A bottlenose dolphin leaps above the water.

A. Labeling. Match each description (1-5) with the correct part of the dolphin.

1. Dolphins sleep by resting one half of their brain at a time.

2. A dolphin's tail doesn't have any bones, but it is full of
muscles. These help to push the dolphin through the water.
3. Dolphins "hear" through a special bone in their lower jaw.
4. The bones inside a dolphin's flippers are similar to the bones inside your arm and hand.
5. Dolphins are mammals, not fish. They breathe air using a special hole (called a
blowhole) on the top of their head.

B. Skimming. On the next two pages, look at the title, headings, photos, and captions.
What is the reading about? Circle a, b, or c. Then read the passage to check your answer.
a. types of dolphins b. things dolphins do c. what dolphins eat

8 Unit lA
 Many people say dolphins are intelligent. They seem to be able to think,
understand, and learn things quickly. But are they as smart as humans, or are they
more like cats and dogs? Dolphins use their brains quite differently from the way
humans do. But scientists say dolphins and humans are alike in some ways. How?

5 Communication
Like humans, every dolphin has its own" name." The name is a special whistle.!
Each dolphin chooses a specific whistle for itself, usually by its first birthday.
Dolphins are like people in other ways, too. They "talk" to each other about a
lot of things-such as their age, their feelings, and finding food. They also use a
10 system of sounds and body language to communicate. Understanding dolphin
conversation is not easy for humans. No one "speaks dolphin" yet, but some
scientists are trying to learn.

! A whistle is a high-pitched sound made by blowing air through a hole.

UnillA 9
 Play
Dolphins are also social animals. They live in groups
15 called pods, and they often join others from different
pods to play games and have fun-just like people.
Scientists believe playing together is something only
intelligent animals do.

Teamwork
20 Dolphins and humans are similar in another way: both
species make plans for getting things they want. In the
seas of southern Brazil, for example, dolphins use an
intelligent strategy to get food. When there are fish
near a boat, dolphins signal2 to the fishermen to put
25 their nets in the water. Using this method, the men
can catch a lot of fish. Why do dolphins assist the
Dolphins sometimes help
men? There is an advantage for them: they get to eat
fishermen find food.
some of the fish that escape from the net.

2 If you signal to someone, you make an action or a sound to tell that

person something.
Dolphins travel together in
groups known as pods.
Reading Comprehension
Multiple Choice. Choose the best answer for each question.

Main Idea 1. What does the reading NOT mention?

a. how dolphins communicate with each other
b. how dolphins play games and have fun
c. how dolphins work together as a team
d. how dolphins move quickly through the water
Detail 2. Where does a dolphin get its "name"?
a. It gets it from its mother.
b. It gets it from scientists.
c. It chooses it for itself.
d. No one knows.
Detail 3. Which sentence about dolphin language is true?
a. Dolphins "talk" to each other about many things.
b. Dolphins whistle, but they don't use body language.
c. Dolphin conversation is easy for humans to understand.
d. Dolphins don't "talk" about their feelings.
Detail 4. Which sentence about dolphins and humans is NOT true?
a. Dolphins and humans use their brains in the same way.
b. Dolphins and humans play games in groups.
c. Dolphins and humans plan ways to do things. Did You Know?
d. Dolphins and humans communicate their feelings The orca, or killer
to each other. whale, is actually
a kind of dolphin.
Reference 5. In line 15, others refers to other _
a. pods
b. people
c. dolphins
d. games
Detail 6. Why do dolphins sometimes help fishermen?
a. Dolphins are kind animals.
b. The dolphins can get food that way.
c. The dolphins are scared of humans.
d. The fishermen ask the dolphins for help.
Vocabulary 7. In the sentence They get to eat some of the fish ...
(lines 27-28), what does get to mean?
a. are able to
b. have to
c. should
d. want to

Unit lA 11
Understanding the Gist
The gist of a text is what the text is mainly about. When you read for
the gist, don't read every word. Skim the text quickly to find out what
it is basically about. Look at the title and any headings, photos, and
captions. Another strategy is to read the first line of each paragraph.

A. Multiple Choice. Skim the passage on pages 9-10 again. What is

the main idea of the reading? Circle a, b, or c.
a. Some types of dolphins are much smarter than humans.
b. Scientists believe there are many different types of dolphins.
c. Dolphins are intelligent and, in some ways, are like humans.

B. Multiple Choice. Skim this short passage and answer the questions
(1-2) below. Then read the passage again and check your answers.

The albatross is one of the world's largest flying birds. It also has the ! When animals
breed, they
largest wings of any bird-up to 3.4 meters (slightly over 11 feet) from produce young.
tip to tip. These giant birds use their wings to ride the ocean winds.
They can fly for hours without rest, or even without moving their
wings. Some may even be able to sleep while flying.
Most albatrosses spend nearly all their time in the air. In fact, they
only return to land to breed.! A parent albatross might fly thousands of
kilometers to find food for its young. In its lifetime, an albatross can
fly a total of more than six million kilometers (3.8 million miles).

