Unit 2 Keys and Scripts

Unit 2 Animals and Pets Part A Micro-listening Finding the Main Idea Script and Key to Exercise 1 Passage 1 Dear Sir, I’m writing to say how shocked I am by the amount of money that people in Britain spend on their pets. A recent article in your newspaper informed us that last year Britons spent 660 million pounds on dog food and 516 million pounds on food for their cats. Are we completely mad? Every day on TV we see pictures of people who have no food at all. A few pounds would buy them food for a week. Even in Britain there are many people without work and homes. A little money could make a big difference to them, couldn’t it? But it seems that in Britain animals come first. Perhaps it is time to think again. Yours faithfully, Ms D. Walker Q What does the letter mainly tell us? Key a Passage 2 One of the main complaints of the city residents in the United States is the number of homeless cats and dogs. It has been estimated that more than 31 million cats and dogs are wandering through the streets of the cities. Each year about a fifth of these animals are destroyed. A survey of 41 cities reports that as much as 15 million dollars is spent to capture and kill those animals every year. One city alone, Chicago, spends one million dollars a year to control its animal population. On the other hand, though you can find quite a lot of cats and dogs wandering in New York, the city government can’t find any money for animal population control. Q What is the passage mainly about? Key b Part B Macro-listening Script to A Conversation Choosing a Pet Attendant Hello. Can I help you? Customer Yes. I’m looking for a pet for my son. Can you suggest anything? Attendant What kind of pet does he want? A traditional pet – a cat or a dog? Or something unusual? Customer Well, he’d like a snake or an alligator, but he isn’t going to get one. Attendant We have a nice dog right now – a Rottweiler! Customer A Rottweiler! Oh, no! I’ve heard about hem on the news. They’re very big and mean. Attendant Oh, no, ma’am. They aren’t as mean as some dogs. Customer Really? Attendant Yes, really. Last week we had a small dog here. It was only as big as your purse, but it was as mean as the devil. It bit me three times! Customer Let’s forget dogs, then. Attendant What about a cat? Customer A cat. Hmm … They aren’t as friendly as dogs, are they? Attendant No, but they don’t eat as much as dogs either. And they’re very clean. Customer Hmm… Attendant What about a bird then? A parrot or a parakeet. We have both. Customer Which do you recommend? Attendant Well, parakeets aren’t as easy to train, and they never speak as well as parrots. Customer Yes, but parakeets don’t need as much space as parrots, do they? Attendant That’s true. Parakeets are very popular because they are so easy to keep. Customer Yes, but they’re a little noisy, aren’t they? I want a quiet pet. Attendant A quiet pet? Well, what about a goldfish? There’s nothing as quiet as a goldfish. Key to Exercise 1 1-4 c d b d Key to Exercise 2 Pets Suggested Attendant’s Comments Woman’s Comments A Rottweiler Less than some dogs Very big and mean A cat Very clean and cats less than a dog Not as friendly as dogs A parrot Speaks well Needs more space than a parakeet. A parakeet Easy to keep, though not so easy to train as a parrot Needs less space than a parrot, but is a little noisy A goldfish Quiet Script to A Story Dog Plays “Mother” to Tiger Cubs People at a zoo in China have used a dog named Balu to play mother to three newborn Siberian tiger. The newborn tigers at the Shanghai Wild Animal Park, including one male and two females, were abandoned by their mother. They were very much in need of being breast-fed and the zoo called for Balu. The first time the 7-year-old bitch acted as a tiger’s mother was fiver years ago when a Siberian tiger became too sick and weak to feed her four babies and the park had to place an advertisement for a replacement. Since then the animal owned by a farmer from Nanhui has been asked to paly mother for 12 tiger cubs on four occasions. Officials from the park came calling for her services two months ago shortly after she had given birth to her own two puppies. Park spokesman Su Feilong recalled:” She was very strong at first sight. Though the tiger cubs were much bigger than her, she regarded them as her own childen and fed them wholeheartedly.” Balu has now taken to breast-feeding both her own and “adopted” babies, according to Shanghai Daily. Mr Su told the paper:” She is a loving mother, especially to those tigers. When those naughty cubs fought against her own puppies, she never got angry with them but tried to make them quiet with a gentle hug.” Key to Exercise 1 Key to Exercise 2 1. c 2. b 3. a 4. c 1. Balu is a 12-year-old bitch from a farmer’s family. 2. Balu gave birth to two puppies just two months ago. 3. Balu has played mother for 12 tiger cubs since 5 years ago. 4. Balu is very strong but she is smaller than the cubs. 5. Balu has enough milk for her own babies and the baby tigers. 6. Balu regards the baby tigers as her own children and takes good care of them. PAGE 1