Surrogate-mom housecat gives birth to endangered kitten

This kitten, born in 2011, is an endangered⃰ black-footed cat⃰, one of the first black-footed kittens born to a surrogate mother, using frozen embryos and in vitro fertilization⃰. Now he and his littermate have a sister, Crystal, with the same genetic parents, but a different surrogate mom - a plain old housecat.

The African black-footed cat is one of the world’s smallest felines, and the cats are tiny but fierce hunters⃰ - they can kill hares that outweigh them. They can also range far from water, finding hydration from their prey and dew⃰ they lick off grass. But none of this general feline badassery⃰ has kept the species from becoming severely endangered - there are only 40 in captivity⃰ worldwide.

The Audubon Nature Institute in Louisiana, which bred Crystal and her brothers, is interested in using domestic cats as surrogates for a range of endangered and threatened kitties. These kittens might look like any cute kitten, but it’s pretty incredible to see one species give birth to another. How exactly these pregnancies⃰ work: Their similar sizes and gestation⃰ lengths appear to be what made the pregnancy and birth physically possible even though the genetic makeup of the kitten differed from the mother. They’re considered to be of the same lineage. Somewhere back a couple of million years ago, they’re descended from the same ancesto⃰r.

⃰endangered- находящийся под угрозой исчезновения; black-footed cat- черноногая кошка; fertilization- оплодотворение; fierce hunter- свирепый охотник; in captivity- содержащиеся в неволе; dew - роса; badassery- поведенческие характеристики; gestation- период беременности; pregnancy- беременность; ancestor- предок;

TEXT 2
VET OPERATES ON GOLDFISH IN AUSTRALIA TO REMOVE LIFE-THREATENING TUMOR

A vet has performed intricate surgery on a dying goldfish in Australia, which was suffering from a life-threatening head tumor⃰. The 10-year-old goldfish, named George, was admitted to an animal hospital in Melbourne by its owners, who were "quite attached" to the fish. Dr Tristan Rich, the vet, said the 45-minute operation on the 80-gram fish had been "quite fiddly⃰". He had offered the owners the option of attempting to remove the tumor or putting George to sleep; they chose the former.

"The fish was having trouble eating, getting around and he was getting bullied⃰ by other fish," said Dr Rich.

"It was quite a large tumor – we had to scrape it off his skull. When it was all done we woke him up in a clean bucket of water ... he came through it swimmingly."

During the surgery, water from George's pond was brought in buckets and fed into a tube through his mouth to keep his gills wet. The fish was operated while under general anaesthetic, which was achieved by putting George in buckets of water laced⃰ with anaesthetic. The fish is expected to live another 20 years.

⃰tumor -опухоль; fiddly- кропотливый; to bully - запугивать; to lace добавить.

TEXT 3
PETTING-INDUCED AGGRESSION OF CATS

It’s a conundrum, for sure. One minute your beloved kitty is over the moon with pleasure as you scratch her favorite spot and the next thing you know you’re left staring at tooth marks⃰ on your arm. Many pet owners call this common behavior “Love biting,” but feline behaviorists have given it a more formal name: Petting-induced aggression⃰ - and it’s a poorly understood topic. Typically, a friendly cat seeks out human attention, only to turn on his lavisher of attention once the affection seems to have gone on for too long. Owners describe these cats as changing from friendly to feral “like a light switch.” Despite the perplexing⃰ nature of this uniquely feline way of acting out, a couple of possibilities have been proposed to explain why cats might do this:

1. It may be a manifestation of so-called status-induced aggression, in which cats seek to control a situation.

2. There may be some neurologically significant negative stimulus associated with being petted at length that affects these cats in particular.

3. These cats may be especially subtle at letting humans know when they’re unhappy, so that their change in attitude appears more sudden than it truly is.

Whatever the cause, the good news is that this behavior does not necessarily mean you can’t interact with your cat meaningfully. Your veterinarian can coach⃰ you to recognize the very subtle⃰ warning signs associated with your cat’s displeasure before it reaches the biting point.

⃰scratch – царапать, царапина; tooth marks – отметины от зубов; petting-induced aggression – агрессия, вызванная лаской; perplexing – озадачивающий; subtle - тонкий, трудно уловимый; to coach – научить.

TEXT 4
POLAR BEARS

Biologists estimate⃰ there are about 20 thousand polar bears in the world. They live in Canada, Russia, Greenland, Norway and Alaska. Unfortunately, the recent reports say that the population of polar bears is getting smaller. Two thirds of these wild creatures⃰ could disappear by mid-century. In May 2008, the U.S. listed the polar bear as a threatened⃰ species.

