Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. adopt
    • ex. My company adopted a highway near our office, so all the employees pick up trash along the road four times a year.
  2. fund
    • ex. If I win the lottery, I want to use the money to fund cancer research.
  3. conservation
    • ex. I volunteer for a local conservation group because I think it’s important to protect nature.
  4. praise
    • ex. Sarah’s teacher praised her for getting a perfect score on the test.
  5. get back on (one’s) feet
    • ex. After my house fire, my friends and family gave me a lot of support, and I was able to get back on my feet pretty quickly.

Article

Read the article below and answer your tutor's questions.

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Iceland Foods, a British supermarket chain, adopted all of the Humboldt penguins at Chester Zoo. The supermarket is known for selling frozen foods and vegetables, and it chose to adopt penguins because the animals fit its image. Iceland Foods announced that it had adopted the penguins on social media. The company also posted a link to the zoo’s donation page and encouraged others to donate.

Located in Cheshire, England, Chester Zoo is the UK’s largest charity. It has 35,000 animals and funds 80 global conservation projects. To cover general maintenance, security, conservation projects, and other costs, the zoo needs almost £1.6 million (about ¥215 million) every month. In order to raise money, the zoo launched a “Save Our Zoo” campaign last June, asking people to become zoo members, make donations, or adopt animals.

An Iceland Foods executive said he is proud that the company is supporting the zoo. People who saw the company’s social media post also praised Iceland Foods and expressed their support for the zoo. The zoo’s fundraiser page has reached over £2.3 million (about ¥310 million) in donations. The money will help the zoo get back on its feet for at least the next month and a half.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Adopting Things

  • Do you think that more people and companies should adopt zoo animals? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • When people adopt a zoo animal, what should they receive in return (ex. a photo of the animal, a sign with their name at the zoo)? Why? Discuss.
  • Do you think that people and companies should adopt non-living things like highways or bridges? Why or why not? Discuss.

Zoos

  • If zoos need more money, should they raise their entry price? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Do you think that it’s good for zoos to fund many conservation projects, or should they focus on caring for their animals? Why? Discuss.
  • Do you think that zoo animals are happy? Why or why not? Discuss.