1.

Reading text

Why your dog helps you relax

more than your friends do
Psychologists explain the reason why dogs, even though they can’t talk, can lower your anxiety
and improve your mood better than a human can.

If you've ever noticed that you feel more relaxed around your beloved pooch when you're
under pressure than you do with your partner or a friend, you're in good company.

A mounting body of research has found that when dog-owners are faced with stressful
situations, their bodies tend to be less physiologically reactive when their pets are
present. The unconditional support people get from their pups has a psychological impact
and a physiological basis. In recent years, multiple studies have illustrated the many ways
people’s dogs can provide comfort, calm their frazzled nerves, be good listeners, and
provide other forms of valuable support, proving that sometimes words are simply not
necessary.

“Our dog companions are very predictable and reliable the unconditional love we get
from our dogs gives us a sense of security,” says Evangeline Wheeler, a professor of
psychology at Towson University in Maryland. “Dogs don’t judge you or criticize. They
just sit there and look at you with loving eyes.”

This silent form of canine encouragement can have a calming effect when you’re anxious
or under pressure, sometimes more than the presence of a human friend or partner does.

Canine vs. human support

When people were placed in situations where they were asked to perform mental
arithmetic or endure a “cold pressor” test in which their hand is submerged in ice water,
those who had their dog present had smaller increases in their blood pressure and heart
rate than those who had a spouse or friend present, according to research
in Psychosomatic Medicine.
More recently, a study in a 2023 issue of the journal Emotion had people engage in a
stress-inducing task involving adding numbers that flashed on a computer screen then
interact with their pet dog, color in a coloring book, or wait quietly for 10 minutes. Those
who interacted with their pooches experienced a greater boost in mood and a greater
reduction in anxiety than those who waited or tried to destress by coloring.

“Your dog is providing nonjudgmental social support you know your dog isn’t judging
you for stressing out or being a wimp,” says study coauthor Hannah Raila, a psychologist
and assistant teaching professor of psychology at UC Santa Cruz. “If your dog is sitting
there wagging its tail, you could catch positive emotions from the dog.”

Similarly, in a study in the journal Society & Animals, researchers had 223 people
undergo the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), which requires participants to make a
presentation and subsequently take an unanticipated mental arithmetic test in front of a
panel of people who don’t provide feedback or encouragement. When people performed
the TSST in the presence of a companion dog, they had lower stress levels, as measured
by blood pressure and heart rate, and less anxiety.

In terms of how dogs can provide their humans with a level of comfort that other people
can’t, “there’s a raw honesty you can have with your dog that you can’t always have with
other people,” says Lori Kogan, a counseling psychologist and a professor in the clinical
sciences department at Colorado State University. “We accept them so completely as
they are and they do the same for us and they’re consistent about it.”

The benefits of talking to Fido

It’s common for people to chat with their dogs throughout the day about what each other
is doing or how cute or playful or mischievous the pup is. It’s a gentle reminder of what’s
meaningful. “When you talk to your dog, you get a sense of this is why you’re here no
matter what happens at work or with your finances, your dog still loves you and needs
you and that gives you a sense of purpose,” says Larry Young, an expert on the
neuroscience of social bonding and a professor of psychiatry at Emory University.
Research has found that talking to your dog about emotionally fraught issues can be
particularly beneficial. In a study in a 2018 issue of Anthrozoös, researchers found that
people are more willing to confide in their dogs about difficult emotions, such as
depression, jealousy, anxiety, apathy, and fear, than they are with their romantic partners
or friends.

The precise reasons for this aren’t known but one hypothesis is that “pets are good,
nonjudgmental listeners because they don’t interrupt or reply,” says study coauthor
Daniel Mills, a specialist in human-animal relationships and a professor of veterinary
behavioral medicine at the University of Lincoln in the United Kingdom. “A dog won’t
try to fix the problem the way some people do.”

There’s value in simply expressing emotions, especially troublesome ones. Research has
found that when people put their emotions into words, their negative feelings become less
intense, both subjectively and neurologically by calming the response of the amygdala,
which is responsible for processing fear, anxiety, and other intense emotions.

Your relationship with your dog is a safe space because your dog won’t judge you or
disagree with you. “Humans have a need to talk and articulating how you’re feeling is
quite important in resolving your feelings,” Mills says. “By verbalizing it, you can start to
make sense of it, as opposed to having it float around in your head. Expressing [those
feelings] helps you move on from the past and into the future. There’s a liberation that
comes with that.”

Another hidden perk: Your dog isn’t going to engage in a conversation about what’s
bothering you, which could lead you to ruminate about it. They’re more likely to distract
you. “Dogs use emotionally manipulative strategies,” Mills says. “Their desire to play is
incompatible with you being subdued or angry.”

When you’re interacting, you can both get a surge of oxytocin (often called the “love
hormone” or the “cuddle hormone”), which decreases the stress response in the short
term, Young says.
Further support for this phenomenon comes from a study in a 2022 issue of
the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health that found that
when people interact with their dogs while teleworking, it replenishes the humans’ self-
regulatory resources by engaging in micro-breaks to pet their pup, the people are able to
relax and rejuvenate in ways that interacting with unfurry family members doesn’t.

“Dogs are fantastic at reading us they can sense when we’re upset and they are arguably
better at reading us than some people are,” says Kogan. And “because we intuit that our
dogs read us so well, we regulate ourselves so as not to upset our dogs, which is helpful
for us as well.” It’s a positive feedback loop.