Polar bears love the Arctic climate, where winter temperatures can plunge⃰ to – 45C. Polar bears are protected by two layers of fur, which keep them warm. They also have a thick fat layer. In addition, their compact ears and small tails also prevent heat loss. In fact, polar bears have more problems with overheating than they do from cold – especially when they run.

Polar bears depend on seal fat, which is the highest calorie food source⃰ possible. That’s why, a lot of polar bears live in areas where they can hunt seals at openings in the sea ice. Greenhouse gases⃰ lead to rapid loss of sea ice. Polar bear specialists say these ice losses are the biggest danger to polar bear survival. If they can’t hunt seals they are endangered⃰.

Polar bears are right at the top of the arctic food chain⃰. They balance nature by preventing an overpopulation of the seals. Smaller seals are accessible⃰ to younger bears and females. Male bears hunt seals that are larger. Other types of food that polar bears may get there don’t provide them with all the fat they need, because of their massive body size.

Females give birth to their first litter⃰ when they are between four and eight years old. The cubs appear in November and December in snow caves called maternity dens⃰. These have the best conditions for small cubs. Most mothers choose sites in snowdrifts⃰ along mountain slopes⃰ or hills. They try to choose favorable locations near the shore.

Polar bears have their own good manners. For example, nose-to-nose greetings are a way a bear asks another bear for something, such as food. When polar bears want to play, they start shaking their heads from side to side to attract others. Mother bears scold⃰ cubs with a low roar. Most often, polar bears use a combination of body language and vocal sounds to express their ideas.

⃰estimate - оценивать; creature - существо; threatened – находящийся в опасности; plunge – падать; source - источник; greenhouse gases – парниковые газы; endangered – исчезающий; food chain – пищевая цепочка; accessible - доступный; litter - потомство; maternity den – берлога матери; snowdrift - снежный занос; slope – склон; scold – ругать.

TEXT 5
GIANT PANDAS

Giant pandas are peaceful creatures with a characteristic black and white coat. They are adored⃰ by the world and are considered a national treasure⃰ in China.

The rarest member of the bear family, pandas live in bamboo forests high in the mountains in Central China. These bamboo forests are cool and wet just as pandas like it. Pandas once lived on lowland areas, but farming and forest clearing made them move to the mountains.

The giant panda has a body typical of bears. It has black fur on ears, muzzle⃰, legs and shoulders. The rest of the animal’s coat is white. The panda’s thick, wooly coat keeps it warm in the cool forests. Although scientists do not know why these unusual bears are black and white, some suppose that such coloring provides effective camouflage⃰ and helps them hide in snowy and rocky mountains.

Giant pandas have large teeth and strong jaw muscles for crushing tough bamboo. A wild giant panda’s diet is very simple. It’s almost only bamboo. They very rarely eat other grasses, small animals and birds. At the same time at the zoos, giant pandas are fed bamboo, sugar, rice, special biscuits, carrots, apples, and sweet potatoes. Millions of Zoo visitors enjoy watching giant pandas eat. A panda usually eats while sitting upright, in a pose that is similar to how humans sit on the floor. It’s a very funny sight. Children love it.

Many people find these heavy, clumsy⃰ animals very cute, but giant pandas can be very dangerous as any other bear. Also, these animals are excellent tree-climbers and swimmers despite their big weight.

The giant panda is listed as endangered⃰ in the Red List of Threatened Species. There are only about 1000 giant pandas left in the wild and perhaps 100 live in the zoos. Much of what we know about pandas comes from the study of the zoo animals, because pandas living in the wild like privacy and it’s not easy to observe and study them.

⃰adore - обожать; treasure - сокровище; muzzle - морда; camouflage – камуфляж, маскировка; clumsy - неуклюжий; endangered – исчезающий, вымирающий.

TEXT 6
SHARKS

Sharks are probably the most feared of all sea animals. There are more than 360 kinds of sharks in the waters of the world. But scientists say, only some species are dangerous to man. They live in oceans throughout the world but are usually found in warm waters.

Sharks are remarkably successful animals. The first sharks lived on our planet more than 420 million years ago. They are fast and strong. They have very few parasites and are hardly ever ill. They have no enemies except other sharks.

