Thursday, 28 April 2022

How to Charm a Gorilla, and other Tales -ゴリラを魅了する方法、それから他のお話-

I recently asked some of my students these questions: “If you had to steal an animal from a zoo, which one would you steal?” and, “How would you steal it?”

Here are some of the answers they gave me.


1

“I would steal a koala, because they are not aggressive, and would be easy to carry,” said one woman.

“I would enter the zoo carrying a fake baby in a poncho.  I would enter the koala enclosure and hide it under the poncho.  Then I would simply walk out of the zoo, pretending that my baby was asleep.”

It’s a simple strategy, but it might work.


2

Another female student was more ambitious.

“I would steal a gorilla,” she said.

“I would bribe one of the staff to let me into the gorilla enclosure after the zoo had closed.  I would be dressed in a gorilla suit.”

A gorilla suit?

“Yes,” she enthused.  “The gorilla would see me and think I was a gorilla too, and follow me out of the zoo.”

This sounds like a risky strategy.  What if the gorilla thinks you are cute?

 

3

“I would steal a chameleon,” said a third student. 

“I would carry it out in my handbag.  And nobody would notice that it was missing for a long time.  All the visitors looking into the place where the chameleon should be would just think that it was very well camouflaged.” 

Good point. 

* 

For legal reasons, I would like to say that I do not encourage anyone to steal animals from a zoo.  It is just an exercise designed to stretch the imagination!

 

Vocabulary:

an enclosure – an area that is surrounded by a barrier

to bribe someone – to pay someone money or give someone a gift to persuade them to do something dishonest or illegal to help you

to enthuse – to express eager enjoyment or interest; to speak enthusiastically

to be camouflaged – to be hidden by looking similar to the surrounding environment

 


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