The Australians who lost a war to emus

ESL Lessons: True Stories

A printable worksheet for story-based English conversation classes.

Difficulty: Intermediate B1

PDF: The Australians who lost a war to emus

Warm-up

Do you know what an emu is? (Yes, it's...)

Vocabulary Match

tough -   - putting
mounting -   - making
fencing -   - outsmarted
causing -   - kill
outmaneuvered -   - barriers
cull -   - strong

True Story

Listen and fill in the blanks with words from above.

In the 1930s, emus were ________ damage to farms in Western Australia. The government sent soldiers with machine guns to ________ the emus. However, the emus were hard to target and could run very fast. The soldiers had trouble killing the emus, and the media started calling it the "Emu War." The soldiers tried ________ machine guns on trucks, but the emus still ________ them.

The operation was eventually called off, and only around 1,000 emus were killed. The emu problem continued until better ________ was used to protect the farms. The Great Emu War of 1932 is now a funny story in Australian history, showing how difficult it can be to control wildlife. As one farmer said at the time, "If our military had birds as ________ as these emus, they could face any army in the world. Emus can survive machine gun fire just like tanks."

Quiz

  1. What did the government send to cull the emus?
  2. Did the soldiers have trouble killing the emus?

True or False

  1. The emus were easy to target.   T  |  F
  2. The media called it the "Emu War."   T  |  F
  3. Better fencing was used to protect the farms after the operation was called off.  T  |  F

Conversation

A: Why did they send us here again?
B: To cull the emus, remember?
A: Yeah, but these birds are fast!
B: You're telling me. I can barely aim.
A: Look, there's one now! Get it!
B: I'm trying! This thing is like a tank!
A: Ha! Maybe we should surrender to the emus instead.

Discussion

  1. Do you think it's funny that the emus were able to outsmart the soldiers?
  2. Would you have been scared to face the emus if you were a soldier?
  3. Do you think it's important to protect wildlife, even if it causes damage to farms?
  4. Have you ever had animals come into your garden, house or apartment?

True Story Answers

In the 1930s, emus were causing damage to farms in Western Australia. The government sent soldiers with machine guns to cull the emus. However, the emus were hard to target and could run very fast. The soldiers had trouble killing the emus, and the media started calling it the "Emu War." The soldiers tried mounting machine guns on trucks, but the emus still outmaneuvered them.

The operation was eventually called off, and only around 1,000 emus were killed. The emu problem continued until better fencing was used to protect the farms. The Great Emu War of 1932 is now a funny story in Australian history, showing how difficult it can be to control wildlife. As one farmer said at the time, "If our military had birds as tough as these emus, they could face any army in the world. Emus can survive machine gun fire just like tanks."

Vocabulary Answers

mounting → putting
causing → making
outmaneuvered → outsmarted
cull → kill
fencing → barriers
tough → strong

Quiz Answers

  1. Soldiers with machine guns.
  2. Yes, they had trouble killing the emus.

True or False Answers

  1. False
  2. True
  3. True

Further Reading

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emu_War

More "True Story" Lessons

ESL Lessons: True Stories