1. What is the above passage mainly about?

a. where albatrosses live
b. albatross flying behavior
c. albatross intelligence
2. What could be a title for this passage?
a. Riding the Ocean Winds
b. Catching Fish
c. The Smartest Bird

Critical T inking Discuss with a partner. The reading on

pages 9-10 mentions three ways to tell if an animal is
intelligent. What are they? Can you think of other ways A wandering
to tell if an animal is intelligent? albatross

12 Unit lA
A. Matching. Read the information below and match each word in red
with its definition.

There are a few ways to test how smart animals are. One method
is to test memory. Scientists in Japan showed a group of college
students and a group of five-year-old chimps the numbers 1 to 9 in
different places on a computer screen. The test was to see if the
groups could remember the specific position of the
numbers in the correct order. Every time, the chimps
were faster than the students. Why? Did someone
assist the chimps? No, but the animals probably
had an important advantage: They were young.
As both humans and animals get older, their
memory gets worse.

1. ______ : a way of doing something

2. _____ :help
3. ______ : something that helps you succeed

4. ______ : exact

5. ______ .:intelligent A Sumatran orangutan,

Pongo abelii

B. Completion. Complete the information with the words and phrases

from the box.

alike conversation intelligent language system strategy

1 If something is
Orangutans and humans are 1. in some ways. For
complex, it is made
example, did you know that the orangutan is a very 2. _ up of many parts.

animal? Orangutans use a(n) 3. to stay dry when it

rains: They take leaves from trees and use them like umbrellas. These
animals don't have a complex1 4. Iike humans do. But
today, some orangutans are learning basic sign language. Maybe, in the
future, we will be able to have a simple 5. with them.

UnillA 13
 D

Before You Read Elephant musicians in

Lampang. Thailand

A. Labeling. Read the information and label the parts of the picture (1-5).

Can an (1) elephant make music? Some people might say "no," but the
animals in this photo are musicians. Each elephant uses its (2) trunk to play
different (3) instruments such as the (4) drum or the (5) xylophone.

B. Predict. Which of these things do you think elephants can do? Check (,I')
your answer(s). Then read the information on the next page to see if your
prediction(s) are correct.

o dance o paint o cook food

14 UnitlB
 LAOS

In the town of Lampang in northern Thailand, there is an

unusual! group of musicians. They play many different kinds
of music-from traditional Thai songs to music by Beethoven.
Both children and adults love this group. What makes them so
5 popular? Is it their music? Their 100ks?2Yes, it's both of these
things, but it's also something else: they're elephants.

These musical elephants are from the Thai Elephant

Conservation Center (TECC) in Lampang. The TECC protects
elephants. It teaches people to understand and care for these
10 huge, but gentle, animals. And, like many zoos around the
world, the ncc encourages elephants to paint.

Richard Lair works with the nce. He knew that elephants MALAYSIA
hear better than they see. So he had an idea: if elephants
are intelligent and they have good hearing, maybe they can
15 play music. To test his idea, Lair and a friend started the Thai
Elephant Orchestra.3 During a performance, the elephants play
a variety of instruments, including the drums and the xylophone.
The animals also use their voices and trunks to make sounds.

But can elephants really make music properly? Yes, says Lair.
20 They're very creative. Humans
may encourage the animals
to play instruments, but the
elephants make their own songs;
they don't just copy their trainers
25 or other people. There are now
CDs of the group's music, which
earn money for the nce. And
the music these artists create is
pretty amazing.

! If something is unusual, il does not happen

very often or you do not see it or hear it
very often.
2 When you refer to someone's looks, you are
referring to how beautiful or ugly they are.
3 An orchestra is a large group of musicians
lhat playa variety of instruments together.

Unit 18 15
Reading Comprehension
Multiple Choice. Choose the best answer for each question.

Gist 1. Another title for this reading could be __

a. Teaching Elephants to Paint
b. Elephants in Danger
c. TECC Trainers
d. An Unusual Orchestra
2. The elephants at the TECC _
a. see better than they hear
b. are encouraged to paint
c. cannot create their own music
d. make their own instruments
Reference 3. In line 4, them refers to _
a. children
b. adults
c. songs
d. musicians
4. Why did Richard Lair start the Thai Elephant Orchestra?
a. He had heard the elephants playing music.
b. He needed to make money for the TECC.
c. He believed elephants could play music.
d. He wanted to be on TV in Thailand.
5. In line 17, what does a variety of mean?
a. the same kind of
b. many different
c. two types of
d. too many
6. Which sentence about the Thai Elephant Orchestra is
NOT true? Did You Know?
a. The elephants dance while playing music.
In south Asia, an elephant's
b. The elephants use their trunks to make sounds. trainer is known as a mahout
c. The elephants use their voices to make sounds. [ma-hoot]. Here, a mahout
d. The orchestra's CD sales earn money for the TECC. in Sri Lanka is brushing the
Paraphrase 7. Read the last sentence in the passage again. What does teeth of his elephant.
it mean?
a. The elephants play great music.
b. Human artists now play with the elephants.
c. The elephants are very beautiful.
d. Human musicians want to copy the elephants' songs.

