Tasbaqa: Central Asian Tortoise on the Ustyurt PlateauCEFR A1
31 Aug 2025
Adapted from Vlast.kz, Global Voices • CC BY 3.0
Photo by GWANGJIN GO, Unsplash
Level A1 – BeginnerCEFR A1
2 min
77 words
- The Ustyurt Plateau is a clay desert.
- It crosses Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and western Kazakhstan.
- The Central Asian tortoise lives on the plateau.
- People call this tortoise Tasbaqa in Kazakh.
- Humans now are the main threat to tortoises.
- Tortoises are traded, sometimes killed, or trapped.
- Saxon Bosworth made the short film called TASBAQA.
- He first saw the plateau in 2020 in Karakalpak.
- A day in the film stands for months.
- The film wants to raise support for conservation.
Difficult words
- tortoise — A slow-moving land animal with a shell.tortoises
- humans — People, individuals who have human qualities.
- catch — To grab or seize something.
- kill — To cause to die.
- accident — An unexpected event that causes harm.
- plateau — A flat, elevated area of land.
- live — To exist or be alive.lives
- large — Big in size or amount.
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- Why do you think humans harm tortoises?
- What makes Ustyurt a special place for tortoises?
- How can we protect tortoises?
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