Study Buddy (Explorer): Japan village told to ‘take precautions’ as rare bear sightings trigger memory of 1915 attack
- Residents in a remote community in Hokkaido have raised the alarm after a bear was spotted multiple times this year, evoking memories of attack that killed 7
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Sightings of a very large bear in northwest Hokkaido have triggered alarm as residents remember the worst bear attack in Japanese history. Photo: ShutterstockContent provided by British Council
Read the following text, and answer questions 1-9 below:
[1] Sightings of a very large bear in northwest Hokkaido have triggered alarm in remote communities that have become synonymous with the worst bear attack incident in Japanese history.
[2] There have been multiple sightings of a brown bear, estimated to be around two metres from nose to tail, just a few kilometres from the town of Sankebetsu, where a brown bear killed seven local residents and injured three more in an infamous six-day rampage in December 1915.
[3] The incident has been immortalised in television series, film and manga and is widely believed to have been the worst confrontation between animals and human settlers in Japanese history.
[4] Concerns that another powerful predator is prowling the area rose after four sightings of the bear in early January. Three of the sightings were reported by a snowplough driver and his colleague as they cleared roads inland from the coastal town of Obira, on the northwest coast of Japan’s most northern prefecture, the Asahi newspaper reported.
[5] The town employees said they saw the bear eating what appeared to be a deer and, on another occasion, burying a kill. There have also been numerous reports of bear tracks in the thick snow, including close to one house on the outskirts of Obira. “Last year, we only had one report of a bear being seen close to the town,” said Yurie Tano, a spokesperson for the village, which has just 2,781 residents. “We rarely see any bears close to the town, but they are in the hills nearby, and we have told people to take precautions,” she said.
[6] Local officials have been going door-to-door in the community to warn residents of the potential danger, with people living in properties on the outskirts of the town and those in isolated valleys considered to be particularly at risk. It is not surprising the sightings have put local people on edge, given the area’s history.
[7] The bear that terrorised the residents of Sankebetsu in 1915 was initially disturbed while stealing corn from an outhouse. When it returned a few days later, it was shot by a local farmer, wounding the creature. Locals believed that would be enough to deter the bear from approaching their settlements again, but the opposite occurred.
[8] The bear broke into the home of a farmer and his family on December 9, killing a baby and the farmer’s wife as she fled through the snow. Reports at the time said the scene of the attack resembled a slaughterhouse. Evading armed patrols, the bear broke through the wooden walls of another farm the following day, killing five women and children.
[9] Over the following days, the bear managed to elude more hunters and soldiers sent to the village, ransacking homes that had been abandoned by the local people. It was not until December 14 that soldiers were able to track the bear down and kill it. When measured, the bear was an impressive 2.7 metres long and weighed 340kg.
Source: South China Morning Post, January 16
Questions
1. What information is provided about the bear in paragraphs 1 and 2?
A. where it was seen
B. how tall it is
C. its colour
D. all of the above
2. What event took place in 1915 according to paragraph 2?
3. Find a word in paragraph 3 that refers to making something so famous that it is remembered for a very long time.
4. What does the “powerful predator” in paragraph 4 refer to?
5. Decide whether the following statements in paragraph 5 are True, False or the Information is Not Given. Fill in ONE circle only for each statement. (4 marks)
(i) Tano saw the brown bear eating a deer. (ii) There are reports of the bear crossing roads.
(iii) People have spotted bear tracks near a house. (iv) There are less than 3,000 people living in the town.
6. According to paragraph 6, how do the town’s residents feel about the news about the bear sightings?
A. nervous
B. excited
C. angry
D. unconcerned
7. In paragraph 7, what did the people living in Sankebetsu think would happen after the bear was shot?
8. According to paragraph 8, who died on December 9?
9. What happened when soldiers eventually found the bear?
Answers
1. D
2. A brown bear killed seven local residents and injured three other people in Japan.
3. immortalised
4. the brown bear
5. (i) NG; (ii) F; (iii) T; (iv) T
6. A
7. that it would not enter the area again (accept all similar answers)
8. the farmer’s wife and a baby
9. They killed it.