Simply Spiders

There are over 40 000 different species of spider. Remember: spiders are NOT insects, although many people think they are. Ask your friends, and if they say that spiders are insects, give them a surprise. Spiders are arachnids! Insects have six legs, and arachnids have eight. Arachnids also have a two-part body and two pinchers. They don’t have antennae, but instead have bristly hairs on their body and legs, which are used to pick up signals and messages – spiders can taste things with their feet!

Spiders live everywhere, from the tops of mountains to the bottoms of caves, wherever there is food.

Most spiders catch their own food and most eat insects, woodlice and centipedes. Larger spiders, such as the tarantulas, can catch and kill birds, lizards and snakes.

Only half of all spiders can spin webs, which they use to catch prey. Other spiders have to hunt or lie in wait for their food. Spiders don’t get stuck in their webs because they have special claws on the ends of their legs, which they use to move across the web without touching the sticky areas. Some spiders build webs which can be up to 1.5 metres in diameter!

A fear of spiders is called arachnophobia, but only a few spiders are harmful to humans.

In Europe, there are no poisonous spiders, but in Australia and the USA, people learn to live with some of the most dangerous spiders, including black widow.

The world’s most poisonous spider is found in Brazil and is called the Brazilian huntsman. There is an antidote for this spider, and the number of people who die from their bites is very low.

So spiders (most of them) are not dangerous, and you might seriously consider having a spider for a pet. They can be very useful at home, for they kill flies, they don’t need much space, they are not too noisy, and they are generally very docile.

Упр. 3. Ответьте на вопросы к тексту:

1. Why does the author say that spiders are not insects? 2. Where do spiders live? 3. Can all spiders spin web? 4. Why so spiders build webs? 5. Are spiders harmful to humans? 6. Are you afraid of spiders? 7. What is a fear of spiders called?

Упр. 4. Выразите свое согласие или несогласие с помощью фраз: Yes, it’s true. No, it’s wrong:

1. Spiders can taste things with their legs. 2. The world’s most poisonous spider is found in Belarus. 3. The number of people who die from their bites is very high. 4. In Europe there are no poisonous spiders. 5. Spiders use webs to move across it.

Дата добавления: 2015-07-11