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7. Summarize the text “People and Animals”. Use the following beginnings:

The text reports on…

The text touches upon…

A careful account is given to…

It is reported that…

Much attention is given to…

The text points out that…

The text deals with the problem of…

The text provides information on…

The text defines the phenomenon of…

The text covers such points as…

8.Work in pairs. Speak and express your opinion on the facts below. Use the following expressions:

  • I think (suppose) …

  • In my opinion…

  • In my view…

  • I agree (don’t agree) that…

a) The process of domestication played a vital role in the development of human civilization.

b) Many animals are trained to work for people because of their skills.

c) Some animals are kept in laboratories and used to test new medicines.

d) Zoos play important role in educating people about wild animals.

e) Many adults and children keep animals as pets.

f) Studies have shown that people with pets suffer less from stress.

Reading for Understanding

1. Read the text and choose the headline.

a) Prehistoric Animals

b) Ice Age

c) The Sabre-toothed Cat

d) Extinct Animal

About 40 million years ago, a fierce hunter, called the sabre-toothed cat, lived on the earth. This animal was found everywhere, except in Australia and Antarctica. The best known sabre-toothed cat was the Smilidon. Its remains have been found in Los Angeles, California. The Smilidon probably lived on the grassy plains of North and South America.

These prehistoric cats were distant cousins of modern tigers but looked more like lions. Sabre-toothed cats had long sharp front teeth, which were probably used for stabbing their prey, and wide jaws. They were very heavy animals, which made them quite slow. Sabre-toothed cats had short, powerful legs, so they couldn’t run very fast or very far. They probably hid and waited for prey to come by and then pounced.

Surprisingly, sabre-toothed cats often survived even after they had been badly wounded. How did they get enough to eat when they were unable to hunt? They probably lived in groups and ate leftovers from prey that the other cats had killed.

At the end of the last Ice Age – about 10,000 years ago – the climate slowly got warmer. Different kinds of plants began to grow, and forests became grassy plains. Scientists believe the cats’ prey couldn’t live in this new environment. As a result, sabre-toothed cats had nothing to eat and died out. Although these magnificent cats are extinct, scientists are still finding out lots of exciting things about them!

Notes:

fierce hunter – свирепый охотник jaw – челюсть

sabre – сабля, шашка remains - останки

to stab– закалывать; наносить ударto pounce– набрасываться

prey – добычаleftovers – остатки

to survive – выживать grassy plains – луга

2. Find in the text the equivalents to the following word combinations:

доисторические кошки; дальние родственники; были больше похожи на львов; острые передние зубы; широкие челюсти; короткие мощные ноги; тяжело раненный; не способные охотиться; остатки от добычи; новая окружающая среда; в результате; величественные кошки

3. Select the statement that best expresses the main idea of the text.

    1. The best known sabre-toothed cat was the Smilidon.

    2. These prehistoric cats were distant cousins of modern tigers.

    3. Sabre-toothed cats survived even after they had been wounded.

    4. About 40 million years ago sabre-toohted cats lived on the Earth and were extinct due to the changed environment.

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