Oral Practice 5: Stimulus Based Conversation

Grand Opening of Animal Wonderland (p.42)

Q1 
a) Look at the picture. Would you be interested in going for this event? Tell me why/ why not?

Jie Xun:
I would like to go to the Animal Wonderland because I love animals. When I was younger, I went to pet shops to admire animals. My favourite animal is the fish. It has been on Earth since the age of dinosaurs. I even keep them as pets.

Zahra:
I would not be interested to go to this event as I would rather spend the time to search for artwork ad stories on deviant ART or faufiction.net at home on my mother's laptop, as Art is my passion and would like to spend my free time doing something related to it. Morever, I have seen plenty of animals at the Singapore Zoo before and I could also search for the animals of interest online to find more about those animals.

b) Why do you think free ice-cream is being given away?

Ariel:
I think ice-cream is given away as this will attract a lot of customers to come, especially children! I would love to be one of the 250 visitors to be given free ice-cream!


Q2
a) Have you been to such places where activities are focused on animals?

Ellis:
Yes, I have been such a place once when I was in Malaysia with my family during the holidays.
The hotel where we stayed had a petting zoo to feed and play with animals. While I was trying to feed one of the peacocks. it almost bit my hand! I did not feed the the peacocks after that as I find them very dangerous! But I still kept a look out for the peacocks in case one of them showed their beautiful feathers. I have never seen them spread their feathers and I am very excited to see them do that.

Nicholas:
Yes, I have been to a farm in Taiwan. It had many activities. I milked cows, fed animals, watch animal shows and made ice-cream. After that, I went to a barn to sleep. It was quite scary as its setting was like a haunted house.

Jie Xun:
I have been to the River Safari. there is a large array of fishes, even exotic ones like the Goonch Catfish, Keluga Sturgeon and the Pacus that can grow to the size of trash can lids but the most exotic fish is the Giant Mekong Stingray, the biggest freshwater fish in the world. Some of the fishes can be kept in captivity, like the Giant Patin Fish which I keep in my home aquarium. I feed it on a diet of frogs, guppies, shrimp and insects. I usually buy the food with my classmate, Nigel, at a nearby fish shop.

Ajay:
I have been to the zoo to see the sea lion show before. It was one of my best experiences in my life. The host called me and some other children who attended the show to play with the sea lion. Before returning back to our seats, the sea lion pointed its flippers at me and it kissed me! The other children laughed!

Caleb:
I have been to places where activities are focused on animals. One of them is a tourist spot where animals such as ducks and peacocks are free to roam within the premise. We has to buy food from the staff before feeding those animals. I felt very happy feeding the ducks because they would wade with their webbed feet cutely towards me as I was feeding them. The ducks would peck greedily and fought with us for the the food!

Sean: 
I have been to SPCA last month. There are many people who volunteered to take of the animals in the SPCA. When I was there last month, I saw many dogs, cats, rabbits and even hamsters. My favourite animal is a German Shephard dog. It is one of the largest animals there. I had a great time playing with the animals. Before I left, one of the workers there pleaded me to adopt a dog. However, my mother did not allow as she said that our house is too small and we have already had fishes. How I wish I could adopt another pet. I donated a fifty-dollar note and left. I have already done something good by showing my love and care for animals in the shelter.

Vanessa: 
I have been to the zoo to feed giraffes. I fed the giraffes with my mother, father and a younger brother. We used some potato and carrot strips to feed the giraffes. After feeding them, our hands were filled with the slimy saliva of the giraffes. It was so disgusting but it was a great experience. After feeding, my family and I washed our hands. I wish I could go to the zoo to experience feeding other animals next time.

Hui Wen 
I have been to the zoo,the Night Safari and the Bird Park before. The one I like most is the Night Safari. There are so many animals to see. I was actually a little afraid as I was scared that I would fall off the tram and land onto one of the animal's enclosure. But luckily, I had my father beside me so I felt more secured. There were rhinos that existed on Earth  since a few million years ago. I think they are ancient animals. I could see why they are ancient as a rhino has a skin cover like a plaited armour. It is enormous.


Q3
a) Do you like animals?

Ariel: 
I am very fond of animals but I do not have one as a pet. I would love to but my parents do not allow me to keep a pet at home anymore. I used to have a pet tortoise but it died one year later. Nevertheless, I think we should play our part to protect the environment so that animals will not lose their natural habitat.

Daryl:
I like animals and I wish to have a pet dog but my father's nose is sensitive to furs. Whenever the fur goes into his nose, he would sneeze non-stop. Although I cannot keep a pet, I would still do my best to protect animals and prevent further extinction of animals.

Jonathan:
I like animals because it is amazing how the animals move and how they interact with people. It is also amazing to see how these animals do tricks even though they are not humans.

I think people like to watch animal shows because they get to see the animals close up and admire their talents and personality. I attended an animal show before with my family. It was amazing how monkeys swing on a vine above the audience and still able to hit three coconuts simultaneously. In my personal opinion, everyone should at least visit the zoo once to experience it yourself.