Reading skills practice: Are zoos a good thing?
– exercises
How do you feel about keeping animals in zoos? Read both sides of the argument to help you decide.
Preparation
Put the animals in their natural habitats.
             bison                    walrus                 polar bear                  seal
             giraffe                  penguin                  lizard                   ostrich
             camel                     zebra                 meerkat                   elephant
                  Polar                          Grassland                         Desert
                                       Giraffe                           Bison
Polar bear                           Lizard                             Seal
Penguin                              Ostrich                            Camel
 Walrus                              Zebra
                                     Meerkat
                                     Elephant
                          Reading skills practice: Are zoos a good thing? – exercises
1. Check your understanding: true or false
Circle True or False for these sentences.
        Modern zoos can offer animals a living environment that is as good as their
1.                                                                                      True   False
        natural habitats.
        One of the reasons zoo animals become distressed is because they are
2.                                                                                      True   False
        separated from their families.
3.      Dolphins and whales usually live longer in zoos than in the wild.               True   False
        People who have visited zoos are more likely to support animal conservation
4.                                                                                      True   False
        and protection.
5.      Zoos protect animals from being used for scientific research.                   True   False
6.      Endangered animals kept in zoos are less likely to meet a mate and breed.       True   False
7.      In their natural habitats, animals suffer problems related to human activity.   True   False
8.      Endangered species often lack genetic diversity in their population.            True   False
        Zoos promote genetic diversity by breeding animals and then releasing them
9.                                                                                      True   False
        back into the wild.
                         Reading skills practice: Are zoos a good thing? – exercises
       If zoos have more animals than they can look after, they always give them to
10.                                                                                      True         False
       another zoo or release them back into the wild.
       Animals that have been bred in captivity quickly adapt to life in hunting
11.                                                                                      True         False
       ranches.
12.    The author thinks that, on balance, zoos are generally a good thing.              True         False
2. Check your vocabulary: gap fill
Complete the gaps with a word from the box.
        habitat                     suicide                       tricks                  illnesses
         mate                         wild                    environment                  species
1.     Even the best artificial environments cannot come close to an animal's natural wild .
2.     Whales and dolphins in zoos are often made to perform .tricks
3.     Distressed and depressed zoo animals sometimes try to commit suicide .
4.     Zoos can provide a safe environmente for animals that have been mistreated or abandoned.
5.     Zoos carry out important research into how to treat illnesses.
6.     International breeding programmes are particularly important for endangered species.
7.     In the wild, some of the rarest species have difficulty finding a mate .
       One criticism of breeding programmes is that they do not always release animals back into the
8.
       Habitat