PENGUIN READERS
The White White Oryx Or yx Bernard Smith
‘There! Near the trees. Can you see them? They’re the white oryx of Arabia,’ Abdullah says very quietly. Mandy Brown takes some photos of the oryx. She is writing a book about the animals of Arabia. Today Today she is in the desert with Abdullah. He is an oryx ranger. ‘They’re beautiful animals,’ Mandy says. ‘But the desert is very big. How do you find them?’ 1
‘We put little radios on the oryx,’ Abdullah says. ‘You can see one there, on its neck. With With the radios we can usually find them.’ Suddenly there is a noise behind them. It is the big radio in the car. The oryx look up and run away quickly. ‘Abdullah!’ the radio says. ‘Can you hear me? There’s There’s a problem in Wadi Bidbid. Perhaps poachers.’ 2
‘I’m very near there,’ Abdullah says. ‘I can go there, but I’ve got the Australian woman with me.’ ‘That’ss OK,’ Mandy says. ‘I can come with you. Perhaps ‘That’ I can help you.’ ‘OK,’ Abdullah says. ‘Let’s go.’ Mandy gets into the car and they drive away quickly across the desert. 3
The sand makes a long yellow cloud behind the car. ‘Poachers?’ Mandy asks. ‘What do they do?’ ‘They’re a big problem,’ Abdullah says. ‘Usually they shoot the oryx. They sell the heads. And sometimes they catch the young oryx and sell them.’ ‘There’ss Wadi Bidbid in front of us,’ Abdullah says. ‘I ‘There’ can’t see any oryx. Let’s look for tracks in the sand.’ 4
They open the windows and drive slowly. ‘Look! There!’ Mandy says. ‘I can see tracks.’ ‘You’re ‘Y ou’re right,’ Abdullah says. ‘There are the tracks of a truck, and some oryx. And look! There’s some blood in the sand here – and there. This is the work of poachers.’ They follow the tracks of the truck slowly across the sand. 5
Under the tree they find an oryx with a big hole in its neck. It is dead. 'We've got a problem,' Abdullah says. 'Look! 1 can see the tracks of a young oryx here. This dead oryx is its mother. But the baby oryx isn't here.' 'Can we follow the tracks of their truck in the sand?' Mandy asks. 'Can we catch them?' 6
They drive quickly across the desert again. Mandy is wa w a t c h i n g the trac tr acks ks.. A b d u l l a h is talk ta lkin ing g on the radi ra dio. o. 'One mother oryx is dead,' he says. 'But the poachers have got her baby. We're following them.' Ab A b d u l l a h liste li stens ns to the radi ra dio o and smil sm iles es.. That's good,' he says to Mandy. The police have a helicopter near here. They're coming, too.' 7
Suddenly they come to a road in the desert. Now they can't see the tracks of the truck. 'Left or right?' Abdullah says. 'What do you think?' Mandy climbs quickly on the car. 'Go to the left,' she says. 'I can see a small cloud of sand on the left. It's the poachers!' She climbs down and they follow the road to the left. 8
Now they can see the cloud of sand behind the poachers. 'We're very near them now,' Mandy says. 'Look! They're not moving. We can catch them. Oh no! There's a man wii t h a gun w gu n near ne ar the t r u c k . ' Suddenly there is a loud noise in the car. 'Get down!' Abdullah says quickly. 'They're shooting at us. Look at the hole in the window.' 9
Ab A b d u l l a h driv dr ives es into in to some so me smal sm alll trees tre es and stop st opss the th e car. He gets his gun and talks on the radio again. Mandy goes into the trees and looks at the road. 'The poachers are moving again!' she says. 'They're in the truck. And the man with the gun is on the back.' 'Are they driving away?' Abdullah asks. 'No!' Mandy says. 'Help! They're coming back here!' 10
Ab A b d u l l a h starts sta rts the car ca r agai ag ain. n. But it is in the sand n o w and it doesn't move. He goes in front of the car with his gun. Mandy goes behind the car. Suddenly there is a very loud noise and they see a helicopter in front of them. It makes a big cloud of sand and the poachers can't see the road. The truck stops in the sand and two men run from it into the desert. 11
