WORKSHEET TASK 6

Subject / Topic: Non-fiction passages - 5.5: Animals Duration: 35 +35 Date: 24/04/2026
and entertainment & 5.6: The benefits of zoos mins
Name: Aleena Year: 9 Section: D Marks:

Diagnostic feedback:

Task 1: Read the following two articles and respond to the questions given below: (ARTICLE 1)
WHY WE SHOULDN’T USE ANIMALS FOR ENTERTAINMENT

Why do humans use animals for entertainment?

Why do humans enjoy wielding their power over animals?
Why do humans mistreat, cage, restrain animals and steal them from their natural habitat?
Why do humans enjoy making animals submissive by putting them in zoos and aquariums?
Let me tell you the facts.
1. Confinement means prison
In a zoo, animals cannot explore or play naturally. They get less exercise, they can’t interact with other
animals and they become depressed. After years in confinement, their spirit is crushed and their
behaviour is not normal. Animals are harmed physically and mentally by this cruel form of
imprisonment.
2. A cage is not conservation
Zoos tell you that they are there to protect animals and help them. But if that’s the case, why display
animals for humans to stare at? Zoos are interested in money, not conservation. Cages are made for the
entertainment of people, not to help animals.
3. A sea park is no substitute for the ocean
No sight is more depressing than dolphins being forced to perform cheap tricks for the benefit of paying
humans. Dolphins are bright, sociable, beautiful animals. Training and forcing them to entertain belittles
their personalities. Keeping them in small aquariums is cruel and unnecessary. They belong in the ocean.
4. Isolation is terrible
How would you like to be separated from other humans? If you’ve ever spent a long time on your own,
you will know how lonely it is. So why take animals away from their own species? Separating family
groups is unnatural.
5. Animals are not movie stars
A film set is not a natural place for a tiger, or any other animal. Who knows how many animals have been
harmed or even killed when things go wrong? Are they cared for? I doubt it.
Next time you think about visiting a zoo, think again.
Next time you think about riding on the back of an animal, think again.
Next time you watch a film where animals have been forced to perform, think again.
Animals have feelings too.
They’re not for your entertainment.

wielding their power: using power in a dominant way

habitat: natural home
submissive: accepting of being controlled
conservation: protection
belittles: makes unimportant
Q1. What is the writer’s main purpose in this article? (Highlight the right answer)
A. To describe different types of animals
B. To entertain readers with stories about zoos
C. To argue that animals should not be used for entertainment
D. To explain how zoos help protect endangered species
Q2. In point 1, the writer compares confinement to “prison.” What effect does this comparison have on the
reader?
The comparison allows the reader to empathize and re-imagine the way we view an animal in a cage.
Q3. How does the writer use rhetorical questions in the introduction, and what is their intended impact?
The rhetorical question asks us, as the readers, why we commit such acts to defile animals; reflections upon
what we find entertaining
Q4. Identify two reasons the writer gives to show that sea parks are harmful to dolphins.
“Forced to perform cheap tricks for the benefit of paying humans”
“Training and forcing them to entertain belittles their personalities”
Q5. How does the writer try to persuade the reader in the final paragraph? Give one technique and explain
its effect.
The writer implements repetition in the final paragraph, to ensure that the message sticks with the reader, for
future reference in terms of re-thinking our actions.
Task 2: Persuasive texts often feature political language. This commonly takes the form of powerful and
emotive words and phrases that attempt to influence how the reader thinks about a topic.
1. Highlight any words and phrases in this extract that attempt to influence the reader.
Imprisoned in small cages, the sad eyes of the tigers stare out at a world that has been torn away from
them. They are like sad clowns, made to perform for people, hiding their depression behind their outward
appearance. Watch them lie on the floor of their cells, depressed and unloved, and you’ll agree that using
animals in the circus is cruel. Set them free from their prisons. Set them free from their cruel prison
guards.

2. Write a brief analysis of how the writer uses language to influence the reader’s opinion about tigers.
The writer applies heavy usage of emotive language and persuasive devices which turn our point of
perspective towards theirs. The writer illustrates to us what a circus tiger feels in their daily lives.
Fabricating the image of an abused tiger: “the sad eyes of the tigers stare out into a world that has been torn
away from them” “hiding their depression behind their outward appearance” sets the scene for the readers to
feel how the tiger would.
Extra Challenge: (Dare to Respond)
3. Write a paragraph that uses language to influence the reader’s views about a situation involving
power. You could choose one of these ideas or use one of your own:
 the way in which animals are used unfairly by people
 the way that powerful companies mistreat the environment.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
All of which remains good and green in this world—gone. Destroyed. Right before your eyes. And in its
place: the latest branch of a mainstream company. Not that they require a new building, they happen to have
their headquarters just in the city. The very sceneries we, as children played and bonded in, the grass that lay
there watching you grow as they do, catching the first droplets of rain, or forecasting the winds to come—all
lay buried beneath concrete and wire. They must have forgotten—or simply choose not to remember. Look
around you, when was the last time you really re-connected with the Earth that lays still for you, rears you,
and feeds you? Go outside, breathe in the oxygen gifted to you by greenery, and you’ll concede to the fact
that these companies exceed the limit of their abuse towards the environment.
ARTICLE: 2 (Task 3)

