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Reading and thinking

Clear thinking: Viewpoints (opinions)

With which of these viewpoints do you agree? Can you give reasons why?

1. A zoological garden can offer facilities that no similar institution can emulate. It should

be a complex laboratory, educational establishment and conservation unit. Our biological

knowledge of many animals is embarrassingly slight and it is here that zoological gardens

can be of great value in amassing information.

2. Some animals and birds that are bred in captivity can be returned to the wild in their own

country. However, we must first make sure that their habitat has not been destroyed or

changed, and that there is no chance of these animals taking some new disease back with

them into the wild.

3. The gorilla lay on his back,

One hand cupped under his head,

Like a man.

Like a labouring man tired with work,

A strong man with his strength burnt away

In the toil of earning a living.

Only of course he was not tired out with work,

Merely with boredom; his terrible strength

All burnt away by prodigal idleness.

4. While it is obviously more desirable to study animals in the wild, there are many aspects

of animal biology which can be more easily studied in zoos.

5. To the average person it might seem as though we had taken a lot of unnecessary trouble

over a small and unimportant beast, but to us it represented a major triumph. To find

and capture a delicate creature, to house it properly, teach it to eat a substitute food, cope

successfully with its illnesses and other problems - these are some of the most irritating,

heartbreaking, and worrying of a collector’s jobs, but their acomplishment is by far the

most exciting and satisfying.

6. On the numerous occasions when I have visited them I have never been able to escape

from this uncomfortable suspicion: that all of our scientific arguments overlook the

simple truth that we are imprisoning wild creatures against their will.

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Speaking and listening

Discuss the following questions with your partner:

• What is a poacher?

• What is a conservationist?

Imagine that one of you is a poacher and the other a conservationist.

You are going to meet in the bush and have an argument.

Poacher

You poach because you have no other way to make

money. You kill elephants and rhino to sell their

tusks and horns, so that you can get money to take care of your family.

You also kill other animals for their meat to feed your five children.

Conservationist

It is your job to protect animals from extinction. You think that poachers

who kill animals deserve to die. Elephants and rhino are important

species, and they are also endangered species. You cannot understand

why people kill these creatures just for money.

Fun with crazy farm animals

Can you spot all the mistakes in this picture? Find all 13.

Example: A cow doesn’t wear a tie.

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Language

When we talk about animals there are many things to know.

Animal families

Animals Male Female Young

lion lion lioness cub

tiger tiger tigress cub

leopard leopard leopardess cub

fox dog vixen pup

bear he-bear she-bear cub

kangaroo buck doe joey

giraffe bull cow calf

elephant bull cow calf

warthog boar sow piglet

cat tom tabby kitten

dog dog bitch puppy

goat billy nanny kid

donkey jack jenny foal

horse stallion mare foal (boy - colt; girl - filly)

sheep ram ewe lamb

fowl rooster hen chickens

Collective nouns

a leap of leopards a pod of whales / seals a pride of lions

a route of wolves a flock of sheep, birds a string of horses

a crash of rhinos a skulk of foxes a game of whales

a sloth of bears a gaggle of geese a pack of dogs

a knot of toads a pack of wild dogs a parliament of owls

Sounds animals make

lions - roar bears - growl

elephants - trumpet hyenas - laugh

jackals - howl snakes - hiss

wolves - howl monkeys - chatter

owls - hoot cats - mew, miaow, purr

horses - neigh sheep - bleat

donkeys - bray pigs - grunt, squeal

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When do we use much, a little, many and a few?

• much a little

Cannot be counted (except money)

Too much coffee is not good for you.

It doesn’t cost so much money.

There is only a little butter left.

I have so little time left to study.

• many a few

Can be counted

Many people like coffee.

There are many monkeys in the tree.

There are a few trees in that forest.

There are a few minutes left before break.

Teach and learn

I am the teacher and you are the learner.

He is teaching the monkey to do tricks.

The monkey is learning do to tricks.

Remember these prepositions

You sit in front of your friend but wash your hands before dinner.

I hide behind the door but after the game, we go home.

We sit in the back of the truck and you sit in front.

I don’t care how rare it is!

Shoot it!!

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Prefixes and suffixes

Prefixes are letters added to the beginning of a word, to give the root word a new meaning,

for example: sub-committee, hyper-active, dis-comfort.

