A: I was just watching a documentary¹ on tv about people us dogs for various purpose. It was very interesting.
B: I love dogs. They have been used as guards for centuries. Nowadays, they are often used to find illegal drugs and bombs by the police and customs officers.
A; the documentary also pointed² out that they are used by shepherds³ to round up sheep and by rescue workers to find people trapped under rubble⁴ or snow.
B; horses are useful to people too. We use them for sports and recreation.
A: don’t forget that horses are still used in many countries to pull ploughs and carts.
B: can you ride a horse?
A: yes, I can. I don’t ride regularly though. How about you?
B: I can ride too. Perhaps we could go horse riding together at the weekend?
A: what a good idea!

Intermediate⁵
A; what do you think of the way people use and treat animals?
B: I think most people treat animals well, but we are often cruel to animals. When we raise animals for food, the conditions they live in are often poor.
A; perhaps people should stop eating animals. We could grow more crops.
B; what would you do with all the animas? You couldn’t just let them go. Besides, some people would still hunt them. Meat has become an integral⁶ part of our diet.
A; we could provide them with better conditions anyway. We should certainly try to improve the conditions at zoos. We should try to recreate the natural conditions as much as possible.
B: that’s true. I think zoo are a good idea, because they allow people to get close to animals. I think it’s good for kids to see wild animals.
A; I agree. I’m an adult and I love going to the zoo. I don’t like animals experiments though. I believe that we can do tests in other ways.
B; I read that the number of animals being used in experiments is falling dramatically⁷ as new techniques are being introduced.
A: that’s good news. The good thing is that most people treat their pets well.
B; sometimes you read about people who have been cruel to pets or other animals, but those stories are rare.
A: have you every given money to any of the charities that take care of animals.
B: yes, I have. They do an excellent job.

Words
Wild domesticated bear wolf elephant giraffe whale shark snake monkey rat mouse rabbit panda cow sheep pig horse tiger dragon phoenix chicken bird lizard