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BBC Learning English

Video Words in the News

19 March 2013

Hugging lions

Transcript:

Into the lion's den.

Visitors to this private zoo in Buenos Aires can pet and feed dangerous animals.

The owner claims to be able to domesticate tigers, lions and bears by raising them alongside dogs.

He says he keeps animals passive by never letting them go hungry.

But critics say they're calm because they're sedated, and that this kind of interaction is risky for both humans and animals alike.

Vocabulary:

the lion's den used to describe a dangerous or threatening place or situation

pet to stroke gently (an animal or child)

domesticate to bring animals or plants under human control in order to provide food, power, or company

passive accepting what happens without trying to control or change things

sedated

given drugs that make you sleepy or calm

Exercise:

Use one of the words or phrases below to complete each of these sentences from news reports.

Note that you may have to change the form of a word to complete the sentence correctly.

the lion's den / pet / domesticate / passive / sedated

1. Humans are a selfish species - we breed and ___________ millions of animals for our own purposes of companionship and control, and then we complain if "too much" money is spent on their medical treatment.

2. The gorillas are being ___________ for the journey, which involves two scheduled flights and another journey by a helicopter loaned by the president of the West African country.

3. "I'm not going to get any easy fights at this level, he is the WBC champion of the world. I am entering ___________, I'm fighting in his home town - but I am looking forward to it."

4. The Kis-Kis Cafe - the name means Here, Kitty Kitty - charges a couple of pennies a minute to ___________ a cat, and is the first of its kind in this vast region of eastern Russia, Rossiya 1 TV reports.

5. "A lot of people view the television as a very ___________ thing now. It's in the corner, it's always just rolling 24/7.

Answers:

1. Humans are a selfish species - we breed and domesticate millions of animals for our own purposes of companionship and control, and then we complain if "too much" money is spent on their medical treatment. Source: Should pets have a ￡15m hospital?

2. The gorillas are being sedated for the journey, which involves two scheduled flights and another journey by a helicopter loaned by the president of the West African country. Source: Port Lympne's gorillas Djala returned to Gabon with family

3. "I'm not going to get any easy fights at this level, he is the WBC champion of the world. I am entering the lions den, I'm fighting in his home town - but I am looking forward to it." Source: Old Spice back in fashion

4. The Kis-Kis Cafe - the name means Here, Kitty Kitty - charges a couple of pennies a minute to pet a cat, and is the first of its kind in this vast region of eastern Russia, Rossiya 1 TV reports.

Source: Russia: paying by the minute to cuddle cats

5. "A lot of people view the television as a very passive thing now. It's in the corner, it's always just rolling 24/7. Source: Minecraft gamer's YouTube hit 'more popular than Bieber'