By Stacey Colino
January 19, 2024

(Source: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/premium/article/dog-
ease-stress-anxiety-mental-health)-word count: 1088 words

2. Summary

Dogs are exceptional companions, offering unique emotional support that often surpasses
what humans can provide. Research reveals that in stressful situations, dog owners
experience lower physiological reactions, such as reduced blood pressure and heart rate,
compared to when they are with friends or partners. Dogs provide nonjudgmental,
consistent affection, creating a safe space for their owners to express emotions freely.
Unlike humans, dogs do not interrupt or attempt to fix problems, making them ideal
listeners.Interacting with dogs releases oxytocin, the "love hormone," reducing stress and
fostering emotional bonding. Dogs' playful behaviors also distract their owners from
negative emotions. Talking to a dog about personal challenges helps articulate and
alleviate feelings, offering a sense of purpose and mental clarity. Additionally, studies
suggest that working with dogs nearby enhances relaxation and replenishes self-
regulation, more effectively than interacting with other people. Overall, dogs' ability to
read emotions and provide unconditional love makes them powerful sources of comfort
and stress relief.
 3.Vocabulary

No Words/phrases Pronunciation Meaning in English Examples

1 Illustrated (a) /ˈɪləstreɪtɪd/ To use pictures, She illustrated her
photographs, diagrams, own books.
etc. in a book, etc.
2 Companion (n) /kəmˈpænjən/ a person or an animal that Geoff was my
travels with you or spends companion on the
journey.
a lot of time with you

3 Arithmetic (n) /əˈrɪθmətɪk/ the type of mathematics He's not very good at
that deals with the adding, arithmetic
multiplying, etc. of
numbers
4 Submerged (v) /səbˈmɜːdʒ/ to go under the surface of The submarine had
water or liquid; to put had time to submerge
something or make
something go under the before the warship
surface of water or liquid could approach

5 Nonjudgmental /ˌnɒn ˌdʒʌdʒ avoiding moral You need to be a more

(a) ˈmentl/ judgements; not quick to non-judgemental
listener.
judge people and criticize
them
6 Clinical (a) /ˈklɪnɪkl/ relating to the examination She regarded her
and treatment of patients patients from a purely
clinical standpoint.
and their illnesses

7 Fraught (a) /frɔːt/ causing or feeling worry She looked/sounded

and stress fraught.
SYNONYM tense

8 Jealousy (n) /ˈdʒeləsi/ a feeling of being jealous I felt sick with jealousy.

9 hypothesis (n) /haɪˈpɒθəsɪs/ an idea or explanation of There is little evidence

 something that is based on a to support these
few known facts but that has hypotheses.
not yet been proved to be
true or correct
SYNONYM theory
10 Amygdala (n) /əˈmɪɡdələ/ either of two areas in the the role of the amygdala
brain that are linked to in anxiety disorders
memory, the emotions and
the sense of smell
11 Manipulative (a) /məˈnɪpjələtɪv/ showing skill at influencing He’s extremely
somebody or forcing manipulative, so don’t
let him persuade you.
somebody to do what you
want, often in an unfair way
12 surge (n) /sɜːdʒ/ a sudden increase of a strong She felt a sudden surge
feeling of anger.
SYNONYM rush
13 Rejuvenate (v) /rɪˈdʒuːvəneɪt/ rejuvenate His new job seemed to
somebody/something to rejuvenate him.
make somebody/something
look or feel younger, more
lively or more modern
14 replenishes (v) /rɪˈplenɪʃ/ replenish something (with Allow me to replenish
something) to make your glass.
something full again by
replacing what has been
used
SYNONYM top up

Topic 1:
1.Reading text:
We finally know what caused Florida fish to spin in circles until they died

A new breakthrough points to toxins, yet the mystery of what sparked this bizarre
phenomenon continues to puzzle experts

After tireless months of data collection and testing, scientists have likely pinpointed the
cause of the spinning and dying fish in Florida: a combination of toxic algae.

In November 2023, Florida Keys residents began observing fish and rays—including the
critically endangered smalltooth sawfish—whirling in circles, usually until they died.
Scientists later recorded the phenomenon in more than 80 species, including parrotfish,
bull sharks, and goliath grouper.

This prompted a collaborative investigation between governmental agencies, nonprofits,

universities, and more to figure out the culprit before it could set back decades of
conservation efforts for the sawfish.

At least 54 of these unique rays, which sport tooth-studded saws, or rostrums, are
confirmed dead—though many more likely also succumbed to the toxins, experts say.
There are only around 650 breeding sawfish females in Florida.

After testing hundreds of water and fish samples, the experts concluded the symptomatic
fish died from combined exposure to multiple toxins, possibly originating from multiple
species of dinoflagellates, a type of microscopic algae.

Under normal conditions, the dinoflagellates in question live on seagrass and larger algae
on the seafloor, rather than free-floating in the water column. But some as-yet-unknown
driver—possibly a heat wave, a storm, or a mix of events—caused the dinoflagellates to
leave their hosts and move upward.

“It’s just really rare, we've really never seen that,” says Alison Robertson, a marine
scientist who studies harmful algal blooms at the University of South Alabama's Stokes
School of Marine and Environmental Sciences and the Dauphin Island Sea Lab.
Whatever it was, “this is what we have to work out.”

While the Florida event is over—water samples from July revealed normal levels of algae
in the water column—questions remain. Will it happen again, what caused it, and why
were some species more impacted than others?

