LINGUAWIRE
This week’s Sunday special has two stories: a rare Florida plant is recognised as a new species, and Gulliver’s Travels reaches its 300th anniversary.
A current English news story adapted for language learners at A2, with audio, transcript, vocabulary and comprehension work.
This is our Sunday special, with stories from across the English-speaking world from the past week.
This Sunday, a newly recognised Florida plant and 300 years of Gulliver’s Travels.
If you would like to read along, the transcript and every word explained are waiting at linguawire.com.
Our first story: Florida’s newly recognised red sundew.
Owen is LinguaWire’s correspondent for technology, and he has been covering this unusual plant.
Hello, Daniel. Scientists have recognised a bright-red carnivorous plant as its own species.
Where does this plant grow?
It grows only near sinkhole lakes in a small part of the Florida Panhandle. Its scientific name is Drosera floridana, also called the Florida threadleaf sundew.
So, it has a very small home.
Yes. The plant lives in an area about 12 miles by 16 miles. That area is smaller than Chicago. Scientists say this makes it the sundew with the smallest known range in the United States.
Who first noticed that it might be different?
Lilly Anderson-Messec, a Florida botanist, first saw it in 2014. She noticed its bright red, thread-like leaves, which end in tightly coiled spirals.
Was it already known as a separate species then?
No. At that time, it was called a variety of the more common thread-leaved sundew. Anderson-Messec had doubts because the nearest known population of that plant was hundreds of miles away in South Carolina.
What helped scientists decide it was a separate species?
Noah Juve, now a student at the University of Florida, studied the plant for years. With Andreas Fleischmann, a curator at the Munich Herbarium in Germany, he compared it with close relatives at more than 100 sites.
And what differences did they find?
They found differences in its red colour, its seeds, its flowers and its flowering time. In August, Juve published a scientific description that gave the plant species status.
Why does that new status matter?
Scientists say a clear species name can help conservation work. Plants listed only as varieties or subspecies can receive less attention. Now, conservationists are trying to protect this rare Florida habitat before it is badly damaged or destroyed.
Thank you, Owen.
Our second story: 300 years of Gulliver’s Travels.
Chloe is LinguaWire’s correspondent for culture, and she has been following the anniversary celebrations.
Hello, Daniel. This week marked 300 years since Jonathan Swift’s famous novel was first published.
When did readers first see the book?
A London bookseller published it on October 28, 1726. The book came out in two volumes and was an immediate success.
Did people know Jonathan Swift wrote it?
Not at first. The book appeared to be written by Lemuel Gulliver, its travelling sea captain. That name was a pseudonym, or a false name, for Swift.
Who was Swift?
He was a Dublin-born Anglican clergyman, writer and essayist. His story follows Gulliver on journeys to distant lands, including Lilliput, where people are only six inches tall.
The book is often seen as more than an adventure story, isn’t it?
Yes. It uses satire, which is writing that makes fun of people or society to show problems. Swift wrote about class, morality and divisions in society.
Why is the novel still important after so long?
It has been translated into dozens of languages and has never gone out of print. The word “Swiftian” is still used for bitter satire.
How is Trinity College Dublin marking the anniversary?
Its exhibition is called Gulliver at 300. Trinity College Dublin is where Swift studied. The exhibition has more than 100 versions of the story, and people can also view it online.
What can visitors see there?
They can see early editions, later books inspired by Gulliver, artworks, a comic adaptation and pop-up books. One highlight is the only known surviving copy of a shorter version printed in Dublin in 1761.
So, the exhibition shows how one story has travelled through three centuries.
That is right. It shows how printers, artists and readers have continued to respond to Gulliver’s Travels since 1726.
Thank you, Chloe.
Part one: words about nature.
species.
A species is a group of similar plants or animals. In the story, we hear: “Scientists have recognised a bright-red carnivorous plant as its own species.”
This bird is a rare species.
habitat.
A habitat is the natural home of a plant or animal. In the story, we hear: “Now, conservationists are trying to protect this rare Florida habitat before it is badly damaged or destroyed.”
The forest is the habitat of many animals.
protect.
To protect means to keep someone or something safe. In the story, we hear: “Now, conservationists are trying to protect this rare Florida habitat before it is badly damaged or destroyed.”
We must protect the local lake.
Part two: the grammar.
Can plus a verb: “They can see early editions, later books inspired by Gulliver, artworks, a comic adaptation and pop-up books.”
Use can plus the base form of a verb to say what someone is able to do.
In the story, we hear: “They can see early editions, later books inspired by Gulliver, artworks, a comic adaptation and pop-up books.”
Visitors can buy tickets online.
Repeat after me: They can see early editions, later books inspired by Gulliver, artworks, a comic adaptation and pop-up books.
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