LISTENING 1

Wild Survivors
Activity A., C., Pages 34, 35
Narrator: In the ruthless world of survival, the battle for life and death takes on infinite
forms. The endless struggle to eat and avoid being eaten has created weapon and
defense systems that are continuously changing. The balance of power in nature is
continually shifting. Sometimes it favors the hunter and sometimes the hunted. Those
that are best at the game escape from the very jaws of death.Adapting is necessary for
survival. As conditions changeavailability of food and water, temperatures, the
presence of predators both animal and humananimals must change to meet the
challenges or die.
Both weather and landscape play a part in how animals adapt. Those that live must be
well suited to the demands of the environment. For example, the brown feathers of the
ptarmigan, a bird about the size of a pigeon that lives in Europe and North America,
make it almost invisible to predators. But the feathers serve another purpose as well
they protect the bird from the extreme cold by keeping its body heat next to its body, as
well as keeping the cold air out.
The ptarmigan also grows long white feathers on its feet for the winter, which act like
built-in snowshoes. Undoubtedly, the feathers also provide effective camouflage, a
disguise that helps the ptarmigan hide from predators by matching the color of its
environment. When the snow disappears, so too do the white winter feathers of the
ptarmigan. Its summer outfit, speckled grey and brown feathers, is well designed to suit
the environment that is now free of snow. The young ptarmigans are in special need of
good camouflage, since they cannot fly as well as the adults. They must protect
themselves from predators by crouching and hiding among the rocks, moss, and
wildflowers. Camouflage is virtually all the protection they have in the rocky landscape of
the Pacific Northwest.
An even more elaborate survival system is found among the leaves of the oak tree,
home to a variety of birds and a small, unimpressive- looking moth. In the springtime,
the moth lays its eggs on the underside of the leaves, where they are less likely to be
found by any hungry passersby. When the caterpillars hatch, they begin a dangerous
journey. Those that survive make straight for the oak trees flowers. As they feed
hungrily upon the flowers, they absorb the chemicals within them. This triggers a
startling transformation. Quite literally, the caterpillar is what it eats. It can mimic the
flowers superbly, even imitating the movement of the flowers in the spring breeze.
Camouflage allows many of the caterpillars to mature safe from predatory birds. But the
story doesnt stop there. In the summer, another set of caterpillars is hatched. By now,
the flowers have fallen, and the caterpillars feed on the leaves instead. But there are
different chemicals within the leaves now that set off a completely different reaction.
This time, the caterpillars take on the appearance of the oak twigs, rather than the
flowers. To its great advantage, the same species has shown a striking capacity for
variation.
Adaptations can be remarkably specific to the environment. A praying mantis looks
dangerously out of place on the forest floor, easy pickings for any nearby predators. But
a disappearing act takes place when the mantis reaches the flowers of the Asian orchid.
So closely does it resemble its surroundings that the other insects sometimes search for

nectar on its body. Those that do may pay for their mistake with their lives.
The unbroken reaches of the desert seem to offer little in the way of protection or places
to hide. Even here, though, natural selection has resulted in some very effective
adaptations. The desert snake can transform itself from obvious to almost invisible in the
sand, where it then hides in wait for potential prey. A lizard is no match at all for the
deception of the snake.
The sandy bottom of the ocean floor can also hide its inhabitants. The Caribbean
flounder, a fish whose flat body is the color of the ocean floor, makes good use of the
seabed to hide from view. Only its eyes are left exposed to sight a likely meal. Its looks
may be unusual, but they work superbly in these surroundings.
The pressure of natural selection, or survival of the fittest, is an irresistible force shaping
all of nature. Those individuals who live to reproduce pass on their useful traits to
succeeding generations. This is the essence of adaptation. As a general rule, the more
closely you match your environment, the better your chances are of surviving. The
genetic combinations that result in camouflage like this, as well as the behaviors passed
on from parents to offspring by example, are the product of an unknowable number of
hits and misses. Successful techniques and features live on in future generations, and
unsuccessful ones necessarily pass away. It is one of the true miracles of nature.
Appositives
Activity A., Page 67
1. Adapting is necessary for survival. As conditions changeavailability of food and
water, temperatures, the presence of predators both animal and humananimals must
change to meet the challenges or die.
2. Both weather and landscape play a part in how animals adapt. Those that live must be
well suited to the demands of the environment. For example, the brown feathers of the
ptarmigan, a bird about the size of a pigeon that lives in Europe and North America,
make it almost invisible to predators.
3. The ptarmigan also grows long white feathers on its feet for the winter, which act like
built-in snowshoes. Undoubtedly, the feathers also provide effective camouflage, a
disguise that helps the ptarmigan hide from predators by matching the color of its
environment.
4. When the snow disappears, so too do the white winter feathers of the ptarmigan. Its
summer outfit, speckled grey and brown feathers, is well designed to suit the
environment that is now free of snow.
5. The sandy bottom of the ocean floor can also hide its inhabitants. The Caribbean
flounder, a fish whose flat body is the color of the ocean floor, makes good use of the
seabed to hide from view.
LISTENING 2
Caught Off Guard
Activity A., C., Pages 68, 70
Professor Steed: Last week I posted the following quotation by Sun Tzu, an ancient