More toxic together

Early testing of the water ruled out a red tide event—a bloom of toxic dinoflagellates—
and dissolved oxygen, salinity, pH, and temperature were all within normal range and not
suspected to be a cause.

The initial breakthrough came when work by Michael Parsons, a marine ecologist who
studies algal blooms at Florida Gulf Coast University, revealed that levels of water
samples showed higher than normal levels of a type of seafloor-dwelling dinoflagellate in
the genus Gambierdiscus.
This algae produces a neurotoxin called ciguatoxin. People who eat seafood infected with
this neurotoxin can experience ciguatera, a condition that causes vomiting, nausea, and
neurological symptoms.

“Our biggest lead was this toxin-producing algae. So, we started there because of the
human health implications,” Robertson says.

Robertson and her team didn’t find many toxins in the muscles of symptomatic fish, but
their livers—the organ responsible for filtering out impurities—were chock-full of toxins,
ranging from ciguatoxin to a variety of toxins produced by dinoflagellates other than
Gambierdiscus.

“So, that’s the crux of it," she says—it's not just ciguatoxin alone. “Based on the evidence
that we've been accumulating here in our lab, we believe that the behavioral effects that
we have seen, particularly in sawfish, were associated with the combined exposure of a
number of different [bottom-dwelling] algal toxins.”

“Some algae produce multiple toxins, so it is not a one-to-one relationship,” adds

Parsons.

Sawfish hit hard

Once dislodged by that unknown event, the dinoflagellates not only spread throughout
the water column, they concentrated toward the ocean bottom, says Robertson.

That’s exactly where 16-foot-long sawfish use their saw to hunt, catching other fish,
crabs, and more.

When Robertson and colleagues examined some of the dead sawfish, they found toxin
levels were greatest in both their livers and gills.

That means high concentrations of the toxin-laden water passed through sawfish gills,
causing the neurological impacts. They also ingested toxin-laden prey.

Concerned about the fish's future, in spring 2024, for the first time in U.S history,
scientists launched an emergency effort to rescue critically endangered sawfish impacted
by the spinning phenomenon.

On April 5, they successfully rescued a distressed sawfish and began rehabilitation efforts
at Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium in Sarasota, though the animal did not survive.
Reports of ailing sawfish then declined. Yet in the event of a similar situation occurring
again, a response team and protocol are now ready to act.

A big setback?

Smalltooth sawfish have been listed on the Endangered Species Act since 2003. their
numbers in decline due to coastal development and bycatch. Only two populations
remain in the Bahamas and the U.S., the latter being larger
Just last year, scientists celebrated 20 years of conservation efforts for the sawfish, such
as banning the use of gillnets in state waters, says Dean Grubbs, a fish ecologist at
Florida State University who studies the species.

The lasting impacts of this event on sawfish won’t be known for at least a couple years,
Grubbs says

“My gut is … this is a pretty big setback. Whether it's a setback that sets us all the way
back to prior to them being listed as endangered in 2003, I don’t know.”

Silver lining

The investigation uncovered other intriguing findings, including a toxin new to the
Florida Keys, according to Robertson. The toxin is associated with a European algae
species, though the team found no trace of the algae in any of the samples. "We've got a
lot of work ahead," she says.

The unprecedented event has been unfortunate, yet for Robertson, there is a silver lining.

“This is the first time that there has been such an intensive scientific investigation in the
case, where many scientists have been brought together, sharing data to learn more about
the Florida Keys ecosystem and ecosystem health.”

(https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/why-fish-are-spinning-to-death-florida )

By Bethany Augliere

September 7 , 2024

2.Summary

After observing the phenomenon of fish spinning to death in more than 80 species,
including parrotfish, bull sharks, giant groupers and even the smalltooth stingray - a
protected species - scientists have studied and concluded that the cause of this
phenomenon is a combination of toxic algae. Initial tests by scientists ruled out red tide
as the cause, and a breakthrough came when work by Michael Parsons discovered higher
than normal concentrations of the algae Gambierdiscus, which produces the neurotoxin
ciguatoxin, found in high concentrations in the livers of contaminated fish.Through
testing, scientists concluded that the stingrays died due to high levels of toxins in the
water and from eating prey containing the toxins. In May, scientists successfully rescued
a stingray in distress. Although it did not survive, scientists have a solution for similar
situations.The small sawtooth stingray has been listed as a protected species, and
scientists have discovered a new toxin associated with a European algae species.
Although no trace of the algae was found, it is an important highlight to learn more about
the ecology and health of the Florida Keys ecosystem.

3. Vocabulary
No Words/phrases Pronunciation Meaning in English Examples
1 /smɔːl tuːθ sɔː fɪʃ/
smalltooth a species of sawfish in the
sawfish family Pristidae. It is found in
shallow tropical and
subtropical waters in coastal
and estuarine parts of the
Atlantic

2 /ˈdaɪnə
dinoflagellate ˈflædʒəleɪt/ are a monophyletic group of
single-celled eukaryotese
constituting the phylum

3 dissolved is the amount of oxygen

oxygen /dɪˈzɒlv ˈɒksɪdʒən/ dissolved in water, essential
for the respiration of aquatic
organisms such as fish, shrimp,
amphibians, insects
4 The phenomenon of too much
algal bloom /ˈælɡəl bluːm/ algae multiplying rapidly in
water, making the water
cloudy and green (like white
vinegar) and polluting the
water due to lack of
environmental balance.
5
neurotoxin /ˌnjʊərəʊˈtɒksɪn/ toxins that are destructive to
nerve tissue

