wild+dog(kelly's+answers)

Comprehension

A)1.Picture a flat wilderness,with only a few short,spindly trees and tufts of bush.It is silent and still.The air,over 35 degrees at the moment,makes everything seem to tremble slightly.This is the southern fringe of the mighty Sahara.At night this arid plain is alive with living creatures.Most of them are underground now---avoiding the fierce heat.But you are exception---you are a young lion.Just one years old,you are strong,aggressive and rather inquisitive.You are still with your mother---she continues to teach you the finer arts of hunting.At present,she's sleeping.Normally you'd be dozing too. 2.Under pressure from human persecution,loss of habitat and disease. 3.The African wild dog is a true dog found only in Africa,from the Sahara down to South Africa. 4.3 is the minimum and 30 is the maximum number of dogs in a pack. 5.The dogs rely on smelling and hearing.

B)1.Is to let the readers know more about the African Wild Dogs. 2.The readers. 3.The writer refers to the wild dog as 'assassins' because the wild dogs are great predators and they always follow you wherever you go.He picked up your scent 10 minutes ago and he knows what you are. 4.They show off themselves one by one but when you are ready to escape, but unfortunately you are surrounded by them.They are in corners,everywhere around you.Then, they approach you with their sharp claws and teeth. You will feel your pain when they bite you.Then the pack of African wild dogs moves in to claim their first meal in 5 days.Dogs can see quite well,but most species do not hunt mainly by sight and often overlook creatures that stand perfectly still.Although not totally colour-blind,they see mainly in black,white and shades of grey. 5.They will take care and conserve the wild dogs.

C) Fact file-the African wild dog

Social life Well organised;co-operate in unique way;and hunt in packs.

Height and length It stands about 75 cm high at the shoulder,with a body 75-100 cm long and tail measuring 30-40 cm,flared at the end and with a white tip.

Coat The coat is short and black-brown, with yellow and white.

Teeth It has plentiful teeth.The cheek teeth are adapted for slicing and grinding and can manage both carnivorous and vegetarian diets.However,the hunting dogs eats only meat.

Sight Dogs can see quite well,but most species do not hunt mainly by sight and often overlook creatures that stand perfectly still.Although not totally colour-blind,they see mainly in black,white and shades of grey.

Hearing Dogs also have superb hearing.They have large ears with 17 muscles,which allow them to prick up and swivel their ears to pin-point any noise.They can register sounds of 35,000 vibrations per second(compared to 20,000 per second for our ears and 25,000 per second for cat’s)and can shut off their inner ear so as to filter from the general din those sounds on which it wants to concentrate.

Smell Amazingly keen sense of smell-about 1 million times better than human beings.The reason for this marvellous sense of smell lies in the nose.Smell consists of invisible molecules of chemicals floating in the air.When the molecules land on the special ‘olfactory membrane’ inside the nose,carry the information to the brain.In man this membrane covers an area of about 3sq cm,arranged in folds that filter smells from the incoming air.This is why dogs have developed long noses.Even more important,the dog has far more sensory cells than a human.We have 5 million while dog has around 140 million.