Grade8 Unit3 Lesson3

1- Would you like the job of a pearl diver ? Why /Why not ?

2- Have you ever seen a natural pearl ?

3- Have you ever eaten oysters ?

-Read the following selection and answer the questions :

Pearling has been a traditional and major industry in the area of the Gulf since 2000 BCE. The season for diving for pearl oysters, the shellfish that contain pearls, started in early June A huge fleet of pearling boats departed together for the oyster bank, and returned at the end of September.

How long did the pearl-diving season normally last?

Read the following selection and answer the question below :

The oyster boats either stayed near one particular bank or moved around to different banks. There were about twenty members of the crew on board the boat, one of whom led a rhythmic chant.

About how many people were there on board ?

-Read the following selection and answer the question that follows :

Pearl-diving was a difficult and exhausting job, involving long hours of work from soon after sunrise to just before sunset.

-When did the crew usually start work? When did they finish?

-Read the following selection and answer the question that follows :

The diver dived down into the water with a stone attached to his foot, gathered the oysters, then pulled on the rope as a signal for a crew member on board to bring him up to the surface. After a short rest, he went down again .

Why did the diver usually pull on the rope ?

-Read the following selection , then answer the question that follows :

The divers opened the oyster shells the following morning, with the captain looking on. Rainwater was used to store the oysters in, since it removed the greenish colour that the

oysters had .

Why did they always use rainwater for ?

Read the following selection, then answer the question that follows :

Then the oysters were wrapped in a piece of red cloth and were sorted according to size, weight and quality.

-How did they usually classify the oysters ?