6 /səˈkʌm/ to
succumb fail to resist pressure, succumb
temptation, or some other sth
negative force.
 7
salinity /səˈlɪnəti/ the fact of containing salt; the
amount of salt contained in
something

1. Reading text
Do birds have migration buddies? A new
study shows surprising connections between
species
After observing thousands of records over decades, researchers found that birds of a
feather may actually stick together during the annual migration in the U.S.
Right now, billions of birds are winging their way south as part of the annual winter
migration—an event so enormous in scope and scale, it’s hard for humans to fully
comprehend. But now, a new study provides a window into the lives of these animals like
never before.
Using more than half a million records collected from five migration sites in the
Northeast and Great Lakes regions, scientists have revealed that birds of different species
form lasting relationships during migration.
What’s more, the researchers say these relationships could be ecologically meaningful,
and potentially threatened by human-caused disturbances, such as climate change,
according to a study published recently in Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences.
While scientists have long suspected that there might be hidden connections between
certain species at stopover points used during migration, the current study utilized records
of 50 songbird species recorded over the course of 23 years of migration data to tease out
a complex avian social network.
To study bird migrations, researchers often catch birds in nets and mark them with tiny,
numbered leg bands at known stopover sites during the journey. Hints of songbirds’
social connections have emerged in some of these efforts.
For instance, each spring, American redstarts, magnolia warblers, and chestnut-sided
warblers all get caught in the same sections of nets and within the same 20-to-45-minute
windows of time.
Similarly, when bird banders go out to these same sites in the fall, without fail, they will
catch white-throated sparrows, ruby-crowned kinglets, and yellow-rumped warblers—
again, in the same nets and at the same time. All of which suggests that these birds are
not just randomly pausing their migrations when tired or hungry, but following repeatable
patterns.
“It’s not easy to study migration and follow animals along their routes,” says Emily
Cohen, a migration biologist at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental
Science (UMCES) and an author of the study.
“But really, what you observe is all these species co-occurring. In the ocean, you have
fishes and marine mammals along the same currents, and in the airspace, you have insects
and birds and bats of all these species,” she says.
“In a way, it’s almost silly to think that they’re not interacting with each other,” says
Cohen.
Do birds have buddies?
Interestingly, the current study doesn’t try to assess the quality of every interaction
between the songbirds. Merely, it tracks which species are present at the same time,
or on the flipside, which species have little to no overlap in an area.
“With our data set, we can’t say whether these relationships are positive or negative,”
says Joely DeSimone, who is also a migration biologist at UMCES, as well as the lead
author of the study. “We could be seeing affiliations among birds that are chasing each
other into the net, or we could be observing aggressive relationships.”
At the same time, though, the scientists found that songbirds were much more likely to
show up together than they were to show signs of avoidance. In fact, out of all 50 species,
the data revealed that only American redstarts and ruby-crowned kinglets appeared to be
actively avoiding each other—for unclear reasons.
This social trend was a bit counterintuitive to the scientists, especially for closely-related
species that overlapped in foraging behaviors. “We kind of were expecting to see
competition among species that are eating similar foods,” says DeSimone.
Think about it: You have millions of animals weary from nonstop flights that can span
thousands of miles. “They arrive in these habitats they’ve never seen before, essentially
starving, and have to refuel, and rebuild their organs, rebuild their fat stores, and then
continue on,” she says.
It would make sense if one bird looked at another as a competitor. However, the fact that
so many species can be seen together, and so reliably, may hint at the beneficial nature of
an avian social network.
“They also need to locate food quickly, and so the presence of other birds with
similar foraging behavior or similar food preferences may signal to newcomers where
the good habitat is,” says DeSimone
For researchers, the next step is trying to figure out the exact nature of these
songbird connections and what they mean for ecosystems, as climates change and
bird resources shift.
You can be my wingman anytime
“One of the really remarkable things about this paper is that it’s looking at these
huge, broad migrations across lots and lots of species,” says Janet Ng, a wildlife
biologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada.
“There’s lots of research that looks at social relationships between individuals,” she
says. “But this really allows for a big picture view of what’s happening.”
It also makes Ng wonder about the hidden relationships among other bird groups,
and supports anecdotes among the shorebirds she studies.
In fact, some of Ng’s colleagues recently spotted a pair of semipalmated sandpipers
standing together on a beach in Massachusetts this August. That in itself is not
surprising, because semipalmated sandpipers travel thousands of miles each year in a
migration that stretches from the Arctic all the way to South America.
What was mind-blowing, says Ng, was that this particular pair’s leg tags revealed
that they’d been caught and banded at the exact same time, two years prior, in
New Brunswick, Canada.
“Two years later, these birds were hanging out together again,” says Ng. “These
birds migrated two cycles, and then were still observed together. So, it really
poses a lot of questions.”
ByJason Bittel

September 10, 2024

Link: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/bird-migration-social-
relationship

2. Summary
A recent study published in “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences”
reveals that birds of different species form lasting social connections during their
annual migrations. By analyzing over half a million records from 50 songbird
species across 23 years, researchers found that many species tend to appear
together at the same stopover sites and times, suggesting they are not just
randomly pausing but may be interacting in some way. While the study doesn't
clarify whether these interactions are positive or negative, it suggests that the
birds may benefit from coexisting, especially when it comes to locating food.
These findings highlight the ecological significance of bird social networks
during migration and raise concerns about how climate change and habitat
disturbances could impact these relationships. The study offers a broad view of
migration patterns, which could lead to further insights into the connections
between species and the effects of environmental changes.
3. Vocabulary
No Words/Phrases Pronunciation Meaning in Examples
English

1. Migration /maɪˈɡreɪʃn/ the process of Scientists

animals travelling track bird
to a different populations
place, usually and migration
when the season patterns.
changes

2. Stopover /ˈstɒpˌəʊ.vər/ a short stay in a Our tickets to

place that you Australia
make while you include a
are on a longer stopover for
journey to two nights in
 somewhere else Singapore.

