Exercise 1

Read the following passages, A and B, and take notes using the Cornell Notetaking Method:

Passage A

Animals living in modern zoos enjoy several advantages over animals in the wild; however, they must also so suffer some disadvantages. One advantages of living in the zoo is that the animals are separated from their natural predators; they are protected and can, therefore, live without risk of being attacked. Another advantage is that they are regularly fed a special, well-balanced diet; thus, they do not have to hunt for food or suffer at times when food is hard to find.

On the other hand, zoo animals face several disadvantages. The most important disadvantages are that since they do not have to hunt for food or face their enemies, some animals became bored, discontented or even nervous. Another disadvantage is that zoo visitors can endanger their lives. Some animals can pick up airborne diseases from humans.

Passage B

The World Health Organization began a dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) spraying programme that virtually eliminated malaria. But other things began to happen. Besides killing mosquitoes, the DDT killed other insects that lived in the houses such as files and cockroaches. These insects were the favourite food of geckos (small lizards). And so, when the geckos ate the dead insects, they died from the DDT poisoning. Similarly, the house cats ate the dead geckos and cockroaches, and they too died from the DDT poisoning. As a result, the rat population rose sharply, and the human population of Borneo begun to die from a type of plague carried by fleas on the rats. In order to deal with the emergency, thousands of cats were parachuted into the island, in what was called 'Operation Cat Drop'.