Table of Contents
BEST IELTS General Reading Test 541
IELST GENERAL READING TEST 541 – PASSAGE – 3
IELTS GENERAL READING TEST – 541
READING PASSAGE – 3
Concepts in zoo design
In the 19th century, zoo exhibits were relatively natural in design, but not because designers were concerned with the needs of the animals. Designers considered the viewing area as a tableau, in which animals were placed for the appreciation of the viewer. In the mid-20th century, those romantic landscapes were replaced by concrete boxes that look barbaric to us now, but were clearly meant as a step up in animal care. “The life-spans of animals were in fact extended, because zoo staff could clean easily and control disease”, explains designer Joanna Trimingham. But those bare spaces caused other problems both for animals and viewers. For example, behaviours like pacing emerged as symptoms of stress and under-stimulation.
In the late 1970s, zoos began to introduce the landscape immersion exhibit. The goal was to recreate a natural habitat which combined aesthetic and empathetic qualities with animal care and longevity – an attempt which met with limited success. Although the spaces were a success in the short term, they often failed to meet the long-term needs of both the animals and the zoos. The problems with creating specific landscapes for specific animals become clear when the species in an exhibit is changed, as often occurs because zoo populations are far from static, and zoo staff have to make use of the animals in their inventory.
IELTS General Reading Test
“For example, a snow leopard exhibit would be very vertical, there would be a lot of rocks, places for the animals to climb and to hide,” Trimingham says. When baboons are placed in the same space, for them it is little better than the concrete box, although it would still appear to be a suitably wild habitat to the viewer. The naturalistic exhibit gives a little more choice than the sterile environment, but there must be facilities that allow the animal to engage with the environment in natural ways. Because baboons are not climbers by nature, most of that vertical space would be of no use to them and would not help them engage in their natural behaviours.
To create a state-of-the-art exhibit, designers start with the needs of the specific animal. Whether or not the animal is land-based or arboreal, diurnal or nocturnal, originates in deserts, is wide-ranging, or requires aquatic elements are among the many influencing factors. Much of the detailed information about each species comes from Association of Zoos and Aquariums husbandry manuals written by experts. Still, individual animals may surprise, as designer Toni Harrison found when designing a giraffe exhibit for the Canning Zoo.
IELTS General Reading Test
She says “I was certain that giraffes would never step over a swathe of large stones, called rip-rap, or large fallen trees, so I used those as natural-looking barriers to keep the giraffes from feasting on expensive decorative trees. However, when the giraffes were brought into the finished space, they approached the rip- rap, and after a short delay, just crossed the barrier!”.
It is also important to account for keepers who may have slightly different ways of working with the same species in different facilities. They vary in the extent of species-specific training they can access, the proximity they enter into with the animals, and the variety of physical environments they are able to create in the space, with animals moving between them, in horizontal and vertical planes. The needs of the keepers are critical, and are evolving all the time. One noticeable trend is that keepers are spending more time with the animals.
IELTS General Reading Test
“We’re seeing a definite evolution of keepers being more specialized and tasked to fewer animals, and spending more time with animals throughout the day”, notes Bob Tarras of ZuLogia Ltd. The result is that, although he used to think about building permanent enrichment facilities into exhibits like a digging pit for bears, for example now the priority is making it possible for keepers to change things frequently.
A major goal of any zoo is reaching the public, so another aspect of researching a species is devising the educational message. “We usually look at conservation issues and work up a kind of story based around that animal,” Trimingham says. “It’s important to create a storyline that will create a place that people will be immersed in.” One recent project that put all those considerations together in a clever way is the polar bear exhibit at the Daynesville Zoo. There are several connected areas, one of which provides a stage for both changeable enrichment and an educational message.
IELTS General Reading Test
The room may be concrete, so it can be hygienic, but the contents can be changed regularly. The keepers set up items of interest to bears, which model their interaction with realistic settings, such as trash cans full of treats, ice blocks and so on. The trash cans don’t look natural, but they fit perfectly into the story the exhibit tells: the room is designed like a loading dock in the middle of a fictional Alaskan town, where the bears are starting to forage in town because of habitat loss and diminishing food sources.
The work of zoo designers is complex, as they must also now consider commercial matters, visitor psychology, and integration with local ecosystems, as well as more well-understood conservation and educational needs. In a world of fragile ecology, they are at the forefront of our understanding and enjoyment of many increasingly rare species.
“Exhibit: the space in the zoo where an animal lives and can be seen by the public.
IELTS General Reading Test
Questions 28 – 33
Choose the correct letter A, B, C, or D.
28. Before the 20th century, zoos were designed
A. to make it easy to look after the animals.
B. to present animals to the public as if they were in a picture.
C. to allow the animals to move freely.
D. to help the animals to live longer.
IELTS General Reading Test
29. The designs of exhibits after the mid-20th century
A. provided excellent animal care.
B. focused mainly on extending the lifespans of animals.
C. were suitable for changes in zoo populations.
D. were considered to be successful at first.
IELTS General Reading Test
30. It is difficult to design exhibits for animals in zoos because
A. zoo visitors have very different ideas about what they want to see.
B. zoo staff have a strong preference for natural-looking spaces.
C. each exhibit may need to be used later for a very different animal.
D. exhibits must be kept as sterile as possible.
31. The design of an exhibit
A. must take into consideration the needs of both the animals and the keepers.
B. must follow the guidelines of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
C. must allow the keepers to train the animals.
D. must take the safety of the keepers as the first priority.
IELTS General Reading Test
32. The modern zoo keeper
A. has to get physically very close to the animals.
B. tends to work with a particular type of animal for longer periods.
C. tries to avoid changing the animals’ environments too frequently.
D. has to be able to work in different kinds of zoos.
33. The polar bear exhibit at the Daynesville Zoo
A. shows how Alaskan citizens are working with conservationists.
B. consists of a concrete room mainly for hygiene reasons.
C. is notable for illustrating conservation and education messages.
D. is designed as a story so that children will be able to understand it.
IELTS General Reading Test
Questions 34 – 40
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the text above? In boxes 34 – 40 on your answer sheet, write:
TRUE If the statement agrees with the information
FALSE If the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN If there is no information on this
IELTS General Reading Test
34. Mid-20th century zoo exhibits successfully met their aims.
35. Zoo exhibits can usually be changed easily to accommodate a different animal.
36. Zoo visitors may not be good judges of whether an exhibit is suitable for an animal.
37. Baboons can be taught to climb even though it is not natural to them.
38. Animals occasionally behave in ways which zoo designers do not expect.
39. Zoo designers are involved in the training of zoo keepers for specific animal species.
40. The natural food sources of polar bears are beginning to be found closer to towns.
IELTS General Reading Test
IELTS General Reading Test
ANSWERS
28. B
29. D
30. C
31. A
32. B
33. C
34. TRUE
35. FALSE
36. TRUE
37. NOT GIVEN
38. TRUE
39. NOT GIVEN
40. FALSE
IELTS General Reading Test