3. ecologically /ˌiː.kəˈlɒdʒ.ɪ.kəl.i/ in a way that People are a

relates to ecology lot more
or the ecologically
environment aware these
days.

4. warbler /ˈwɔːblə(r)/ a small bird that Most of our

lives in trees and warblers
sings migrate to
warmer places
in winter.

5. Avian /ˈeɪviən/ of or relating to Responses of

birds an avian
community to
rain forest
degradation.

6. individual /ˌɪndɪˈvɪdʒuəl/ a single person or We try to treat

thing, especially our students
when compared to as individuals
the group or set to
which they belong

7. hibernate / ˈhaɪbəneɪt/ ( of some The turtles

animals) to spend hibernates in
the wintersleeping a shallow
burrow for six
month of the
year

8. feather / ˈfeðə(r)/ is a small The

passerine bird in Redstart’s
the genus main habitat
Phoenicurus is in rain
 forests

9. (bird) ringing /bɜːd ˈrɪŋɪŋ/ marking them Ringing of

with an birds for more
identifying band extensive
around the leg, scientific
and then releasing purposes was
them started in
1899

10. destination /ˌdɛstɪˈneɪʃən/ The place where Our luggage

someone is going was checked
or where all way
something is being through to our
sent or taken final
destination

11. breed /briːd/ (of animals) mate Toads are said

and then produce to return to
offspring. the pond of
their birth to
breed

12. Species / ˈspiːʃiːz/ a set of animals or Mountain

plants in which gorillas are an
the members have endangered
similar species
characteristics to
each other and can
breed with each
other

13. randomly /ˈræn.dəm.li/ in a way that Interviews

happens, is done, were chosen
or is chosen by randomly
chance rather than
according to a
 plan

14. relationship / rɪˈleɪʃnʃɪp/ The way in which Scientist have

two things are established
connected the
relationship
between lung
cancer and
smoking

15. habitat /ˈhæbɪtæt/ The natural The wildlife

environment in has to
which an animalor compete with
plant usually lives the
surrounding
agriculture for
the habitat

16. coexist / ˌkəʊɪɡˈzɪst/ To live or exists Friends tole

together at the me the diet
same time or in and active
the same place lifestyle
couldn’t
coexist

17. connection / kəˈnekʃn/ The state of being The

related to someone connection
or something else between
smoking and
heart disease
is well-known

18. songbird /ˈsɒŋ.bɜːd/ Any of many This sub-unit

different types of supports a
bird that make diversity of
musical sounds migratory
songbirds and
 raptors

19. semipalmated /ˌsem.iˈpæl.meɪ.tɪd/ (of a bird or its A group of

feet) with the front semipalmated
toes connected by plovers
skin along part of foraged on the
their length flats

20. anecdote /ˈæn.ɪk.dəʊt/ a short, often He told one or

funny story, two amusing
especially about anecdotes
something about his
someone has done years as a
policeman

Họ và tên: Nguyễn Thị Thanh Mai

MSV: 27A4020245

Pesto the penguin is growing up. How will life

change for the internet's favorite bird?
Melbourne’s 50-pound celebrity chick is molting, revealing adult feathers beneath his
iconic brown fluffe. Here’s what to expect as he waddles into adulthood.

Pesto’s wearing… pants? Or at least that’s what it looks like—videos from the Sea Life
aquarium in Melbourne, Australia show its world-famous giant baby king penguin Pesto
waddling around with his white adult feathers emerging like a pair of shorts beneath his
juvenile brown fluff.

This change has been anticipated by experts, such as Jacinda Early, an education
supervisor and aquarist (an aquarium’s equivalent to zookeeper) at Sea Life who
regularly leads tours of the penguin exhibit for school groups. She’s had to tailor her
programming to feature Pesto more heavily after his popularity exploded online.
Celebrities like Katy Perry and Olivia Rodrigo even stopped by to say hi.
But this new milestone for Pesto will be a big change. Here’s what experts say Pesto’s
fans can expect as he grows into an adult penguin.

What will Pesto look like?

“Once he becomes one of the guys and he gets that regular adult coat, I think he won't be
as notable,” Early says. “He’s just going to look like everyone else.” But keen-eyed
visitors will still be able to spot Pesto, this year’s sole king chick, thanks to a
combination of his height—inherited from his biological father Blake, Sea Life’s oldest
king at 22—and his black beak, which won’t gain its trademark orange patch until he
reaches sexual maturity in about two more years.

“We never know how they're going to fledge,” Early says. “Sometimes it looks like
they're just wearing a fur vest. Other times, it looks like they've got a big mohawk going
down their entire body. It's really funny and random.”

Pesto’s wings and lower body began to go first, and Early is looking forward to when
he’ll display a Winnie-the-Pooh style crop top.

Why is he losing his brown feathers?