Chinese general: All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we
must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we
must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him
believe we are near. I was pleased with the responses on our class website and I have
chosen three of the examples you found in your research to talk about more in depth
today. So, lets get started. As you all know, deception is the art of making others hear,
see, or believe something which is intended to mislead them and give us an advantage.
Let me explain. In nature, animals use color changes or sound mimicry to distract or
confuse predators. In contrast, in our everyday lives, the use of makeup and clothes
helps humans attract attention. In advertising, companies often package small items in
big boxes or use bright colors to enhance dull products in order to attract consumers.Do
all of these actions work because it is so easy to manipulate others? As most of you
agreed, the answer is yes. And that leads us to our discussion topic today.
When we think of deception in warfare, the most common example is the use of color
and objects which are intended to help the military blend into an environment. In the
desert, soldiers wear khaki-colored uniforms; in a forest, vehicles are green in color. Well,
I asked you to look beyond the obvious, however this is not the only tactic the army uses
to deceive its enemies.
According to Dr. Joseph Caddell, a lecturer on military history at North Carolina State
University, there are active and passive forms of deception. In his 2004 paper,
Deception 101 Primer on Deception, he explains the difference. Passive deception is
designed to hide real intentions and capabilities from an adversary. In other words, it
involves hiding something which exists. In contrast, active deception is the process of
providing an adversary with evidence of intentions and capabilities which you do not, in
fact, possess. That is, it involves fooling the enemy into believing something which is
not true. An early example of deception that many of you presented was that of the
Trojan Horse. Scholars may argue that this was merely an event in Greek mythology
described in Virgils epic poem the Aeneid and later in Homers Odyssey, but actually
historical evidence has emerged of this conflict between the Trojans and the Greeks,
sometime between the 12th and 13th centuries B.C. Odysseus was the leader of the
attack and the creator of the Trojan Horse. Many acts of deception are involved here.
First, Odysseus ordered the construction of a large hollow wooden horse inside of which
Greek soldiers hid. Second, the Greek fleet pretended to sail home in defeat, but the
boats were really nearby, ready to attack Troy. Third, uh, when the Trojans looked
suspiciously at the horse and some argued that it was a trick, the Greek warrior, Sinon,
told them that the Greeks had left the horse as a gift for their victory. To further convince
the Trojans, Sinon said they had to take the horse into Troy in order to please the gods. In
the end, the Greek soldiers snuck out of the horse at night, the Greek ships returned to
fight, and Troy was defeated. Do you agree that Caddell would classify these as passive
acts of deception?
Jumping ahead to the 18th century, one of you wrote about how deceptive the first U.S.
president, George Washington, was when battling the British in the American revolution
for independence. Aware of the strength of the British troops, Washington utilized
deception in many of his operations. He created false documents and allowed them to
fall into British hands. In order to keep the British from having accurate knowledge of his
troop size, Washington purchased more supplies than necessary, constructed fake
military facilities, and ordered the setting of extra campfires, all to create the illusion of a
greater and stronger army. In order to misdirect attention from the movement of his

troops south from Rhode Island, Washington planted information that he was going to
attack New York City. While the British were distracted and concentrated their efforts on
defending New York, Washingtons troops crossed the Delaware and continued on to
Yorktown where the battle signaling a turn in the war was fought. Which category of
deception would Washingtons actions fall under? Active, right? That is, Washingtons
objective was to fool the enemy into believing things that were not true. The last
example we have time for today got the second highest number of comments from
th
students. It involves the 20 -century operations leading up to D-Day in World War II,
specifically Operation Quicksilver and Operation Fortitude South. In the first, a small
army unit was falsely portrayed as a large group under the command of the respected
General George Patton. In the latter, the Allies convinced the Germans that this large
unit was going to invade France at Pas-de- Calais. Deceptive messages and false radio
signals were sent to German intelligence agents. The Germans were caught off guard
when the real attack took place on the beaches of Normandy, and the Allied invasion was
successful.These are a few of the important instances that show the practice of
deception in warfare over a span of many centuries. They show examples of Sun Tzus
recommendation for troops to look unable when they are able, to appear inactive when
they are not, or to seem far when they are near. My question for you to ponder after
class is this: With the modern technology we have today in the 21st century, do you
think battles are still fought using such deceptive devices?

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