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11
What was reduced in the Larsen A and B glaciers following the calving of the Larsen A
and B ice shelves?
12
What can help to slow down Antarctic glaciers in the absence of ice shelves?
13
What could become unimportant if the sea rises uncontrollably?
IELTS 5 Practice Tests, Academic Set 6
TEST 28
READING
Page 287
READING PASSAGE 2
You should spend about 20 minutes on
Questions 14 - 26
, which are based on Reading Passage 2
below.
The Role of the Zoo
There are not many people in the world who haven’t visited a zoo or safari park in their
lifetime. Not only is a trip to the zoo a fun day out, it is a chance for many people to get
relatively close to animals they are unlikely to see elsewhere. Most people nowadays
recognise that not all zoos are considered equal: there are both ‘good’ and ‘bad’ zoos. Most
of us would agree that the stereotypical roadside zoos known for their negligence of animals
are in the ‘bad’ category, while we would expect zoos in developed countries to maintain
higher standards of animal welfare and be among the ‘good’ ones. To say that all zoos are
bad, however, is a blunt and sweeping indictment and the judgement fails to account for how
ethical institutions enrich and ultimately protect the lives of animals, both in human care and
in the wild.
The role of the zoo has evolved to prioritise research, education, and conservation. Some
people still condemn the existence of zoos based on zoos’ past life of pure entertainment and
it is true that zoos started as menageries and amusement parks. However, zoos have come a
long way since the late 1800s and the current legislation protecting wild animals and
guaranteeing their welfare make sure zoos and aquariums are a better place for animals to
live.
Zoos have an essential role in conservation, as biologist Tom Compton asserts. “Given trends
regarding the disappearance of various animals, the number of species requiring conservation
breeding programs is likely to increase dramatically. Today’s zoos and aquariums are uniquely
positioned to combat the evolving dangers threatening nature. Using robust and
sophisticated breeding plans, these institutions fund and facilitate countless initiatives to
propagate endangered animals and preserve genetic biodiversity, and then reintroduce
critically endangered or extinct species into the wild.” Currently, most zoos in developed
countries have their own breeding programs and all efforts in captive breeding have led to
increased research. As researcher Jake Potter puts it, “many zoos have become places of
rigorous scientific research. This is coupled with an active effort not just to preserve in
captivity those creatures that are endangered in the wild, but to understand, save, and
replenish unique natural habitats.” The benefits of zoos have been underestimated.
Zookeepers, researchers, and vets now know a lot more about husbandry as zoos have
evolved, and these improvements have led to increased longevity of animals in captivity and
in their natural habitats.
TEST 28
READING
IELTS 5 Practice Tests, Academic Set 6
Page 288
The role of zoos in public education is also very significant. Resident zoo educator Anne
Paisley points out that this is in turn important to conservation. “Zoos need to assign equal
weight to teaching people and especially children about the threats that modern society
offers to wildlife as they do to the entertainment value that zoos provide as a family day out.
The children of today will be the ones who make decisions over conservation tomorrow.”
Zookeeper Tony Wilde also emphasises the importance of people seeing the animals as
individuals rather than an idea from a book or television programme. “The public visiting a
zoo sees many kinds of animal. Each species conforms to a set pattern, often based on facts
gleaned at school. Elephants are just elephants; lions are just lions; bears are just bears. What
the visitor often does not realize is that each animal is also an individual. All my zoo elephants
are different to each other, and each one leaves me with a different memory.” Not everyone
agrees that zoos fulfil this educational function, though. Peter Grant, the zoo critic, believes
that “the zoo’s contribution to education is minimal and that most people show no more than
casual curiosity about its animals. If zoos are teaching children anything, it’s that imprisoning
animals for our own entertainment is acceptable.”
The main argument against zoos is the belief that, even with the best intentions and
conditions, a zoo cannot provide the perfect environment for every type of animal. For
example, it is extremely difficult for zoos to recreate the natural environment that an elephant
is used to living in. This is because in the course of a day, an elephant can walk anywhere up
to 50 kilometres. Elephants also travel in packs of thirty or forty in the wild. In most zoos,
elephants will usually have just several acres to walk around in and maybe a couple of other
elephants, if they are lucky.
People against animals being kept in zoos are also unimpressed with the attempts to create
an animal friendly habitat for each occupant. Activist Pia Lundstrom argues that “zoo
enclosures, while attractive and a vast improvement on the past, are rarely big enough and do
not prevent the animals from becoming depressed.” She goes on to argue that “by making
animals live in artificial surroundings, the zoo is messing with natural mating activities, which
can cause zoochosis in the animal, which is similar to the human Obsessive-Compulsive
Disorder.” Another problem is privacy, because the animals are living in habitats that are often
extremely smaller than they are used to, the animal cannot enjoy much needed seclusion. This
can also cause depression and obsessive behaviour in the animals.
There is no denying that the animals kept in zoos discussion is controversial, as both sides of
the argument make valid points. However, global change represents an unprecedented
challenge for the maintenance of biodiversity. It is expected that even under the most
optimistic impact and adaptation scenarios, a great number of species may require the
integration of a suite of wildlife preservation actions, including conservation breeding
programs in zoos.
IELTS 5 Practice Tests, Academic Set 6
TEST 28
READING
Page 289
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