In the wild, king penguins usually begin to fledge—a bird’s first molt, when it loses its
downy plumage—around 13 months after they hatch. Pesto, born in January of this year,
is a little early.

King penguins are born in the Southern Hemisphere’s summer and autumn, and in the
wild they fast during the cold austral winter. Chicks that haven’t been fed well enough by
the start of winter are likely to die of starvation in the wild before their parents return to
feed them in the spring. Only once feeding resumes and their body fat reserves are
restored, will they have enough energy to begin fledging.

“[Fledging for chicks] can be quicker in captivity because they are exposed to more
continuous food availability,” says Emiliano Trucchi, an evolutionary biologist at the
Marche Polytechnic University in Italy who specializes in king penguins. Pesto got fed
plentifully throughout the austral winter, thanks to the combined efforts of his adoptive
parents Tango and Hudson and the Sea Life staff.

“Growing up as a penguin chick is a bit of a feast and famine scenario,” said Barbara
Wienecke, a penguin expert working for the Australian Antarctic Program. “Pesto has
been receiving way more food than any chick in the wild could dream of, and of course,
he did not experience the long winter fast.”

Will Pesto slim down as he grows up?

Blake and Matilda, Pesto’s biological parents, were rather old to raise a chick and so the
decision was made for Pesto to be adopted—something that would just as likely have
happened in the wild. “If an egg spins out on the ice, a king penguin will just grab it and
pop it under their brood pouch.”

His notable bulk was a combination of nature and nurture, says Early, with Blake’s
heritable height combining with the availability of food to produce one big penguin.

Pesto’s bulk wouldn’t necessarily have served him well in the wild, says Wienecke.
“Penguins are naturally buoyant and body fat makes them even more so. The more fat
they carry, the harder it is to go diving.” Pesto is already beginning to lose some of his
bulk, thanks to the immense caloric requirements of the molting process.

“It's very [energetically] expensive to molt,” says Trucchi. “They need to use lots of their
body fat reservoir, their subcutaneous dermal layer, all of the energy they stored before,
to grow new feathers. It’s a big change for the little chick.”

He expects that Pesto will rapidly slim down over the next three weeks as he works hard
to grow his adult feathers as well as his adult muscles, which he’ll need both of, in order
to swim and fend for himself.

Does Pesto show signs of penguin evolution?

King penguins are often mistaken for emperor penguins, but are in fact their ancestors.
One million years ago, a population of king penguins headed south and began to evolve
into their larger cousins, the emperor penguins. Emperor penguins are one of the hardiest,
most cold-adapted animals on the planet, breeding on Antarctic sea-ice in the depths of
winter darkness.

To survive, they developed defenses against the cold: their body temperature went up,
they got taller and rounder, reducing their volume to surface ratio in order to lose less
warmth from their body. (That’s why they can’t be effectively kept in captivity, says
Wienecke. Unlike kings, who can comfortably hang out in refrigerated habitats kept
between 32º and 50º F, emperor habitats would need to be expensively kept below
freezing.)
“There are lots of these adaptations that had to appear at a certain point, and this could be
due to what we call standing genetic variation,” Trucchi explains. “These variations could
have been in the population of the ancestral king penguins, or they could be the results of
new mutations appearing randomly and then getting selected for.”

Which brings up an interesting question: could Pesto’s shocking size be an evolutionary

leap forward, reflecting the standing mutations that helped kings evolve into emperors
millennia ago?

“Yes, could be, could be,” Trucchi muses. With an appetite like his, Pesto would
certainly be suited for survival of the fittest in somewhere colder than usual.

Can we expect a Pesto Jr.?

As an adolescent penguin, and a rather tall one, Pesto will soon join the ranks of the
young penguins at Sea Life, including 2022’s record hatching of six king chicks. But
kings are a very egalitarian species, with no battling for dominance based on size, so
Pesto’s winning personality will have to be how he eventually charms a mate.

When that hopefully happens a few years from now, there’s certainly a chance that he
could pass on his genes, and Sea Life could have another big baby on their hands.

Will Pesto ever go back to the wild?

It’s not likely—although he might end up in another aquarium or zoo.

As Early explains, Melbourne’s population of kings and gentoos originates from a

population taken into captivity in Edinburgh all the way back in the 1970s. Melbourne
has sent its own penguins to Sydney, so if Pesto and/or his big babies are needed
elsewhere, he might get to go on an adventure to start a new colony.

ByAllegra Rosenberg

October 30, 2024

(Link: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/pesto-king-penguin )

Summarize

Pesto the penguin, a famous chick in Melbourne, is growing up and undergoing changes
as he molts, revealing adult feathers underneath his brown fluff. This transition means he
will start to look more like other adult penguins. Pesto’s popularity has led to adjustments
in educational programs, attracting visits from celebrities. As he matures, Pesto will lose
his distinctive features but will still be identifiable due to his height and black beak.
Unlike wild penguins, he has experienced continuous food availability, allowing him to
fledge earlier. His bulk is a mix of genetics and diet, and as he molts, he will slim down,
needing energy to grow new feathers. There is some speculation about Pesto reflecting
evolutionary changes, but as he joins other young penguins at Sea Life, there’s a chance
he might become a parent one day. It is unlikely he will return to the wild, though he
could relocate to another facility.

Vocabulary

Word Pronoun Meaning Example

1. adolescent /ˌæd.əˈles.ənt/ a young person who is
developing into an adult.

2. immense /ɪˈmens/ extremely large in size

or degree.