Suffixes are added to the end of the root word, for example: -ivore, -alist.

Look at these two sentences:

A herbivore eats plants.

A herbalist uses plants to treat illness.

Both of the words in bold start with herb-, which we know means plant, but they have

different endings. The ending -ivore means eater. We can add it to other words: carnivore

(meat-eater), insectivore (insect-eater). We use the ending -ist to make the word for a person

who does an activity, e.g. scientist, artist, conservationist, zoologist.

Exercise

1. Add the suffix -ist or -ian to the following words and describe what these people do.

a. violin g. electric

b. tour h. magic

c. library i. music

d. history j. biology

e. geology k. zoo

f. therapy

(If the word end with a “y”, drop that letter.)

2. Turn each of these words into its opposite by adding the prefix in-, un- or im- and use

it in a sentence.

a. safe e. popular i. edible

b. possible f. visible j. obedient

c. healthy g. patient k. kind

d. lucky h. pleasant l. correct

3. Prefixes

In the word bank below are prefixes. Use them to complete the words below.

mis

al

a

dis

de

un

fore

re

tele

en

in

uni

Example: ...honest: dishonest

a. ...able f. ...large

b. ...phone g. ...write

c. ...long h. ...correct

d. ...head i. ...ready

e. ...lead j. ...crease

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4. In the sentences below there are some unfinished words beginning with prefixes. The

meanings of these words are in brackets. Write the sentences in your exercise book and

complete the words.

Example: The long-distance athlete was ex... (very tired)

The long-distance athlete was exhausted.

a. While the teacher was out of the room the pupils

mis... (naughty)

b. Peter’s room is very un... (not neat)

c. The farmer decided to ex... his dairy (make

bigger)

d. Those radios are por... (can be carried easily)

e. The man dis... at the gate. (got off the horse)

f. The meeting was post... for a week. (put off)

g. He an... me by calling me names. (made cross)

h. He arrived home at mid... (12 p.m.)

i. When I arrived, the house was a... (on fire)

5. Suffixes

A suffix is added at the end of a word to change the word’s meaning or to form a new

word.

Example: word + suffix = new word

cheer + full = cheerful

age + less = ageless

6. In the word bank below are suffixes. Use them to complete the words.

-ful

-ance

-en

-eer

-ern

-age

-ter

-ese

-able

-ways

-wards

-ment

-man

-ish

-ly

Example: post...: postage

a. comfort... f. sales... k. child...

b. bright... g. wind... l. south...

c. punish... h. disturb... m. self...

d. back... i. engin... n. wonder...

e. laugh... j. Japan...

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7. Adjectives are formed by adding suffixes.

Change each word in brackets by adding a suffix. Sometimes the ending of the word

will have to be changed before the suffix is added.

Example: Jack is a (prosper) farmer.

Jack is a prosperous farmer.

a. Sheila is a very (cheer) person.

b. We spent a (marvel) day on the farm.

c. Jack is a (friend) person.

d. The soil in the garden is very (sand).

e. Thank you for a (wonder) outing.

f. He was (fortune) to have survived the accident.

g. The wind is blowing in a (north) direction.

8. Nouns are formed by adding suffixes.

Change each of the words below into a noun by adding a suffix.

Example: advertise: advertisement

a. visit... f. perform...

b. arrange... g. refresh...

c. publish... h. bake...

d. fail... i. wait...

e. know... j. produce...

9. Compound words

Compound words are formed when two or more complete words are joined together.

Example: table + cloth = tablecloth

10. Now add a word from the word bank to each of the following to form a compound

word.

where

fare

class

man

house

sky

cow

head

quake

black

post

room

a. gentle + ... =

b. fore + ... =

c. hot + ... =

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d. mush + ... =

e. earth + ... =

f. every + ... =

g. ... + bird =

h. ... + boy =

i. ... + man =

j. ... + scraper =

k. ... + room =

l. ... + well =

11. Build a word

Use the two clues to form two words.

The second word must build on the first.

Example: hearing organ

wild animal

a. a story

not fresh

b. water from the sky

railway car

c. cares for the sick

place which sells plants

d. a loud ugly noise

a prehistoric reptile

e. a baby bed

a summer fruit

f. a door in a wall or fence

to water crops

g. soft thick hair covering some animals

very angry

E A R

B E A R