’s hard and it takes time to build up a ✘ , athlete-like body.
He has a rather ✘ body, because he is said to like eating sweet and oily things.
She was so ✘ that the bones in her neck stood out.
Many deep-sea fish have ✘ bodies but they have huge heads, jaws, and teeth, as their prey — when it arrives — tends also to be large.
Two ✘ kids emerged from a doorway eagerly begging for food.
Fashion models are mostly ✘ . You can barely see any fat in their body.
Old Mrs Blower who used to be very slim and tall when young, has put a lot of weight on and is now a ✘ lady with thick glasses.

Transcription

Transcription – National Geographic - Close Encounters of the Giant Kind

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0_h3AAn7Pk

I did a three-week expedition to the Yukon Island, which is in the sub-Antarctic, and it was in winter time, the only time that these whales are there.

So on this one day, this gigantic whale, forty-five feet in length, as big as a city bus, just swim down and gently approached us on the bottom. My assistant, who is a great diver just kind of posed perfectly standing on the bottom and was dwarfed by this massive animal. I think our heart was beating out of our chest because it was just so exhilarating. But there is no threat by this animal; it just had a great deal of curiosity about us.

In a situation like this, you’re in the bottom of the ocean alone, and you’ve got this thing that look like a submarine swimming up to you. But it’s looking at you, and its thinking and you see its tail moving, and your heart is pounding, your brain is just racing. My brain is racing thinking: Don’t screw up, get the picture. You know, nobody’s going to believe this. I’ve had some magnificent animal encounter out there in the wild, but I have to say this one tops the list.