The Canoe Jeff talks about the start of his journey in a canoe down the Amazon. Todd: So, Jeff, we're talking about your trip down the Amazon, and so you took a truck to the Amazon and then you got a canoe. You got on a canoe. Can you talk about your journey down the Amazon? Jeff: The Amazon... What people think of the Amazon is a beautiful river with a nice green jungle and lots of animals, and it's not like that. It's not a beautiful place. The river was muddy and dirty. It looked like coffee. The side of the river, the side of the Amazon was very overgrown and full of mosquitos and black flies. We didn't see any wild animals because the canoe was just a long thin wooden canoe piled high with things like rice and food other materials that the villagers needed and it had an outboard motor that was very noisy, so it wasn't romantic at all. The ideas of the Amazon river, and the beauty and the adventure. It was difficult and dirty and hot and dangerous, so it wasn't romantic at all. Todd: It doesn't sound like it. Where did you stay as you would go down? Would you sleep on the canoe? Jeff: No. Every night they would stop at a little village, and it was just made out of little village, a little cluster of bamboo thatched houses just on the side of the river. They'd clear a little spot out of the jungle and then they'd have say a dozen bamboo houses there and we'd sleep say on the floor of one of their houses in our sleeping bags. Todd: Were these houses made especially for travelers? Jeff: No, no. There was no travelers. There's no houses for travelers. These are just with the villagers. There's no restaurants. There are no hotels. There are no internet cafes. Half the villages didn't have power, so it was real basic village life. Todd: Wow!
Summary Fact vs. Fiction The River and the Boat Romance The Village
Bits and Pieces Circle the mistakes and write them correctly. 1. If I had a canoe, I will go by myself down the Amazon. 2.In the Amazon, should build an internet cafe, a hotel, or a restaurant. 3. Even though Jeff says the Amazon is not romantic, but I still have to see for myself. 4. Amazonian people is smarter than city people because they have knowledge about nature. 5. I would never go to the Amazon because it doesn t seem save. 6. Whenever I think of adventure. I dream of the Amazon. 7. If we played survivor in rainforest, I m sure I would survive longest than my teacher. 8. Without internet access and a cell phone, I would be boring. 9. The Amazon rainforest will never destroy by man. 10. I think that the food making by the villagers would be good. Do you agree or disagree with these opinions?
What do you think? Descriptive Expository Narrative Persuasive What is your image of rain forests? What do you think you would see. How would it smell? How would it feel? What would you do there? Would you like to take a trip to the Amazon? Why would you want to go there? What could you learn? What are the advantages and disadvantages of going there? Make up a story about yourself as a Yanamamo Indian who meets a traveler named Jeff. What surprises you about him? What do you think he wants from you. What do you want from him? Some people believe that extinction is a natural part of the cycles of life and death. Dinosaurs are a good example. So if the process is natural, are we going against nature to try to save endangered animals? Alexandre - France: Which question is being answered? Even though I have never traveled out of France, some day I want to spend time in a rain forest. First and foremost, I know it would be difficult for me to survive without cell phones and computers but I am ready for the challenge. People that have lived through difficult experiences are more interesting than people who watch TV everyday. Secondly, I want to learn how to survive in the jungle. I want to be able to make my own house, grow my own food, and hunt for my own dinner. Finally, I would like to learn an indigenous language. Millions of people know English, French, Spanish, and Chinese but the languages of native people are disappearing. The knowledge that I could bring back to the people of the modern world are greater than the leeches, mosquito bites and fevers that I would have to suffer. Write an 8-sentence paragraph about one of the questions at the top of the page.
Answer Key Circle the mistakes and write them correctly. 1. If I had a canoe, I will go by myself down the Amazon. If I had a canoe, I would go by myself down the Amazon. 2.The Amazon is too many insects. The Amazon has too many insects. 3. Even though Jeff says the Amazon is not romantic, but I still have to see for myself. Even though Jeff says the Amazon is not romantic, I still have to see for myself. 4. Amazonian people is smarter than city people because they have knowledge about nature. Amazonian people are smarter than city people because they have knowledge about nature. 5. I would never go to the Amazon because it doesn t seem save. I would never go to the Amazon because it doesn t seem safe. 6. Whenever I think of adventure. I dream of the Amazon. Whenever I think of adventure, I dream of the Amazon. 7. If we played survivor in rainforest, I m sure I would survive longest than my teacher. If we played survivor in rainforest, I m sure I would survive longer than my teacher. 8. Without internet access and a cell phone, I would be boring. Without internet access and a cell phone, I would be bored. 9. The Amazon rainforest will never destroy by man. The Amazon rainforest will never be destroyed by man. 10. I think that the food making by the villagers would be good. I think that the food making by the villagers would be good. Do you agree or disagree with these opinions?