第14章 Lesson 14: Ogopogo—Canada's Lake Monster

You have probably heard of Nessie, the shy monster that lives in Loch Ness, Scotland. However, did you know that Canada also has a lake monster? It is called Ogopogo, and it lives in long, deep Lake Okanagan in British Columbia.

The Salish Native people in British Columbia have known about this lake monster for a very long time. These First Nations people call it N'ha-a-itk. Every time they needed to go onto the lake, they would look carefully for the monster before setting out. Sometimes they would throw food into the lake, so the monster would like them and leave them alone.

In 1942, the monster became known as Ogopogo. These days, we think Ogopogo is more of a friendly lake creature than a scary monster. Ogopogo is believed to have a snake-like body, with several humps, a green outer skin, and a large goat or horse-like head. Its body is about half a metre wide and five or six metres long. Some people who claimed they saw it said it looked like a log! Some scientists think Ogopogo could be a kind of ancient water serpent or a primitive whale.

What do you think? Is Ogopogo a friendly creature—or just a funny story?

I. Word List

setting out: starting a trip

log: a long piece of wood

ancient: very old

II. Match the words that go together.

green Ogopogo

horse-like body

snake-like head

Nessie Lake Okanagan

N'ha-a-itk skin

British Columbia Loch Ness Monster

III. Write T for true or F for false.

___ 1. Canada has a lake called Loch Ness.

___ 2. The name "Ogopogo" was adopted in 1942.

___ 3. The First Nations people called the lake monster Ogopogo.

___ 4. Nessie and Ogopogo are believed to be the same kind of creature.

___ 5. Ogopogo has several humps on its body.

___ 6. Ogopogo's body is about five or six metres long.

___ 7. Some scientists believe Ogopogo could be a kind of primitive whale.

IV. Answer the following questions.

1. Do you think Nessie and Ogopogo could be real? Why or why not?

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2. What would you do if you saw a lake monster?

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3. Does your country have any creatures like Nessie or Ogopogo? Tell about them.

___________________________________________________________.

4. Would you like to visit Loch Ness or Lake Oganagan? Why or why not?

___________________________________________________________.

5. Do you like reading stories about scary creatures? Why or why not?

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