As cegonhas que deixaram de viajar (The storks that stopped travelling)
QECR B1249 palavras
Every autumn, for as long as anyone could remember, the storks left. They nested on the church towers of Spanish villages in spring, raised their young in summer and flew south to Africa before the cold arrived. Children were told that the storks would come back in March, and they always did.
Then the storks began to stay.
My aunt has been counting the nests in her town since 1998. She is not a scientist: she is a retired teacher with a notebook and binoculars. In her first year she counted eleven nests and no birds at all in December. Last December she counted forty-one nests and more than thirty birds.
The reason is not romantic. A few kilometres from the town there is a rubbish dump, and a rubbish dump has food in January. Flying to Africa is dangerous and expensive: a young stork can die of hunger, thirst or exhaustion on the way. A bird that finds enough food in winter has no reason to go.
My aunt is careful about what she says. She has data for one town, not for a country, and she knows the difference. But she does say one thing without hesitating: 'We taught the children that the storks always leave. Now we have to teach them that animals change their habits when we change the world around them.'
The dump closes in two years. Nobody knows what the storks will do then, and my aunt has already bought a new notebook.
Palavras que talvez não conheças
- storkcegonha
- nestninho
- to raise (young)criar
- binocularsbinóculos
- rubbish dumplixeira, aterro
- exhaustionexaustão
- to hesitatehesitar
- habitshábitos
Perguntas
Respondem-se com o texto à frente. Não é memória: é perceber.
What did the storks traditionally do in autumn?
They flew south to Africa — Faziam ninho na primavera, criavam no verão e voavam para sul antes do frio. Voltavam em março.
The aunt has been counting the nests since ___.
1998 — Since 1998. Não é cientista: é uma professora reformada com um caderno e uns binóculos.
How did the December count change between her first year and last year?
From no birds to more than thirty — Cuidado com os números: 11 e 41 são NINHOS. As aves em dezembro passaram de nenhuma a mais de trinta.
According to the text, why do many storks no longer migrate?
Because they find food all year near the town — O texto di-lo sem enfeites: há uma lixeira a poucos quilómetros e em janeiro tem comida. Uma ave que come no inverno não tem motivo para partir.
The aunt says her numbers prove what is happening in the whole country.
False — Falso, e é o que a torna de confiança: diz que tem dados de UMA vila, não de um país, e que sabe a diferença.
Why has the aunt bought a new notebook?
Because the dump is closing and she wants to see what the storks do next — O texto não o explica: põe as duas frases juntas. A lixeira fecha daqui a dois anos, ninguém sabe o que farão as cegonhas, e ela já tem caderno para o contar.