Zoo life - PAEG inglés CLM

In the past, a visit to the zoo was considered an enjoyable day out, not much different from a picnic in the park. But zoos are now causing a lot of controversy.

As people move away from rural areas, it is more difficult for them to see animals in their natural habitats. Many people believe that we can teach children about these animals through visits to zoos, where it is possible to see, hear, smell and sometimes even touch them.

Opponents, however, argue that seeing animals in cages is not instructive, because it is impossible to learn about their natural behaviour in such unnatural conditions. They believe that zoos actually send a negative message and allow people to believe that keeping living beings captive is permissible.

Moreover, these opponents believe that keeping animals in cages promotes suffering, especially for more intellectually complex species that need mental stimulation as well as adequate space in which to move. They say that in many zoos, animals are kept in small, filthy enclosures and are often forced to perform tricks for the public. Consequently, many animals suffer from “zoochosis”; that is, abnormal behaviours such as bar-biting or self-mutilation among zoo animals. They reject the arguments that zoos help animals to lead longer, healthier lives due to the guaranteed diet and veterinary care they receive.

There are, of course, kind and humane zoos, such as the Jersey Zoo in the UK, that provide *outstanding services to animal welfare and conservation. But most zoos do not in fact meet the standards they set themselves. Unless they really do start to contribute to animal welfare, zoos may soon find that they themselves are extinct.

*outstanding: excellent and better than others

READING COMPREHENSION

Add TRUE or FALSE and copy the evidence from the text to support your answer.

NO marks are given for only true or false.

1.    It is difficult to find animals in rural areas.

• FALSE (paragraph 2) “As people move away from rural areas, it is more difficult for them to see animals in their natural habitats.”

2.    Many people feel that going to the zoo is a learning experience.

• TRUE (paragraph 2) “Many people believe that we can teach children about these animals through visits to zoos”

3.    Most animals enjoy performing tricks for visitors.

• FALSE (paragraph 4) “animals … are often forced to perform tricks for the public.”

4.    The Jersey Zoo does not meet the standards it sets itself.

• FALSE (paragraph 5) “There are … zoos, such as the Jersey Zoo in the UK, that provide outstanding services to animal welfare … But most zoos do not in fact meet the standards they set themselves.”

LEXICON

Find words or phrases in the text that mean the same as these given.

1.    pleasant    enjoyable (paragraph 1)
2.    acceptable    permissible (paragraph 3)
3.    dirty    filthy (paragraph 4)
4.    excellent    outstanding (paragraph 5)

PHONETICS

1.    Write two words from the text that have the same diphthong sound as “day”.
      (Underline the part of the word which contains the diphthong.)

away, behaviour, cages, say...

2.    Which of the following words has the same vowel sound as “bird”?

1. services    2. park    3. forced

USE OF ENGLISH

Rewrite the following sentences starting with the words given.

1.    It is forbidden to feed the animals.

• You mustn’t feed the animals.

2.    Although we were exhausted, we went to the zoo with the children.

• In spite of being exhausted, we went to the zoo with the children.

3.    She asked, “Did you enjoy your outing last week?”

• She asked me if/whether I had enjoyed my outing the week before/the previous week.

4.    Zoos will become extinct unless they start to contribute to animal welfare.

• If zoos don’t start to contribute to animal welfare, they will become extinct.

5.    He started to work at this zoo two years ago.

• He has been working at this zoo for two years.

6.    Some zoos provide outstanding services to animals.

• Outstanding services are provided to animals by some zoos.

+EXÁMENES RESUELTOS