3. emperor /ˈem.pər.ər/ A male ruler of an

empire
4. appetite /ˈæp.ə.taɪt/ The feeling thatyou want All that walking ha
to eat fod given me an appetite.
5. molt /məʊlt To lose feathers, skin, or
hair as a natural process
before a new growth of
feathers, skin
6. waddle /ˈwɒd.əl/ To walk with short steps, The ducks waddleddow
moving the body from to te river.
one side to the other.
7. anticipate /ænˈtɪs.ɪ.peɪt/ To imagine or expect We don’t anticipate an
that something will
 happen. trouble.
8. beak /biːk/ The hard, pointed part of Birds use their beaks
a bird’s mouth. pick up food.
9. fledge /fledʒ/ to grow feathers and The chicks are expecte
learn to fly to fledge in August.

10. hatch /hætʃ/ to (cause an egg to)

break in order to allow a
young animal to come
out.

11. starvation /stɑːˈveɪ.ʃən/ the state of having no The animals had died o
food for a long period, starvation
often causing death.
12. bulk /bʌlk/ something or someone She eased her large bu
that is very large out of the chair.

13. heritable /ˈher.ɪ.tə.bəl/ heritable property can be

passed to younger
members of your family
after you die.

14. subcutaneous /ˌsʌb.kjuˈteɪ.ni.əs/ existing under the skin

15. buoyant /ˈbɔɪ.ənt/ able to float Cork is light an
buoyant.
16. egalitarian /ɪˌɡæl.ɪˈteə.ri.ən/ believing that all people
are equally important
and should have the
same rights and
opportunities in life.
MSV: 27A4020200
Lớp: K27CLC-KTG
Topic 1:
1.Reading text:

Polar bears live on ice—but new conditions are injuring them

Warming temperatures may be changing the ways ice forms, making it more likely to
stick to and injure polar bears in two far north populations.

Polar bears walk across sea ice for miles, searching for cracks and holes in the surface
through which they can hunt their ringed seal prey. But a new study has found that, in
some areas, the ice on which they rely has been damaging their feet.

Writing in the journal Ecology, ecologist Kristin Laidre of the University of Washington
and wildlife biologist Stephen Atkinson of the Nunavut Department of the Environment
found that bears in two of the most northerly populations—East Greenland and Kane
Basin, between northeastern Canada and northwestern Greenland—had suffered
lacerations, hair loss, skin ulcerations, and ice build-up on their fur and primarily on their
feet.

In the most extreme examples, two bears had ice blocks up to one foot in diameter stuck
to their foot pads, which caused deep, bleeding cuts and made it difficult for them to
walk.

Atkinson first noticed lesions in bears in Kane Basin during a survey in the region in
2012 and 2013. He shared images with Laidre but didn’t yet know it was part of a trend.
“We didn’t really know what to think of it,” she says.

Then, during surveys of East Greenland between 2018 and 2022, Laidre began seeing the
same injuries. The reason, the study’s authors believe, is climate change, and they’re
concerned it could become yet another challenge for polar bears to adapt to.

Hair loss and painful paws

Some bears had alopecia, or hair loss, on their bodies, presumably where balls of ice had
become entangled in their fur and been ripped out. Laidre notes that, by itself, that isn’t
necessarily uncommon.
“Polar bears live in extreme environments where they can get ice buildup,” she says.

What made it notable, however, was the context, with most of the incidents of alopecia
occurring on bears’ feet. Many of the polar bear paws they examined also displayed
other, serious wounds, including multiple bleeding ulcerations. They suspect the wounds
were painful because the bears sometimes flinched when the wounds were gently
touched, even though they were sedated.

Finding bears with ice blocks on the soles of their feet was, says Laidre, “totally
shocking.”

From the air, she could tell that “Something was wrong with them because it appeared
they couldn't walk very well. It wasn't until I was on the ground that I realized of course
they couldn’t walk, when I saw what was stuck to their feet.”

When she sedated the bears and examined their paws, she found that the blocks of ice
were solid. It took 30 minutes of scraping away with metal tools to remove them.

The total number of bears with some form of ice-related injury that Laidre and Atkinson
identified between them was relatively small—32 in Kane Basin and 15 in Eastern
Greenland. But that constituted 52 percent and 12 percent of the all the bears that were
studied— which is notable given that, Laidre says, such impacts had not previously been
noted by scientists or by Indigenous hunters, who were also interviewed for the study

“We didn't want to say this is something new without hearing what hunters had
observed,” Laidre explains. “The people who see polar bears the most are the people who
live in communities alongside bears and hunt for subsistence, and most of the hunters we
spoke to had not seen this before.”Many did note, however, that they had seen something
similar with their sled dogs, which sometimes also experienced painful ice build-up on
their paws in slushy conditions.

“Polar bears with ice balls have been observed in many parts of the Arctic, but the recent
observations are much more severe and larger,” ecologist Andrew Derocher of the
University of Alberta, who was not involved with the study, told National Geographic.
“It's common for polar bears to get ice balls on their backs from swimming when
conditions are cold. Ice balls on polar bear feet are much less common and some unusual
conditions are needed for them to occur.”

Is a warming Arctic to blame?

Laidre and Atkinson believe that a warming climate may have played a role; in their
paper, they propose explanations for the injuries.

Firstly, they note that as temperatures increase in the Arctic, precipitation is increasingly
falling as rain instead of snow, and one scenario they envisage is rainfall causing a slushy
surface on the ice, which then freezes on the paws of polar bears that walk through it.
Additionally, warming causes surface snow to melt and refreeze into a hard crust, and a
second possibility is that bears’ paws break through that crust and become cut on the
sharp edges.

