Unit 3: Flora and fauna

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Lead-in

esson 1: Domestic animals

1. Discuss the given issues in the class

1. If you were an animal what animal would you be?

Why?

2. Read the ideas by different people below to help you. Can you guess the age and gender of each person? What can you tell about their personalities?

Iwould be a koala because they are cute and cuddly but you don't want to mess with them because they can get nasty if cornered. They can handle their business and they eat fun stuff like leaves and whatnot, so, a koala.

I would be a monkey. Flying through the trees would be fun, and bananas are good and so are peanuts. All that said - according to the Chinese Zodiac, I already am a monkey.

A mouse!! I love them! ...plus I'm quiet, small, love cheese and am actually quite good at climbing haha 

Iwould be a panther, of course.  Panthers are quiet and will wait for the right moment to attack and not charge right in.  They are confident and fearless but do not like to be noticed.  They will attack powerful enemies if need be, but will use a minimum of movement. Plus, panthers purr, are soft and pretty, and fiercely protective of their young.

Iwould be an owl because they are nocturnal, mysterious, beautiful, and loners.  They are also associated with "all-seeing" since they can turn their heads around so far, and have excellent night vision. I fancy myself very intuitive and dare-I-say magical and I associate these qualities with owls.

3. Do you have a pet? What is it like? Describe your pet using the adjectives below to help you

Example: I have a cute little hamster. Its name is Steve. I’ve always wanted to have one. I find it very brave, active and extremely friendly. Though, my sister considers it to be a strange, annoying and stinky thing.

4. Do you believe that an animal can resemble people both on character and appearance? Give some examples to prove your idea.

5. Work in small groups of 2 people. Match the photos of people and animal which look alike and fill in the table below. Explain your choice.

People

D.

C.

B.

A.

H./.

E.

A

G.

F.

nimals

8.

7.

6.

5.

4.

3.

2.

1.

A.	B.	C.	D.	E.	F.	G.	H.

6. Watch the video People Really Look Like Their Dogs. Comment on the video. Do you know any example of the resemblance?

Reading

Read the text to check your ideas for the exercises 4-6.

Why Dogs Look Like Their Owners

When you see a tall thin woman with long red hair walking her dog – an Irish Setter, you may smile to yourself thinking they kind of look alike. That’s no fluke. Many people, including scientists, have noticed that often dogs look like their owners. It’s a funny phenomenon that has inspired books, contests, and even scientific studies.

Gini Graham Scott, Ph.D., was at a dog show where she saw dogs and owners sitting side by side and she was struck by how much they looked alike. She grabbed a camera and started taking photos. She later wrote the book, Do You Look like Your Dog?

“I think there is a fairly simple psychological explanation,” she writes in her book, “Just as people gravitate toward other people with whom they share an affinity, so it follows that people will choose to own pets with whom they feel some kind of connection. Sometimes the choice is very conscious and deliberate, sometimes subconscious, but often people seek out pets who bear some resemblance to themselves, since physical likeness breeds a natural sense of familiarity.”

Dr. Nicholas Christenfeld, Professor of Psychology at UC San Diego, conducted a test in a San Diego dog park where he took photos of dogs and owners separately, then asked people to match photos of dogs to photos of their owners. People were able to accurately match owner to dog 2/3 of the time – if the dog was a pure breed. They weren’t quite so accurate with the mutts!

Christenfeld says the accuracy in pure breeds is due to selection – when people choose a pure breed, they know what the dog will look like as an adult. With a mutt, you don’t know what he’ll end up looking like. Also, people often acquire mixed breeds accidentally or spontaneously, so it’s not as if they were seeking out that particular type of dog.

Of course, it's possible for mixed breed dogs to look like their owners too - and in one instance we know of, the family resemblance caused a foster dog to become an adopted dog! Quinn, a tiny pup was fostered as a “trial run” for a family who wasn’t sure if they could keep a dog due to allergies. They took home this little long-legged Rat Terrier/Chihuahua/Dachshund mix, from a rescue group event. She was a bit of a handful, but after a week, the mother noticed that Quinn looked and acted so much like her daughter, Teà, that she couldn’t give the dog back. Both Quinn and Teà had an unusual “miniature” quality to them. They are both proportioned like a tall skinny person/large spindly dog, only shrunk down to a tiny size. Both had a habit of squirming, an affinity for soft, squishy places, and unusual flexibility. “If Teà were a dog, she’d be Quinn,” her mother said. How could they not keep her?