16 Unit 18
 ~

, .
""
Reading Skill ~~~\'O~ ~ J ,

'~i~ -i'"~'-"
.:lUlif;~,.~~
,~"'~,
.. , ,~"'h'< •

Identifying Main Ideas in Paragraphs

A paragraph usually has one main idea and some details that support it.
Paragraphs often include a topic sentence that describes the main idea.
Usually-but not always-a topic sentence is at or near the start of the
paragraph, or at the end of the paragraph. One way to find the main idea
quickly is to read the sentences at the beginning and end of the paragraph.
A paragraph's heading (if it has one) can also give a clue to its main idea.

A. Multiple Choice. Read the paragraph. Which sentence gives the main idea?
Circle a, b, or c.
In 2005, a dog named Bella met an elephant named Tarra at
a conservation center. Dogs and elephants don't usually mix,
but this pair soon became best friends. One day, workers
heard Bella barking from the room where she was resting.
She was communicating with Tarra, who was outside making
noises of her own. So someone brought Bella outside to
Tarra, who gently touched her friend with her trunk. Over
the years, the two animals often slept and had food together.
When Bella died in 2011, Tarra carried her body to a place
where they often spent time together.

a. In 2005, a dog named Bella met an elephant named Tarra

at a conservation center.
b. Dogs and elephants don't usually mix, but this pair soon
became best friends.
c. When Bella died in 2011, Tarra carried her body to a place
where they often spent time together.
Bella and Tarra

B. Matching. What is the main idea of each paragraph in the reading on page
15? Match each main idea below to a paragraph (1-4). One idea is extra.

1. a. Richard Lair created the Thai Elephant Orchestra.

2. b. There is an unusual group of musicians in Thailand.
3. c. Animals all over the world like music.
4. d. Elephants really can play amazing music.
e. The TECC works with elephants.

Critical Thinking Discuss with a partner. Which animal do you think is the
smartest in this unit? Why do you think so?

Unit 18 17
Vocabulary Practice
A. Words in Context. Complete each sentence with the correct answer (a or b).
1. A gentle person hurt an animal.
a. wouldn't b. would
2. A huge animal is very _
a. large b. small
3. If something is popular, people like it.
a. a lot of b. very few
4. If you do something properly, you do it _
a. poorly b. correctly
5. An example of a musical performance is _
a. an orchestra playing music b. someone learning to play an instrument

B. Completion. Complete the paragraph with words from the box. One word is extra.

artists creative earn encourage popular trainers

In some zoos, 1. show elephants how to hold a paintbrush.

The trainers 2. the elephants to choose colors and use them
to make paintings. Of course, not every painting is good. Just like humans, only
some elephants are very 3. . Now, an online gallery sells
paintings by these elephant 4. . By doing this, the gallery
hopes to 5. money to protect elephants.

This painting, called "Green

Symphony," was painted by
Phong, an elephant at the
Lampang Elephant Art Academy.

r,,-------- .
Word Link We can
add -ist to words to
form nouns. These
nouns often describe
jobs, such as artist
and scientist.

Courtesy of NOVICA.COM

18 Unit 18
VIEWING
Before You Watch
A. Labeling. Label the numbered items in the photo with the words in bold from the caption.

A A trainer in Thailand is teaching a monkey

1. _
how to pick a coconut. He ties a rope
2. _ around it and uses this to control and direct
the animal up a tree.
3. _

4. _

5. _

B. Matching. How do you think the trainer trains the monkey? Number the steps in
order from 1 to 4.
___ The trainer lets the monkey play.
___ The trainer lets the monkey pick a coconut.
___ The trainer shows the monkey how to spin a coconut.
___ The trainer encourages the monkey to spin a coconut himself.
Viewing 19
While You Watch
A. Checking. Check your answers to B on page 19. Did you guess the steps correctly?

B. Completion. Complete the word web about the video. Use verbs from the box.
Two words are extra.

buy earn fall have pick produce spin treat use work

How to Train
• show how to 1. a coconut Advantages
• encourage the monkey to do it himself • if people climb trees, they might
• let the monkey 2. a coconut 3. and die

Training Monkeys

Importance of Coconuts life of Monkeys

• people 4. them on beaches • farmers say most 6. _ _ _
• used in curry a good life

• farmers can 5. money • some people make them

7. too hard
• farmers will continue to
8. them
After You Watch
Critical Thinking. Discuss
these questions with a partner.
1. What else do you think
monkeys can be trained
to do?
2. Do you think it's a good idea
to train monkeys to help
humans? Why or why not?
3. Which other animals help
humans? How?

This pig-tailedMacaque >

(Macaca nemestrina)is
trained to pickcoconuts.
20 Viewing