A third scenario helps explain why bears in these populations— and so far only these two
populations—have been observed with these injuries.

Laidre notes that during springtime, many Kane Basin and East Greenland bears live on
landfast ice—extensive ice sheets that are attached to the shore—or at the foot of
glaciers. Warming in these environments leads to thinner sea ice, allowing seawater to
seep up into the snow and create a slushy surface.

Bears living in more southern regions have access to (relatively) warmer water to wash
off chunks of ice, but because these bears live at very high latitudes where conditions are
generally much drier and colder, they have much less access to open water than bears
farther south.

“As polar bears are well-adapted to their Arctic habitat, they must have been
experiencing unusual conditions for this ice buildup to occur— such as rain when it
should be snowing, or temperatures above freezing when it should be cold,” says John
Whiteman, chief research scientist for Polar Bears International.

“It is striking that this problem affected multiple bears in the study area," he adds. "This
pattern, plus the observation that severe injuries in some bears seemed unlikely to heal on
their own and were associated with lame gaits, suggests that ice clumps could become a
meaningful problem for polar bears on a wider scale."

But ice clumps have yet to be observed in other regions, so the long term threat to polar
bears remains uncertain.

“The Arctic is changing rapidly as the climate warms and polar bear scientists are
watching how the bears respond,” says the University of Alberta’s Derocher. “There are
lots of surprises in polar bear behavior. Sometimes, it seems that the bears have figured
out a way to survive in a warming Arctic but then something odd like these massive ice
balls show up and suggest that they're having troubles that nobody had thought possible.”

(https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/polar-bear-paws-climate-
change-ice)

By Kieran Mulvaney

November 5, 2024

2.Summary

A recent study published in the journal Ecology has revealed alarming injuries among
polar bears in East Greenland and Kane Basin, linked to climate change. Researchers
Kristin Laidre and Stephen Atkinson found that many bears suffered from severe foot
injuries, including lacerations and painful ulcerations, with some bears having ice blocks
up to one foot in diameter stuck to their paws, impairing their ability to walk.The study
identified 32 bears in Kane Basin and 15 in East Greenland with ice-related injuries,
representing 52% and 12% of the studied populations, respectively. This issue had not
been previously documented by scientists or Indigenous hunters, who noted similar
problems in sled dogs.The researchers attribute these injuries to warming temperatures
causing rain instead of snow, leading to slushy surfaces that freeze on the bears' feet.
Additionally, melting and refreezing snow creates sharp crusts that can cause cuts. While
ice buildup has not been observed in other regions, the findings raise concerns about the
long-term implications for polar bears as the Arctic continues to change rapidly.

3. Vocabulary

No Words/phrases Pronunciation Meaning in English Examples

1 /ˌpəʊ.lə ˈbeər/
Polar bears Large carnivorous Both fox and polar bear
bears native to the faeces were found on
Arctic region, the island.
primarily hunting
seals.

2 /siː aɪs/
Sea ice Frozen seawater that
forms in the Arctic
and Antarctic
regions, providing
habitat for polar
bears and other
wildlife.

3
Lacerations /ˌlæs.ərˈeɪ.ʃən/ Deep cuts or Injuries serious enough
wounds on the skin. to warrant
hospitalisation, or
serious injuries such as
fractures and severe
lacerations.
4
Alopecia /ˌæl.əˈpiː.ʃə/ Hair loss, which in The side effects such as
this context refers to alopecia, sickness and
the loss of fur on drowsiness, are rare and
polar bears. of minor importance.

5
Ulcerations /ˌʌl.sərˈeɪ.ʃən/ Open sores or Some 30% of patients
wounds on the skin also have a number of
that can be painful typical extra-intestinal
and may bleed. manifestations, which
include arthritis, mouth
ulceration and ocular
inflammation.

6
Ice build-up Accumulation of ice
on the bears' fur or
feet, which can
cause injury.

7
Sedated /sɪˈdeɪt/ Given medication to All patients were
calm or induce sedated with a mixture
sleep, allowing for of meperidine,
examination without promethazine and
distress. chlorpromazine

8
Indigenous /ɪnˈdɪdʒ.ɪ.nəs Local people who have
hunters ˈhʌn.tər/ traditional rights to hunt in
their regions, often possessing
extensive knowledge of local
wildlife.
9
Climate /ˈklaɪ.mət Long-term alteration of Translating
change ˌtʃeɪndʒ/ temperature and typical climate change
weather patterns in a place, impacts at the
often linked to human community level.
activities.

10
Slushy /ˈslʌʃ.i A wet, soft layer of ice or
surface ˈsɜː.fɪs/ snow that can be difficult to
walk on.

11
Unusual /ʌnˈjuː.ʒu.əl Environmental circumstances
conditions kənˈdɪʃ.ən/ that deviate from the norm,
potentially leading to
unexpected problems

12
Lame gaits /leɪm ɡeɪt/ Abnormal walking patterns,
often due to injury or pain.

13
Long-term /ˌlɒŋˈtɜːm θret/ A potential ongoing risk that
threat could have significant
consequences in the future.

14
Rapidly /ˈræp.ɪd.li The fast-paced alterations in
changing ˈtʃeɪn.dʒɪŋ the Arctic environment due to
Arctic ˈɑːk.tɪk/ climate change, affecting
wildlife and ecosystems