Some people think that all sharks are big. But some kinds of sharks are no bigger than your hand. The smallest shark is about 16 centimeters long and weighs about 28 grams. The biggest shark and the largest of all fish – is the whale shark. It may grow up to 12 meters long and may weigh over 14 tons, over twice as much as an average African elephant!

The whale shark has three thousand teeth but it will never bite you. It is quite harmless. It only eats tiny shrimps and fish. Different sharks have different habits. Some kinds live in the depths of the ocean and are very seldom seen. Others are found near the surface. A few species enter rivers and lakes. Scientists believe that one species, The Ganges River shark of India and Pakistan, lives only in the rivers.

Some sharks are loners, others like to gather in packs⃰. Blue sharks are called the wolves of the sea as they always stay together in packs.

Most fish lay eggs. But most sharks don’t. Their babies are born alive and completely developed. They do not need parental care⃰. A baby shark is called a pup⃰. The pup of the great white shark is almost the size of a man. As soon as they are born, the pups go their own way, as it’s not very safe to stay near a hungry mother.

A shark’s brain is small but its teeth are big. It has many rows of teeth. When a tooth breaks off a new tooth moves up to take its place. In some species new teeth replace the rows of older ones as often as once a week. What do sharks eat with all these teeth? Fish and more fish, other sharks, seals, turtles, crabs, almost anything that swims in the sea. Sometimes sharks eat things that are not food. All these things have been found inside big sharks: a wallet⃰, a drum⃰, a bottle of wine, a chest of jewels⃰ and a suit of armor⃰!

Do sharks eat people? Yes, they do. If a person is near a shark, the shark may attack. But it doesn’t happen very often. Fewer than 100 shark attacks a year are reported throughout the world. However, specialists say, more people die from bee stings than from shark attacks. Sharks do not go hunting for people. But people do go hunting for sharks. And, then, people have to be careful. A shark may look dead. Then all of a sudden it can “wake up” - and attack!

⃰pack – стая; pup – детеныш; parental care – родительская забота; wallet –бумажник; drum – барабан; chest of jewels – ларец с драгоценностями; suit of armor – рыцарские доспехи.

TEXT 7
ANIMAL TEAMWORK

People work together for a simple reason – it makes difficult job easier. For similar reason, animals also use teamwork. In animal groups, each individual works to help the group as a whole.

Some species developed intelligent ways of gathering food. Coastal bottlenose dolphins⃰ have developed a unique way of catching fish, which requires extraordinary teamwork. The dolphins follow a school⃰ of fish until they are near a bank. Then, they swim towards the fish creating a wave, which pushes the fish out of the water and onto the bank. The dolphins end up half out of the water lying on the bank where they eat the helpless fish. In order for this to work, each dolphin must rush towards the bank at exactly the same time and the same speed, otherwise, the wave won’t be strong enough. How they decide, when to go and who gives the order in unknown, but a high level of communication definitely exists between them.

Animals can’t talk but some species have developed ways of letting others know where food is. For example, if a bee finds nectar, it has two ways of informing its hive. It may create a trail⃰ with the scent⃰ of the nectar. When the other bees pick up the smell, they can follow it to the nectar. Or the bee may perform the “waggle⃰ dance”. The other bees understand what the dance means, and then they work as a team to collect the nectar.

Hunting can be difficult and even dangerous to one animal. It also takes a lot of energy to kill prey, which is wasted, if the prey escapes. Hunting in packs makes predators more efficient. A pack of wolves, for example, can kill a large animal such as a deer or moose⃰, while one wolf can kill only a small animal. Wolf packs, which consist of two to twenty wolves, may surprise their prey or pursue it for hours before attacking it. If there are several animals that the pack follows, the pack will choose the weakest one because it will take less effort to catch it. In the end, the wolves share the meat with each other.

As well as food, animals need somewhere to live. Some animals simply move to the best place they can find, but others build a home for themselves. A particularly intelligent builder is the beaver⃰. Beavers live by rivers and streams and build dams⃰ to create pools of deep water, which help keep their homes safe. The whole colony about five to six members, cooperates to create the dam with trees they’ve cut down using their sharp, long front teeth, then construct their home, which looks like a stick igloo.⃰

Animals also depend on each other to keep safe. For example, they might have a signal that lets the group know when a threat is nearby. When an ant is crushed it releases a scent called “alarm pheromone”⃰ that signals to other ants to come to crushed ant and attack the enemy. Larger animals may warn other animals in the group using sounds. Wolves, for example, will growl⃰ at anything that is threatening their pack, and get ready to attack. Wolves also warn each other of danger by barking.