WHY ZOOS ARE GOOD

For many species (but no, not all) it is perfectly possible to keep them in a zoo or wildlife park and for
them to have a quality of life as high or higher than in the wild. Their movement might be restricted
(but not necessarily by that much) but they will not suffer from the threat or stress of predators, they
won’t suffer starvation and will get a varied and high-quality diet. A lot of very nasty things happen to
truly ‘wild’ animals that simply don’t happen in good zoos.
But what do zoos actually bring for the visitors and the wider world?
Conservation: Zoos protect against a species going extinct. A species protected in captivity can be
bred up to provide foundation populations. A good number of species only exist in captivity and still
more only exist in the wild because they have been reintroduced from zoos. Quite simply without these
efforts there would be fewer species alive today and the world as a whole would be poorer for it.
Education: Many children and adults, especially those in cities, will never see a wild animal beyond a
fox or pigeon, let alone a lion or giraffe. Sure television documentaries get ever more detailed and
impressive, but that really does pale next to seeing a living creature in the flesh, hearing it, smelling it,
watching what it does and having the time to absorb details. That alone will hopefully give them a
greater appreciation for wildlife.
Research: If we are to save many wild species we need to know about how key species live, act and
react. Being able to study animals in zoos where there is less risk means real changes can be effected
on wild populations with far fewer problems. This can make a real difference to conservation efforts,
providing knowledge for helping with the increasing threats of habitat destruction.
All in all with ongoing global threats to the environment it’s hard for me to see zoos as anything other
than being essential to the long-term survival of numerous species. Sure there is always scope for
improvement, but I think there can be few serious objections to good zoos. Without them, the world
would be a much poorer place.

predator: an animal that preys on others

extinct: no longer in existence

1. According to the writer, in what ways can animals in good zoos have a quality of life equal to or
better than animals in the wild?
In terms of their food availability and quality, as well as zero threat—given that predators will do no
harm them in their encasement.
2. How do zoos contribute to conservation, according to the article?
Zoos protect a species from their extinction, species in zoo captivity can be bred and re-introduced to
their natural habitat
3. Why does the writer believe that zoos are important for education?
The ability to witness a wild animal in-person promotes and enhances understanding of said animal. In
comparison to simply watching a documentary about it.
4. What role does research in zoos play in protecting wild species?
To study the behaviors and mannerisms of wild species, in an environment with no risk.
5. What is the writer’s overall opinion about zoos, and how is this opinion justified?
Essential to the long-term survival of certain species.
Task 4: A discursive response is one that gives an objective account of several different views about a topic.
This type of writing usually begins with an overview of the topic and a summary of the range of views that
will be discussed.
Here are ten statements about zoos. Which ones are against the topic? Write each statement in the correct
column of the table.
 Zoos are run by animal lovers.
 Animals should be free to enjoy their lives.
 Putting animals in cages is cruel.
 The love between zookeepers and animals is very strong.
 A zoo is not a natural place for an animal.
 Zoos help animals to stay alive.
 In a zoo, animals are well fed and cared for.
 Zoos only exist to make money.
 When animals live in zoos, they become weak.
 Zoos allow humans to learn about animals.
FOR AGAINST
 Zoos are run by animal lovers.  Animals should be free to enjoy
their lives.

 The love between zookeepers  Putting animals in cages is cruel.

and animals is very strong.

 A zoo is not a natural place for

 Zoos help animals to stay alive. an animal.

 In a zoo, animals are well fed  Zoos only exist to make money.
and cared for.

 Zoos allow humans to learn  When animals live in zoos, they

about animals. become weak.

Extra Challenge: (Dare to Respond)

People disagree about whether it is acceptable to keep pets. What arguments might be made for and
against keeping pets? Write an introduction to a discursive response on the topic of keeping animals
as pets. You should write at least 12 lines.
As a pet owner, human bred animals are dependent on us for comfortability and survival. A stray in
the street is treated worse in comparison to a human-owned animal. Although sometimes, the natural
instinct of said animal is their real drive of happiness, their call to the wild. For example, dogs thrive
in communities and well laid earth, and cats tend to adapt their survival instincts from their ancestors
as they apply it in their home environments. Some animals are better suited for the wild, just as some
others are preferable cared for.