Turtles

BY Vera, Carina and Andreea

Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23

November 1990) was a British novelist, short-
story writer, poet, screenwriter, and
wartime fighter pilot.  His books have sold
more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl
was born in Wales to Norwegian immigrant
parents. He served in the Royal Air Force
during the Second World War He became a
 fighter pilot and, subsequently, an intelligence
officer, rising to the rank of acting wing
commander. He rose to prominence as a writer
in the 1940s with works for children and for
adults, and he became one of the world's best-
selling authors.
 Esio Trot (resume)

 This story is about a shy old man, Mr Hoppy, who lives in a small flat alone with his flowers.
Everyday, he goes to his balcony and listen to the woman, Mrs Silver, living below him with her turtle
and pet, Alfie. The old man wanted to marry the old woman but he was to shy to even start a
conversation with her. One day, he musters up enough courage and asks her how her turtle was doing.
She replies saying that she is very worried because it is not growing. Mr Hoppy suddenly thinks of a
way to give Mrs. Silver her wish and (he hopes!) win her affection. Mr Hoppy tells Mrs Silver that he -
in fact - does know of a way to make a tortoise grow bigger. He writes the following words on a slip of
paper, and lowers it down to Mrs. Silver:
ESIO TROT, ESIO TROT,TEG REGGIB REGGIB!EMOC NO, ESIO TROT,WORG PU, FFUP PU,
TOOHS PU!GNIRPS PU, WOLB PU, LLEWS PU!EGROG! ELZZUG! FFUTS! PLUG!TUP NO TAF,
ESIO TROT, TUP NO TAF!TEG NO, TEG NO, ELBBOG DOOF!
 Esio Trot (resume)

 Mr. Hoppy explains that these magic words when whispered in Alfie's ear three times a day, will cause Alfie to grow bigger and bigger. In reality, the magic words
are merely ordinary words written backwarsd. When Mrs Silver demands to know what the words mean, Mr Hoppy explains that tortoises are backwards
animals, so they only listen to words spoken backwards. Mrs. Silver is doubtful, but agrees to try.
Over the next 2 days he visited each pet-shop and choose many tortoises of all shapes and sizes and he brings all the tortoises back to his apartment. Next, Mr
Hoppy builds a special tool to help him snatch Alfie.
The following day, when Mrs. Silver leaves for work, Mr. Hoppy selects a tortoise from his living room that weighs exactly 15 ounces. He carefully picks Alfie
up from the lower balcony, and exchanges him with the new tortoise. When Mrs. Silver returns home, she faithfully whispers the magic words in Alfie's ear,
but does not notice that an exchange has been made.
For the 8 following weeks, Mr Hoppy leans over his balcony with his special tool to exchange "Alfie" with another slightly larger tortoise. With a weight of 27
ounces, the last tortoise is too big to get into Mr Hoppy's house, and Mrs Silver finally notices the difference. She is so happy that she invites Mr Hoppy to her
apartment to hold "Alfie".
Mrs Silver now wants Alfie to be a little smaller because she doesn't want to make a bigger opening for his house. Mr Hoppy gives her some new magic words,
and Mrs Silver agrees to try them for a day. After several attempts, Mr Hoppy exchanges "Alfie" with a tortoise that goes perfectly through the house's door.
Mrs Silver is so delighted with Alfie's response that she invites Mr Hoppy over for a cup of tea. He finally plucks up the courage to ask Mrs Silver to marry him,
and she accepts him.
Mr Hoppy takes all his superfluous tortoises and gives them away free of charge. A little girl, Roberta Squibb, adopts the original Alfie, and he lives happily in his
garden. After Alfie reaches 30, his size finally doubles.
 Turtles

