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Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. a llama
    • ex. Llamas are animals known for their long necks.
  2. captivity
    • ex. The animals in the zoo lived in captivity, far from their natural habitats.
  3. comfort
    • ex. When I was sick, my mom stayed by my side to comfort me.
  4. pet
    • ex. When I am sad, I pet my cat because it makes me feel better.
  5. intimidating
    • ex. The big dog looked intimidating, but it was actually very friendly.

Article

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

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In a North Carolina camp, a llama has an important job. Whitetop is a 27-year-old male llama, the oldest one in captivity. Whitetop lives in Victory Junction camp, where he comforts sick children. The camp was started by Kyle Petty and his family. Petty created the camp to remember his son, Adam, who died in a car accident in 2000.

The camp is designed for children with serious illnesses, like cancer and heart disease. Whitetop is known for his calm, friendly, and caring personality. Whitetop lets the young campers pet him, and this comforts the children a lot. The camp’s director, Billie Davis, said that the interaction with Whitetop helps the children feel better.

Stephanie Wilkerson, who has diabetes, first visited the camp in 2006. At first, she found Whitetop intimidating. But she realized later that petting Whitetop made her feel calm. To celebrate Whitetop’s age record, the camp is selling T-shirts with pictures of the llama. The money from the T-shirts will help support the camp.

This material was based on an article by The Associated Press.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Camps for Children

  • What do you think makes a children’s camp fun and exciting? Discuss.
  • Do you think it’s a good idea for children with serious illnesses to attend camps like Victory Junction camp? Why do you say so? Discuss.
  • Imagine that you could create a camp for children. What activities or features would you include? Discuss.

Whitetop the Llama and Petting Animals

  • Would you be interested to see Whitetop the Llama? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • How do you think animals like Whitetop help children feel better at camp? Discuss.
  • Do you like petting animals such as dogs or cats? Why or why not? Discuss.