My family and other animals
A book review
About the author: Gerald Durrell
Summarizing the book
A little review
In this autobiography the main character is, obviously, Gerald Durrell but his mother and his siblings, too. Also, his dog Roger appears in every chapter.
The houses where Gerald lived always were full of wildlife. His bedrooms looked like little zoos inside home. They were full of dogs, birds, snakes, insects, bats, and so on. Gerry´s elder brother, Larry, got on his nerves every time Gerry brought a new animal at home.
Like naturalists love doing, every thing that Gerald´s pets did is told in the story. All the behaviors, movements and sounds made by the animals are compared with things that humans do in a funny and amusing way.
The key message
IN MY OPINION,,,
Interesting vocabulary
BEHAVIORS
TO AND FRO: de un lado a otro
TO SCUTTLE: escabullirse
TO MUNCH: masticar
TO NIBBLE: mordisquear
TO GULP: tragar
TO BLINK: parpadear
TO GRAZE: pastar
YAWN: bostezo
SIGH: suspiro
WHEEZE: resoplido
BODY PARTS
SCALE: escama
FRECKLES: pecas, manchas
FORE LEGS/ HIND LEGS: extremidades anteriores/extremidades posteriores
GUM: encía
BEAK: pico
GULLET: gaznate, garganta
TUMMY: panza
FINS: aletas
FAUNA AND FLORA
Arthropods (insects, bugs, spiders...): lacewing flies, smallpoxes, daddy-longlegs, cicadas, crane-flies, moths, carpenter bees, rose-beetles, greenflies, humming bird hawk-moths, earwigs, bunch of grapes, figs, etc.
Reptiles: snakes, geckos, tortoises, etc.
Mammals: porpoises, mongrels, bloodhounds, fawns, leeks, brambles, etc.
Birds: owls, owlets, hoopoes, snipes, gulls, goldcrests, etc.
Plants: heather, myrtles, rosebuds, etc.
Magpie (Spanish: urraca)
Wagtail (Spanish: lavandera)
Male Chaffinch (Spanish: pinzón vulgar macho)
Audio track from Chapter Five "A treasure of spiders"
Transcription of the audio track
Incredulously I stared at the parcel. Surely it couldn´t be for me? There must be some mistake, for a great scientist would hardly bother to send me parcels. I turned it over, and there, written on it in a neat, spidery writing, was my name. I tore off the paper as quickly as I could. Inside was a small box and a letter.
"My dear Gerry Durrell,
I wondered, after our conversation the other day, if it might not assist your investigations of the local natural history to have some form of magnifying instrument. I am therefore sending you this pocket microscope, in the hope that it will be of some use to you. It is, of course, not of very high magnification, but you will find it sufficient for field work.
With best wishes,
Yours sincerely,
Theo. Stephanides"