MY PERFECT ENGLISH TEST

READING: ANIMAL EMOTIONS

You may love your pet, but does your pet love you? Most animal lovers claim that animals definitely experience emotions. Many stories are told of older dogs who become jealous when a new dog (or a baby) arrives home. For many years, however, scientists did not agree that animals experienced emotions; these behaviours, they said, were simply physiological reactions to external stimuli. But now new research is beginning to confirm that animals may have feelings much like ours.

Recent studies have shown that many animals, including chimpanzees, dogs, horses, rats and birds, experience emotions similar to human jealousy, grief and love. Fear has also been widely observed by scientists, perhaps unsurprisingly, since this emotion helps in survival. Biologist Samuel Gosling claims that dogs exhibit four dimensions of personality: affection, sociability, emotional stability and “competence”, a combination of intelligence and obedience. These are similar to the categories of human personality generally found in basic psychological tests.

Other studies have shown that when a recording of dogs’ “laughter” is played to other dogs, they start to play with each other, and rats who “laugh” frequently seem to be popular among other rats, offering further proof of emotions among animals. In addition, animals respond to anti-depressant drugs and this proves that their brain chemistry, which is affected by the drug, must be similar to ours. Experts believe that their emotions must therefore be similar, too.

However, if animals really do have human-like emotions, there are some serious issues to consider: how fair is it, for example, for humans to keep animals in cages, or use them for pharmaceutical testing?

Exercise 1: Are the following statements true or false? Write capital T for true statements and a capital F when false.

  

1. Animal lovers believe that dogs can be jelous 

2. Scientists are beginning to believe that animals have got feelings 

3. Only humans experience both possitive and negative emotions 

4. Dogs often "laugh" when they see other dogs playing 

2. Complete the sentences with the correct form of suitable verbs. It will take a while for Alice to recover from her injuries.

1 If you invite your cousins to stay, it will __________ with our plans to go on holiday.

2 Jessica is delighted because she’s ­­­____________ in getting a place at university.

 3 What are you ___________ about? Is it something to do with the protest march next week?

 4 I’m sure it was Luke who stole the money, but he won’t _____________ to it.

5 The movement ______________ with a few people who signed a petition.

3. Complete the dialogue with the correct idioms. In one case, there is more than one possible answer.

John Have you heard that Martin and Suzie are arguing about politics again?

 Liz Those two constantly have a difference of opinion.

John I know. They (1)__________ in their views, aren’t they? This time the argument is about the elections for the mayor. Suzie thinks that an elected mayor would be good for the city, but Martin thinks it’s unnecessary as the mayor would interfere with the council’s work.

Liz Hmm, I can see (2) _________ the council must be allowed to do its job, but a mayor would bring in new ideas.

 John I agree with you. I think we’re (3)_________ on this point, but look at Martin and Suzie. Surely they must agree with some of each other’s argument. Why can’t they (4)__________ ?

Liz I don’t think that will happen. I think they’ll just have to (5)__________ .

John Yes, it looks like it!

4.Correct the sentences. Two sentences are correct.

 We’ll be learning a lot more about the disease by the end of this decade.

 We’ll have learnt a lot more about the disease by the end of this decade.

1 The police officer recommended the thief to stop.­­­______________________

2 Our house, that we bought in 2005, has got twelve rooms.________________

 3 I’ve been knowing my best friend since I was a child.___________________

 4 Jim has been working in the garden all morning, so he’s very hot. _________

5 We were eating breakfast when the phone was ringing. _________________

6 I put my keys in my bag after I was locking the door.____________________

 7 His sculptures, for which he is famous, are on display at the gallery.______________

 8 Will you be typing all these letters by the time you leave?________________

5. You have spent the weekend staying with some English friends.

Write a card to them. In your card,you should:

-Thank your friends for the weekend.

-say what you enjoyed most about the weekend.

-invite them to stay with you.