The police helicopter comes down near the poachers. The poachers quickly put their guns on the sand and put up their hands. Ab A b d u l l a h and Mandy Man dy run ru n to the truc tr uck. k. The young oryx is in the back of the truck. There is no bloo bl ood, d, but it isn't isn' t m ovin ov ing. g. Ts it dead?' Mandy asks quietly. 12
Ab A b d u l l a h takes ta kes its head hea d in his hands ha nds.. T h e little litt le o r y x opens its eyes and moves its legs. 'No, it's OK.' Abdullah smiles. 'But its mother is dead,' Mandy says. 'Can it live?' 'Yes,' Abdullah says. 'It's young, but it isn't a baby. We can find it a new mother. No problem.' 'Wait,' Mandy says suddenly. 'I want some photos.' 13
Mandy takes photos of Abdullah and the young oryx. Then she takes photos of the police and their helicopter. She takes pictures of the poachers, too. A poli po lice cema man n come co mess and an d l ook oo k s at the youn yo ung g oryx or yx.. 'Not a bad day,' the policeman says. 'No,' Abdullah says. 'The mother oryx is dead, but this you yo u n g oryx or yx i s O K . A n d y o u ' v e got go t t w o poac po ach h er ers. s.'' 14
'It's a good day for me, too.' Mandy smiles. 'I've got some very interesting pictures for my book about the animals of the desert.' 'Perhaps you can write a new book,' the policeman says. 'A book about the oryx poachers and the famous ranger, Ab A b d u l l a h . ' 'Why not?' Mandy smiles again. 15
ACTIVITIES Before you read Find tthe he words word s in your dicti diction onar ary. y. What are they they in your langu lan guag age? e? 1 Find baby
blood
help
hole
shoot
track
climb loud
cloud neck
desert
oryx
follow
poacher
gun
ranger
helicopter sand
sell
truck
hot or cold in a desert des ert?? What animals animal s liv live e in a desert des ert?? 2 Is it usually hot
After you read Ans wer th the e question ques tionss about about th the e story story.. 3 Answer
a
Why Wh y is Mandy Mand y Brown takin taking g photos of th the e oryx or yx??
b
What is Abdullah's job?
c
Why Wh y do some oryx oryx have a radio radio on th thei eirr neck ne ck s?
d
Why Wh y do Abdullah and Mandy Man dy go to Wadi Bidbid? Bidb id?
e
What do poachers do to oryx? oryx ?
f
What do Abdullah and Mandy Man dy find find in Wadi Bidbid? Bidb id?
g
How do they foll follow ow th the e poac po ache hers rs??
h
Who Wh o come and catch catch th the e poache poa chers? rs?
i
What Wha t do they find find in th the e back of th the e truck? tru ck?
j
What is Man dy's dy 's new new book book about?
Rea d th the e sentences. One O ne word word in in every every sentence is wrong. Make Mak e it it 4 Read right.
a
The Th e ranger ran gerss catch and ki kill the oryx.
b
The Th e poac po ache hers rs kill the baby oryx.
c
The Th e police come com e in a truck. truck.
d
The Th e oryx in th the e truck truck is a big oryx.
e
'It's 'It' s a bad day,' day,' th the e policeman says sa ys..
Mandy Brown is in the desert with Abdullah, an oryx ranger. B u t ther there e are poach poa chers ers in the desert deser t to o - and a mo th er oryx is dea dead. d. C a n Ma nd y and Abd ull ah catch the poachers poac hers?? A n d can they find the dead oryx's oryx' s baby? baby? Penguin Readers are simplified texts designed in association with Longman, the world famous educational publisher, to provide a step-by-step approach to the joys of reading for pleasure. Each book has an introduction and extensive activity material.They are published at seven levels from Easystarts (200 words) to Advanced (3000 words). Series Editors:Andy Hopkins and Jocelyn Potter
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