Animals and their bodies and sounds

Exercises: 1 2 3 4

Exercise 3

Complete each gap using a word from the box. You can use each option ONLY ONCE.

barked – bee – beak – kittens – neighing – paws – puppy – seagull – tail – wing

As a lifelong animal lover, I have always lived with pets. The first was a dog called Blackie. I will never forget him. He was a tiny 1 when we got him, small enough to fit in the palm of my hand. He didn’t stay small for long, however; by the time he was a year old, he was over a metre tall.

We named him Blackie because he was entirely black except for his two front 2 , which were white. Blackie was very protective of us and 3 if anyone came near our house. However, as soon as he realised they were friendly, he would wag his 4 showing how happy he was.

Blackie may have been huge, but he certainly was not brave, and whenever he saw a cat, he’d run away as fast as he could. This was because a cat had once scratched him on the nose after he came too close to her 5 .

Blackie was fascinated by insects, despite having once been stung by a 6 , and if one flew into the garden, he would chase it and attempt to catch it. He was also fond of horses, and whenever he heard our neighbour's horses 7 in the field next door, he'd stop whatever he was doing and run towards the fence.

When Blackie was two years old, a bird named Martha came to stay for a while. She was a 8 with a broken 9 that my sister had found at the beach. Martha stayed with us for a few months until she was able to fly again, and although Blackie was jealous at first, the two soon became good friends. In fact, he would dig for worms in the soil, which Martha would then pick up with her 10 .

Blackie was with us for over fifteen years, and although I’ve had many pets since then, none have been quite so affectionate and special as him.

Exercises: 1 2 3 4

Animals

In this Intermediate Vocabulary Lesson about Animals, you will learn essential terms and phrases related to animal body parts, animal sounds, and common animals. The pictures, descriptions, and examples below will help you understand and remember the terms.

Common animals

A vocabulary chart titled "Common Animals" showing labelled images of a puppy, kitten, bee, wasp, cricket, worm, snail, tadpole, pigeon, hedgehog, peacock, prawn, shrimp, crab, seagull, and bat.

1 A puppy is a young dog.

The children played with the adorable puppy in the park.

2 A kitten is a young cat.

The kitten chased a ball of yarn across the floor.

3 A bee is an insect known for making honey.

The bee buzzed around the flowers in the garden.

4 A wasp is a very common yellow and black flying insect. Wasps have a painful sting.

A wasp flew by and everyone moved away quickly.

5 A cricket is an insect known for its chirping sound.

We could hear the crickets chirping all night.

6 A worm is a small, long, and thin animal with no bones or legs.

The bird pulled a worm out of the ground.

7 A snail is a very slow and small animal with a soft body, antennae, and a hard shell.

The snail moved slowly across the garden path.

8 A tadpole is the larval stage of a frog.

We watched the tadpoles swimming in the pond.

9 A pigeon is a common bird found in cities.

The pigeons gathered in the town square.

10 A hedgehog is a small brown animal with spines all over its back.

We saw a hedgehog in the garden at night.

11 A peacock is a bird known for its colourful feathers.

The peacock displayed its beautiful tail feathers.

12 A prawn is a small shellfish with a long tail and many legs. People eat prawns.

We ordered a dish with prawns at the restaurant.

13 A shrimp is a small sea animal with a long tail and many legs, similar to a prawn.

The chef prepared a delicious shrimp cocktail.

14 A crab is a sea animal with a hard shell and claws that they use for catching food and protection.

We saw a crab walking sideways on the beach.

15 A seagull is a bird that lives near the sea.

The seagulls flew above us looking for food.

16 A bat is a dark, nocturnal flying animal with wings made of skin.

We saw a bat flying in the evening sky.

Animal body parts

An English vocabulary chart titled "Animal Body Parts" showing images of different body parts of animals. The images are labeled 1 through 12, showing paws, claws, hooves, beak, wings, fin, scales, gills, shell, horns, tail, and whiskers.

1 A paw is the foot of an animal, especially a cat or dog.

The cat used its paw to gently tap the toy.

2 Claws are the sharp, curved nails on the feet of some animals.

The eagle used its claws to catch the fish.

3 Hooves are the hard, protective coverings on the feet of animals like horses and deer.

The horse’s hooves made a loud sound on the pavement.

4 A beak is the hard, pointed part of a bird’s mouth.

The parrot used its beak to crack open the seed.

5 Wings are the body parts that birds and some insects use to fly.

The butterfly flapped its wings and flew away.

6 A fish’s fins are the flat parts on its body that help it swim and maintain balance in the water.

The shark’s fin could be seen above the water.

7 Scales are the small, flat pieces of skin that cover the bodies of fish and reptiles.

The fish’s scales shimmered in the sunlight.

8 Gills are the organs that fish use to breathe underwater.

The fish opened and closed its gills as it swam.

9 A shell is the hard, protective outer covering of some animals, like snails and turtles.

The turtle retreated into its shell when it sensed danger.

10 Horns are the hard, pointed growths on the heads of some animals like bulls and goats.

The goat used its horns to defend itself.

11 A tail is the long, flexible part at the end of an animal’s body.

The dog wagged its tail when it saw its owner.

12 Whiskers are the long, thin hairs on the face of some animals, like cats and dogs.

The cat’s whiskers twitched as it explored its surroundings.

Animal sounds

An English vocabulary chart titled "Animal Sounds" showing images of different animals making sounds. The images are labeled 1 through 8, showing meow, bark, growl, roar, chirp, hiss, moo, and neigh.

1 Meow is the sound a cat makes. Meow can be a verb or a noun.

The kitten let out a soft meow when it was hungry.

2 When dogs bark, they make a short, sharp noise and usually repeat it several times. Bark can also be a noun.

The dog started to bark loudly at the stranger.

3 When a dog, wolf, etc. growls, they make a low, threatening sound. Growl is also a noun.

The dog began to growl when it sensed danger.

4 To roar is to make a loud, deep sound, like a lion. Roar is also a noun.

The lion let out a mighty roar in the jungle.

5 To chirp is to make a short, sharp sound, like birds and insects. Chirp is also a noun.

The birds began to chirp early in the morning.

6 When snakes hiss, they make a sound like a long ‘s’. Hiss is also a noun.

The snake let out a hiss when it felt threatened.

7 When cows moo, they make a sound that resembles an ‘m’ followed by a long ‘u’.. Moo is also a noun.

The cow gave a loud moo in the field.

8 When horses neigh, they make their typical loud noise. Neigh is also a noun.

The horse greeted its owner with a happy neigh.

Flashcards

After completing the exercises in this lesson on Animals, you can use the unit’s Vocabulary Flashcards to revise and help you memorize the terms.