Today, we’re going to deal with animals

Activity 1

Look at the following text and write the name of the pets you see in the pictures

  

PETS

 A pet (or companion animal) is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or protection, as opposed to working animals, sport animals, livestock, and laboratory animals, which are kept primarily for performance, agricultural value, or research. The most popular pets are noted for their attractive appearances and their loyal or playful personalities .

 Pets commonly provide their owners (or guardians) physical and emotional benefits. Walking a dog can supply both the human and pet with exercise, fresh air, and social interaction. Pets can give companionship to elderly adults who do not have adequate social interaction with other people. There is a medically approved class of therapy animals, mostly dogs, that are brought to visit confined humans. Pet therapy utilizes trained animals and handlers to achieve specific physical, social, cognitive, and emotional goals with patients. 

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The most popular pets are likely dogs and cats, but people also keep house rabbits, ferrets; rodents such as gerbils, hamsters, chinchillas, fancy rats, and guinea pigs; avian pets, such as canaries, parakeets, and parrots; reptile pets, such as turtles, lizards and snakes; aquatic pets, such as tropical fish and frogs; and arthropod pets, such as tarantulas and hermit crabs.

Some scholars and animal rights organizations have raised concern over pet-keeping with regards to the autonomy of nonhuman animals.

Activity 2

Scan the text and make two lists: domestic pets & exotic pets

Activity 3

If you are in class, compare your list with a classmate.

If you are at home, bring your list to the next class.

Activity 4

Read the text again and pay attention to the benefits a pet has for human beings.

Now, cross out the pieces of information that do not describe pets, according to the text.

Pets:

• provide companionship
• are used in laboratories
• provide emotional benefits
• protect people
• help people to work
• have an agricultural value
• are used to do research
• can be trained to help some patients

Activity 5

Now, you are going to work with a Podcast. You are going to listen to two neighbours (Norman y Pauline) talking about pets.

The first time you listen to the conversation, make a list of the pets (domestic and unusual) that are mentioned.

The second time you listen to the conversation, answer the following questions:

• What does Norman ask Pauline to do?
• What does Pauline answer?

Activity 6

Watch the video corresponding to the Podcast and check activities 4 and 5

Activity 7

Look at the following posters:

http://www.wordstemplates.org/tag/missing-pet-poster/ 

 

http://bloomington.in.gov/media/media/image/jpeg/5507.jpg

 

http://www.photoree.com/photos/permalink/11833712-60436643@N00

 

Now, imagine your beloved pet has got lost. Make a poster describing it and saying how people can contact you.

This is the dialogue between the two neighbours :

Norman: Hey, neighbor. How's it going?
Pauline: Fine. How about you?  N: Okay. By the way, my wife and I are going on holiday this weekend. Can you take care of some of our
animals while we're gone? 
P: How many pets do you have?
N: Well, I have Tiffany, that’s my little dog. She’s very playful.
P: Right. And noisy! I hear her barking all day long!
N: Sorry about that. Yes, she likes barking a little. But she’s also very loyal and more intelligent than most dogs! We love her.
P: Of course.
N: Just feed her a can of dog food a day, and make sure she has enough water in her dish. And then, take her for a walk around the block.
P: Is that it?
N: Well, then there's Cookie.
P: Cookie? Who's Cookie?
N: Oh, he's the cat we adopted from the animal shelter. Poor thing, he’s a bit aggressive and temperamental.
P: What do you mean "temperamental"?
N: Well, he is only friendly after 8 pm. So don’t go near him during the day.
P: Sounds like an angry cat.
N: He is. So, be sure to feed him a half cup of cat food  two times a day. And don't let him out of the house because he will run away and chase Adonis, the neighbour’s dog. Cookie is smaller than Adonis, but that doesn’t stop him.
P: I see.
N: And finally, there's Dora.
P: Dora? Who's Dora?
N: Ah, my sweet Dora. Come and take a look at her.
P: That's . . . That's a snake . . .That's a big, white snake. Is she dangerous?
N: Of course not . . . She’s a very docile animal. In fact, she’s friendlier than Cookie. She never bites anyone. She only hisses a bit. But she’s less dangerous than you think.
P: So, there’s Tiffany, Cookie and Dora.
N: I’m afraid there’s more. Then we have Napoleon, Kincaid, Fluff…