LANGUAGE | Vocabulary
Unusual pets
Many people have a dog, a cat or a hamster at home, but some keep more unusual pets.
ANNA HOCHSIEDER presents a few examples.
2
1
3
5
4
6
9
7
10
8
13
11
14
12
1. terrapin (UK),
turtle [(t§:t&l]
5. iguana [I(gwA:nE]
2. bearded dragon
6. kingsnake
3. spines
7. tarantula [tE(rÄntjUlE]
4. claws
8. stick insect
12. degu(s)
9. praying mantis
10. ferret(s)
13. mynah bird
[(maInE b§:d]
11. rat
14. lovebird(s)
The pets we love
We’ve got two terrapins — a male and a female. ey’re
semiaquatic reptiles and spend a lot of time in the
water, but they also like basking in the sun. ey’ve got
beautiful shells. Terrapins are omnivores, so we feed
them a balanced diet of fruit, vegetables, meat and fish.
50
Spotlight 10|12
I’ve got a pet rat called Walter. Like all rodents, rats have
long, sharp teeth. But they’re social animals and are easy
to tame. We take him out of his cage at least once a day.
Walter spends hours grooming himself and has lovely
shiny fur. Rats are nocturnal, so Walter’s very active at
night, but luckily, so am I!
We’ve always kept pets. Our most exotic one is a
bearded dragon, a type of lizard. It looks quite frightening with the spines around its throat and its long,
sharp claws. But it’s actually very friendly and likes
being stroked. It hasn’t been feeding lately, so we’ll
probably have to take it to the vet.
Illustrationen: Bernhard Förth
I love cats, but my mum says I can’t have one because of
my brother’s stick insects. He breeds different species,
which he keeps in glass tanks. He’s also got a praying
mantis. It feeds on flies, mealworms and other insects;
and he’s got a scorpion, which eats crickets — yuck!
He’s got an aquarium and a terrarium in his bedroom.
ere’s hardly any space for a bed.
Wollen Sie noch mehr Tipps und Übungen?
Abonnieren Sie Spotlight plus! www.spotlight-online.de/ueben
Practice
Try the exercises on this page to practise talking
about exotic or unusual pets.
1. Cross out one word in each line that does not
belong in the same category as the other words.
Tips
The verb feed can be used in different ways.
If an animal feeds, it eats. A lizard feeds on insects.
If you feed insects to a lizard or if you feed it
insects, you give it insects to eat.
The verb feed is also often used in the passive:
a snake is fed mice, and all pets should be
properly fed.
a) degu | lizard | snake | terrapin
b) aquarium | cage | terrarium | vet
c) claws | crickets | flies | mealworms
d) fur | shell | spines | species
e) bird | insect | pet | reptile
2. Match the sentence halves below to complete the definitions of verbs that are often used
in connection with pets.
a) If you breed animals,
a ➯
1. you own it and look after it.
b) If you tame an animal,
b ➯
2. it lies in the sun.
c) If you keep a pet,
c ➯
3. you keep them to produce young ones.
d) If you stroke an animal,
d ➯
4. it cleans itself.
e) If an animal basks,
e ➯
5. you get it used to being with people.
f) If an animal grooms itself,
f ➯
6. you move your hand gently over its skin or fur.
3. What is it? Find the missing words on the opposite page.
a) A(n) _______________ has black feathers and a yellow bill.
It’s famous for being able to imitate the human voice.
b) A(n) _______________ is a small rodent with a hairy tail. It
is an intelligent, social animal that loves digging — and
chewing.
d) A(n) _______________ lives in hot places and has a long,
curved tail with a poisonous sting.
e) A(n) _______________ is a large, hairy spider. Its bite is not
as dangerous as many people believe.
f) A(n) _______________ is an animal that doesn’t eat only
c) A(n) _______________ is a large insect with long front
legs. It feeds on smaller insects. Sometimes a female will
plants (like a herbivore) or only meat (like a carnivore),
but both.
eat a male.
a) [nQk(t§:n&l]
______________________
b) [)semiE(kwÄtIk]
______________________
c) [(spi:Si:z]
______________________
d) [(rEUd&nt]
______________________
Answers
1. a) degu (the others are reptiles)
b) vet (the others are containers in which animals are kept)
c) claws (the others are animals used as food)
(cricket: Grille; mealworm [(mi:&lw§:m]: Mehlwurm)
d) species (the others refer to animals’ skin) (shell: hier: Panzer)
e) pet (the other words refer to classes of animal)
2. a–3; b–5; c–1; d–6; e–2; f–4
3. a) mynah bird (bill: Schnabel ); b) degu;
c) praying mantis; d) scorpion [(skO:piEn] (sting: Stachel )
e) tarantula; f) omnivore [(QmnIvO:] (Allesfresser)
4. a) nocturnal (nachtaktiv); b) semiaquatic (teilweise im Wasser lebend);
c) species (Art); d) rodent (Nagetier)
4. How do you say that? Write the words next to
their phonetic transcription.
10|12 Spotlight
51