Bats
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Todd
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Todd: I usually get home from work at about 6:30 and when I get home the first thing I like to do is go jogging. Fortunately, my apartment is near a river and I go jogging on the river at night. It's really beautiful. It's really green. There's lots of trees and fields along the river and it's quite beautiful.
The worst thing about my jog though are the dogs. There are river dogs that live along the river and they don't have a home and they're a little bit dangerous. Sometimes they threaten to chase you or bite you and when you jog by they often growl. Sometimes I have to keep a bottle of water to throw on them or maybe a stick so they don't attack, but so far nothing's happened. The best thing about the jog are the bats. When you jog at night there are bats that fly and they eat insects. This is right at sunset, as the sun goes down, and it's really, really beautiful to see them, and when you jog amazingly they'll fly at the same pace as you, I think because the insects maybe are attracted to the joggers body heat, but the bats will not get too close to the jogger, to me, they will only get about 4 or 5 feet from me, but they fly at the same pace. As I jog I can see them and it's really, really beautiful to see them when I run.
fortunately
Fortunately, my apartment is near a river.
We use 'fortunately' to describe something that is lucky or a good thing. Notice the following:
- Fortunately, we didn't arrive too late for the party.
- Fortunately, we have made a lot of great friends since we moved here.
river dogs
The worst thing about my jogs, though, are the river dogs.
'River dogs' are homeless street dogs that live near the river. Notice the following:
- It feels like every year there are more river dogs.
- He gives the river dogs food, so they love him.
threaten
Sometimes, the dogs threaten to chase you or bite you.
If something or someone 'threatens' you he acts in a way that shows he will hurt you. Notice the following:
- He threatened to stop coaching if we lose this game.
- Her competitive attitude is very threatening.
body heat
I think the insects are attracted to the joggers' body heat.
Your 'body heat' is warmth of your body compared to the air around you. Notice the following:
- There are special cameras that can sense body heat.
- When it's cold outside you need to cover yourself to save your body heat.
pace
The bats will not get close to me, but they fly at the same pace.
In this case 'pace' is a speed that you maintain consistently for a long time. Notice the following:
- All of the bikers on our team go about the same pace.
- I can't run with him because his pace is too fast for me.
Vocabulary Quiz
body heat • pace
