Exploring Fauna of Indonesia: Unit 1. Bekantan | Rangkuman Materi Bahasa Inggris Kelas 9 | Chapter 1 | SMP | Kurikulum Merdeka | Wislah Indonesia |
Unit 1. Bekantan
Part 1 What’s in a name?
This is Bekantan
Andre : Monita, what are you reading?
Monita : Bekantan. I think I am going to talk about this primate for my Science project next week!
Andre : Cool! It’s a reddish-brown monkey with a long and big nose, right?
Monita : Yes. And Bekantan is quite big. Its weight is about 6-22 kilograms and its height is around 55 to 76 cm. Interestingly, its tail is almost as long as its body!
Andre : What a tail! Hey, look … The book says Bekantan is a Proboscis monkey.
Monita : Pardon? What monkey?
Andre : Proboscis monkey. It means a long-nosed monkey.
Monita : Hmm … an interesting name but hard to say.
Andre : It also has another name. Nasalis larvatus.
Monita : Wait … I should take notes. Bekantan is a type of primate. Its common name is pro …
Andre : Proboscis monkey. Monita : Right, thanks. Proboscis monkey. And its scientific name is Nasalis larvatus.
Part 2 Habitat Where does it live?
Where does it live?
Andre : Bekantans are from Borneo, right? So, we can find them in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei.
Monita : Yes, but we can find them mostly on the Indonesian side.
Andre : Really? Monita : Yes, that is why Bekantans are used as the icon of Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan.
Andre : Well, I believe we can find these monkeys in Borneo forests.
Monita : Right, specifically in mangroves. You know, mangroves are a type of rainforest that meet the sea.
Andre : So, Bekantans live in mangrove trees.
Monita : Yes, they like spending most of their time in trees. See this fact, Bekantans are grouped as arboreal animals.
Andre : Say again … Arbo … arboreal? Animals that eat, sleep, and play in trees.
Part 3: Behaviors and Diet They eat leaves
Monita : But, Bekantans sometimes go down to the forest floor. They move with their limbs. You know … hands and feet.
Andre : Hmm, so they can climb, hang, and move around with their limbs. I wonder if they can swim, too.
Monita : Of course they can. They live near the sea, remember. In fact, look, Bekantans are good swimmers.
Andre : What? Are you kidding? Monita : No. The book says that Bekantans can swim well because they have a skin membrane on their feet and hands as in frogs.
Andre : Awesome! But I guess because Bekantans live in trees, they eat leaves, not fish. Am I right?
Monita : Yes, you’re right. Bekantans eat almost all parts of the plant. They consume young leaves, fruits, and flowers.
Part 4: Predator and Threat Bekantan is endangered
Monita : Did you know that Bekantans are endangered?
Andre : Oh, no! Why? But, the book says Bekantans can live up to 20 years in the wild. So, what makes them endangered?
Monita : Well, many predators, such as crocodiles, leopards, monitor lizards and pythons, eat Bekantans. But, the major threat is habitat destruction.
Andre : It means they lose their home–their mangrove trees.
Monita : Sadly, humans’ activities make their home disappear.
Andre : To save Bekantans we have to save the mangroves!
Monita : I agree with you! So, what animals are you going to talk about in our Science project next week?
Section 4 – Language Focus
a. Noun Group
Study the following explanation about how to describe the characteristics of an animal. Then, do the exercise that follows. Number 1 has been done as an example.
To give more information about an animal, we can use a noun group.
Take a look at these examples:
A long-nosed monkey
A reddish-brown monkey
A noun group is a group of words around a noun or a head word. It contains a main noun (e.g. A monkey). The other words in the noun group such as long-nosed, reddish-brown are adjectives. They tell more about the main noun. We write the adjectives before the noun. Let’s take a look at the following examples:
Monkey
The monkey
The big monkey
The big, long-nosed monkey in a mangrove tree
The big, long-nosed, reddish-brown monkey in a mangrove tree
The big, long-nosed, reddish-brown monkey in a mangrove tree is playing.
The noun groups above are all about a monkey. We can see that as the sentences get longer, the adjectives give us more information about the monkeys. The descriptive words help us picture the monkey clearly. Using noun groups helps us to communicate a lot of information in a quick way.
