Learning English

Flying fox bats invade Australian town

Hundreds of thousands of bats have arrived in the Australian town of Batemans Bay. The people who live there are fed up with the noise and mess they make and want them moved. How much will it cost to solve the problem?

Language challenge

Complete this English expression about bats:

As ______ as a bat.

a) hairy

b) blind

c) scary

ነቲ ቪድዮ ብምዕዛብ ነቲ ስራሕ ዕመምዎ

The story

The authorities in the Australian state of New South Wales have declared an emergency to help a town – Bateman's Bay – that's been besieged by tens of thousands of bats.

The state authorities plan to spend about $1.8m to relocate the mammals.

Phil Mercer – BBC News

When native trees in Batemans Bay flower, the seaside town is invaded by large colonies of bats. Their droppings and constant screeching are infuriating residents who are demanding that 100,000 grey-headed flying foxes be moved on.

They could be bombarded with loud, industrial noise along with smoke and bright lights. Giant inflatable tubes used outside car showrooms and at funfairs could also be brought in to scare the bats away.

The flying foxes are listed as a vulnerable species, so Australian authorities have been given special permission to try to force them out of Batemans Bay.

Key words and phrases

declared an emergency
officially announced a dangerous situation exists

besieged
surrounded by

relocate
move to a different place

state of emergency
temporary set of rules an authority uses to deals with a dangerous situation 

plague
an unusually large number of unpleasant things

bat's insane
example of a pun – play on words - typical in tabloid headlines

To do

Try our quiz to see how well you've learned today's language.

Downloads

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Language challenge - answer

The answer is: b) blind 

End of Session 2

Join us in Session 3 for Lingohack - our video which teaches you words from the news using the latest BBC World News bulletins.