| Language Focus“Spiders are the lions and tigers of the arthropods—there is not a vegetarian amongst them. They make their living by stalking or trapping their victims, subduing them with venom injected through hollow fangs, dissolving their soft tissues with powerful digestive juices and then sucking out their liquid lunch.” - In the first line, what is the effect of the comparison between spiders and lions and tigers?
- What do you think is the effect of the phrase “there is not a vegetarian amongst them?”
- In the second sentence, can you find five gruesome verbs?
- In the second sentence, can you find two or more words with negative connotations?
- In the second sentence, can you find three or more adjectives that build up a picture in the readers’ mind?
Answers: 1. The comparison to lions and tigers helps us imagine the spider as a powerful and as a carnivore/meat-eater. 2. It adds humour because being vegetarian is something we associate with humans. 3. Stalking, trapping, subduing, injected, dissolving, sucking. 4. Venom, fangs or any of the verbs in the previous answer. 5. Hollow, soft, powerful, liquid. | |