Stage 4 Comp - Animals - Evelyn Cheesman, Escaping The Web - Comprehension Pack.pdf

STAGE 4 Unit focus: Animals Text focus: Information Text Evelyn Cheesman - Escaping the Web For most people, ge ng stuck in an enormous spider’s web sounds like their worst nightmare. However, t...

STAGE 4 Unit focus: Animals Text focus: Information Text Evelyn Cheesman - Escaping the Web For most people, ge ng stuck in an enormous spider’s web sounds like their worst nightmare. However, that’s just what happened to Evelyn Cheesman when she was exploring a remote island near Colombia in South America. Evelyn was an explorer and entomologist (someone who studies insects). Her love of nature and insects led her to some of the world’s most far-flung places in the world. Lucy Evelyn Cheesman was born in 1881 in Kent. She was fascinated by nature from a young age. She was always having daring adventures and ge ng into scrapes. Evelyn dreamed of becoming a vet. However, her family couldn’t afford it and women weren’t allowed to do it anyway. Instead she worked first as a governess and then as a canine nurse. Then she got a job in the insect house at London Zoo. She was the first ever female curator. When she arrived, the insect house was in a terrible state. It had been neglected during the First World War. Evelyn set about improving the exhibition. She caught insects herself and even found exotic species by going to markets to find spiders in the fruit imports. Before long, the insect house was one of the most popular a ractions at the zoo. In 1924, Evelyn got the chance to travel to French Polynesia and the Galapagos Islands to collect insects. This expedition was funded by taking tourists on board too. For Evelyn, this was frustrating. They were forced to keep the tourists happy rather than just focus on the science. Evelyn left the expedition to travel alone instead. A solo female traveller was almost unheard of at that time. It was not an easy life either. Evelyn was bi en by clouds of flies and became ill after eating a poisonous fish. She trekked through jungles, scrambled up rock faces and crossed rivers. She described almost plummeting to her death after she fell over the edge of a cliff. She had to pull her way back to safety by clinging to bracken. She spent time with local tribes including those feared for their blood-thirsty ways. Evelyn was always respectful of the tribes’ traditions and culture and in return was treated well. They too were in awe of Evelyn’s daring exploits. Evelyn caught tropical diseases such as malaria. Despite all of these challenges, she reported that A ding ro Rea und all resources ©2023 Literacy Shed e um C u r r ic ul Th http://www.literacyshedplus.com the worst of all was finding a leech in her pot of tea! Evelyn carried on exploring until she was in her 70s. She collected some 70,000 species and these are now part of the collection at The Natural History Museum. Many are even named after her. She did what nobody at the time thought a woman could or should do. Her impressive life is an inspiration to us all to follow our passions wherever they take us – although maybe not into a giant spider’s web! EXPLANATION FOCUS 1. How has the writer aimed to capture the reader’s interest at the start of the text? 2. What words has the writer chosen to add drama to the story about Evelyn Cheesman nearly falling over the cliff edge? 3. What is the purpose of including the story of the leech in the pot of tea? 4. What is the writer’s view of Evelyn Cheesman? 5. In your opinion, what is Evelyn Cheesman’s most impressive achievement? VIPERS QUESTIONS V Which two words in the opening paragraph tell us that Evelyn Cheesman travelled to distant places? R How was Evelyn Cheesman’s first expedition paid for? R What two reasons are given for Evelyn Cheesman not being threatened by local tribes? V What are exploits? S In what ways did Evelyn Cheesman overcome the limitations that women experienced at the time? all resources ©2023 Literacy Shed http://www.literacyshedplus.com