 Nature, through its miracles, arouses curiosity everywhere and scientists no longer hesitate to discover them. Turtles are
considered the longest-lived vertebrates on the planet.
 The tortoise is a cute creature that carries its "house" behind it. In fact, the shell is a method of defense. When the frog
feels in danger, it squeezes its limbs and head under the "armor" of impenetrable bone, so it will be very difficult or
impossible for the predator to hurt or eat it. Turtles are well known for their longevity due to their very slow metabolism
and sensational ability to save energy, so they move very slowly. Several species of turtles can live over 100 years.
 They have an extraordinary adaptive force, but unfortunately they have become an endangered species due to the fact that
they have special living conditions, which are increasingly difficult to find today. The life of this species depends very
much on the environment in which it lives, which makes its mark on their body temperature and lifespan. They cannot
survive the cold or excessive heat, therefore, the frequent temperature changes in the world today shorten their average
life. But not only nature has become unfavorable to the survival of turtles. Man also intervened in the evolution of the
species, when he began to hunt them and find various uses, either as a pet or isolated in zoos. Turtles have not only been
hunted for their meat, their particularly tasty eggs, but also for their shell, used in various industries
 Curiosities about the turtle:
 Turtles are among the oldest species on Earth. Turtles have been on Earth for more than 220 million years, long before dinosaurs. The first turtles had
teeth and could not withdraw their heads. In 1937, a giant turtle, over 500 years old and 4 m long, was found on the coast of Cuba.
 Turtles are found on every continent except Antarctica. The shell of a turtle consists of 60 different bones joined together. Some species of water can
absorb oxygen through the skin around the neck, allowing them to remain submerged for a long time and even hibernate underwater.
 Aldabra Island in the Indian Ocean, declared a nature reserve, is the most populated island with huge turtles. More than 100,000 very large turtles live
here.
 The heaviest turtle in the world today is the leathery turtle Luthul - Dermochelys Coriaceea, which weighs 700 kg and is 2-3 m long.
 The leather turtle is the largest but also the fastest of the turtles. She has no shell. Instead of the bony shield, this species of turtle has a thick skin,
supported by 7 distinct ridges, arranged from head to back, a kind of rib that rises from its body. It thus has a tear-like shape, which gives it a
hydrodynamic design that helps it swim. And although adults can reach impressive sizes, up to 2.2 meters long and 700 kilograms, leatherback turtles are
particularly fast: they swim at up to 35 kilometers per hour, or 100 meters in 10 seconds.
 The brain of the turtle is very small and little evolved, but the sense organs instead are sensitive, being able to immediately notice variations in light or
very faint traces of odors.
 Turtles have no teeth, but the edges of the upper and lower jaws are covered with horny, sharp sheaths. These animals were not always toothless, as
evidenced by the turtles discovered in Germany, which come from the Upper Triassic and had teeth.
 The turtle has a very high resistance to hunger that can last up to 400 days.The regenerative power of turtles is impressive. If the shell is burned or deeply
injured, it will take less than two years to recover.
Turtles in cooking

Turtle meat is an interesting food that many

people have yet to try. When you use this meat
in recipes, always tenderize it first by boiling it
with vinegar. Cooking fried turtle is a delicious
way to prepare this meat, particularly for those
who haven't tried it before. Turtle soup is
another classic dish that combines a variety of
flavors with turtle meat for a unique taste
experience.
 Turtle soup

Turtle soup is soup or stews made from the meat of turtles. Differing versions of the soup exist in some cultures and are viewed as a delicacy.

China
In China, and in several countries with large populations of Chinese people, such as Singapore, turtle soup is a delicacy. The meat, skin and innards of the turtle are
used in the soup. Soft-shelled turtles such as Pelodiscus sinensis are commonly consumed in this manner in Chinese cuisine, while consumption of hard-shelled
turtles is often avoided due to their mythical connotations. However, the hard shells of certain turtles are used in the preparation of a dish called Guilinggao or "turtle
jelly".
England
Between the time turtle soup gained popularity in England in the 1750s and the time it virtually disappeared from English tables due to overfishing was about 150
years. According to food historian Janet Clarkson, the dish, which she calls out as one of several "noteworthy soups", became a symbol for civic dinners; she wrote,
"From 1761 to 1825 it was never absent from the London Lord Mayor's Day Banquet. It is probably not unreasonable to hold several generations of aldermen and
other civic leaders responsible for eating the turtle almost to exctinction.“
United States
In the United States, the common snapping turtle has long been the principal species used for turtle soup. In this case the soup is also referred to as snapper turtle
soup, or simply snapper soup (not to be confused with red snapper soup, which is made from the fish red red snapper). It is a heavy, brown soup with an appearance
similar to thick meat gravy.
 Turtle Riddles

 There is no fish but it stays in the pond. Not even the locust. No crickets or squirrels. And he's a "singer" of sorts.
 No matter how hot it is, I have a place to bathe, For immediately - wow! - in the lake. And I start singing: oac! oac!
 You don't see his head, his tail, or his legs. A boulder… But if you leave her alone, She pulls her snout out from under
the shell And slowly it starts moving…In millions of patterns,With transparent or opaque clothes, Life had to get
dressed. On the road to millennial transformations! For drawing a more perfect form, From amoeba to insect. He got
lost in thousands of hypotheses. And what a long road and difficult evolutions, Until Nature came to create. The
gentle shape of my friend!
 I have a house, but I'm not a snail And I move slowly. I'm devoid of "horns", I walk with my paws, I also have a small
tail. But when I'm scared, I have nothing else to do, Just get in the shell!
 Turtle Poem

A turtleI's an oval lid which, when you have no newsGet out slowly. He sits in
the sun for a while to take light you could even sayThat he worships it. And if he
didt would not be a sinFor without the sunWe wouldn't have existed. He hatches
them eggs in the sand.What else? No sunIt would be nothing. And know that
frog he can breatheOn land and in waterJust as well.I'd like a frog T
to be sometimesTo swim in the waterAmong the fish.And if it passes me byThe
fun to noteI could of courseTo go out on land.To say 'hello'To those on the
shore.I-turtleAn oval lid.