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Home > The Zookeeper

The Zookeeper

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zoo, the zookeeperFor this exercise about the zookeeper, you read the text and choose the correct answer to each of the five questions. It provides practice for this reading section of the Cambridge English B1 Preliminary exam. 

About 5-10 minutes.Reading Skills.Expanding stage.
Enhanced Accessibility.
TextVocabulary
Read the text and questions below. For each question, choose the correct answer at the end of the text.

B1 Preliminary Reading Part 3: The Zookeeper

1 / 1

Part 3
-5 questions-

Read the text about snakebites and answer the questions that follow.. Write A, B or C.

My name's Mark Porter. I've been interested in the natural world since I was very young. I used to keep insects, and I spent a lot of time drawing them. After I finished school, I went to work in a pet shop - that was great fun, but I knew I had to go to college if I wanted a better job. So I went to university to study Biology and then got a job in Florida working at a sea-life centre, looking after the dolphins.

While I was working there, I saw an advertisement for my current job - a keeper for the fish department at a zoo in California - and applied. Although it was for the same money, I was pleased when they immediately offered me the job because there are lots of different activities I'm involved in here. As part of my job, I get to do research, and I manage an education centre where I tell people of all ages about what they can do to protect fish and animals.

People think that my job is exciting because I go diving as part of my research work on sharks. However, I work long hours, and I worry if I have to call a medical specialist to come and look after a sick fish. Conditions at work can be uncomfortable too, as a lot of the fish I look after bite, so I have to be careful. Then there are the visitors. Some are OK, but some try to touch the fish or put sweet wrappers in the water - that makes me angry. However, my job is very rewarding, and I hope that you'll think about working with animals, too.

1. What is the writer trying to do in this text?
Answer:

Ahow people can protect animals
Bgive an account of one day in his life
Cdescribe some of the people he works with
Dencourage people to have a career with wildlife.

2. What can a reader find out from this text?
Answer:

Awhat subject Mark needed to learn to get a better job
Bhow many hours a day does Mark have to work
Chow long Mark has been keen on animals
Dwhere you can find the best sea-life centres

3. What does Mark say about his current job?
Answer:

AIt allows him to do a variety of things.
BIt was quite difficult to get.
CIt is better paid than his last job.
DIt gives him time off work to go diving.

4. How does Mark feel about visitors to the zoo?
Answer:

Anervous that a fish might hurt them
Bannoyed when they don't behave well
Cupset when they take the fish out of the water
Dsad when they don't ask questions

5. What might Mark write in his diary today?
Answer:

AToday, I performed an operation on a sick fish that had eaten a sweet wrapper.
BI spent all day in the research laboratory again today doing boring experiments.
CI gave a talk today to a group of schoolchildren about looking after animals.
DToday I watched my boss go swimming with sharks - I wish I was allowed to do that too!

Your score is

Here are new words and phrases from this exercise for the B1 Preliminary Part 3 reading section of the test:

  • biology
  • college
  • department
  • dolphins
  • education centre
  • natural world
  • medical specialist
  • pet shop
  • protect
  • research
  • sea-life centre
  • sweet wrappers
  • university
  • visitors
  • zookeeper
Print version available.
We add reading and writing exercises on a regular basis. Why not bookmark our site, so you can come back to practice anywhere or at any time of the day?

Part 1 - Read five real-world notices, messages and other short texts for the main message.

Part 2 - Match five descriptions of people to eight short texts on a particular topic, showing detailed comprehension.

Part 3 - Read a longer text for detailed comprehension, gist, inference and global meaning, as well as writer’s attitude and opinion.

Part 4 - Read a longer text from which five sentences have been removed. Show understanding of how a coherent and well-structured text is formed.

Write about 100 words, answering the email and notes provided.

In addition, we add listening and speaking exercises in order to practise for this part of the A2 Key test.
The more words you encounter and understand, the broader your day-to-day vocabulary will become. Our word games and puzzles are an excellent way to help to reinforce spellings in your mind.
Especially helpful are exercises that are focussed on a theme or topic as these provide word retention practice so you can be confident to read, write, speak and listen successfully.

Cambridge English Examinations:

Cambridge English exams are designed for learners at all levels from the pre-intermediate level Cambridge English: Key (KET) to the very advanced level Cambridge English: Proficiency (CPE). These exams give candidates proof of their ability to use English in a wide variety of contexts, relevant to work, study and leisure activities.

A2 Key | B1 Preliminary | B2 First

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