By living and working in groups, animals increase their chances of surviving in the wild. Studying a variety of animal group behaviour we can say for sure – teamwork works!

⃰bottlenose dolphins – дельфин афалина; a school of fish – косяк рыбы; trail – след; scent - аромат; waggle dance – виляющий танец (у пчел); moose – американский лось; beaver – бобер; dam - плотина; stick igloo иглу из веток, прутьев; alarm pheromone – феромон тревоги.

TEXT 8
VICTIMS OF REPUTATION

Bats are the most numerous and successful groups of mammals that have ever lived on earth. Over 950 species are known to exist – that’s one quarter of all present day mammals. Bats have spread to almost every part of the world, from the Arctic to the stormy southern tip of South America.

However, bats all over the world are under pressure⃰ from a fast growing human population. Loss in suitable places to live, fall in food supply and environmental pollution⃰ are all making life increasingly difficult for many bat species.

Strangely, there are some wild creatures, which are in fact little or no threat to humans, but constantly disturb⃰ people by their presence and cause irrational⃰ fear. Among them are such animals as cockroaches, spiders, mice and, more often than not, bats. Exactly why bats should frighten so many of us is hard to understand, but they do have so many of the characteristics that people seem to find distressing in wild animals.

They are small, fast-moving, capable of sudden changes in direction and active at night. In addition to this, they have rapidly moving wings, an unpredictable⃰ way of flying and a strange, often frightening appearance. Given these characteristics, and the fact that bats often find suitable hiding places around human dwellings⃰, it is perhaps not surprising that human fears have been transformed into superstition⃰ and myth.

⃰pressure - давление; environmental pollution – загрязнение окружающей среды; disturb - беспокоить; irrational – иррациональный, безотчетный; unpredictable - непредсказуемый; human dwellings – человеческое жилье; superstition – предрассудок.

TEXT 9
WHAT IS A FOOD CHAIN?

A food chain shows the relationships between organisms which feed on each other. The first organism in the food chain cannot feed on other organisms and is called a producer⃰ because it makes its own food. Green plants are an example of a producer. They use photosynthesis, that is, the process of turning carbon dioxide and water into organic compounds using energy from the sun. These organic compounds are found in various parts of the plant such as the leaves, fruit, and roots, and are source of energy for the organism in the next step in the chain, a consumer.

Consumers are generally animals and humans who eat the products of photosynthesis. Examples of this are sheep eating grass, and birds eating seeds. Consumers are classified depending on their place in the chain. For instance, when humans eat vegetables, they are primary consumers⃰. In other words, they are directly eating a product of photosynthesis. When they eat meat, they are secondary consumers⃰. Consumers may also be divided into groups according to what they eat: herbivores, which eat only plant or plant products; carnivores, which eat animals; and omnivores, which eat both plant and animals.

The transfer of energy from one species to another can occur several times, but eventually the chain ends. When the final consumer dies, its body is broken down into simple molecules by decomposers⃰ such as bacteria and fungi, in the final steps of the chain. These molecules are returned to the soil, where they are used by plants, and the food chain begins again.

To summarize, a food chain shows that every organism is dependent⃰ on another for its source of energy, and in turn acts as a food source for the next organism in the chain.

⃰consumer – здесь: консумент; primary consumer – консумент первого порядка; decomposer - редуцент; dependent – зависимый.

TEXT 10
HACHIKO

In 1924, Hidesaburo Ueno, a professor in the agriculture department at the University of Tokyo, took Hachiko, a golden brown Akita⃰, as a pet. During his owner's life, Hachiko greeted him at the end of each day at the nearby Shibuya Station. The master and the dog continued their daily routine until May 1925, when Professor Ueno did not return. The professor had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage⃰ and died, never returning to the train station where Hachiko was waiting. Each day for the next nine years, nine months and fifteen days, Hachiko awaited Ueno's return, appearing precisely when the train was due at the station. Hachiko attracted the attention of commuters⃰. Many of the people who frequented the Shibuya train station had seen Hachiko and Professor Ueno together each day. Initial reactions from the people, especially from those working at the station, were not necessarily friendly. However, after the first appearance of the article about him on October 4, 1932, people started to bring Hachiko food and took care of him during his wait.

In April 1934, a bronze statue to Hachiko was erected⃰ at Shibuya Station, and Hachiko himself was present at its unveiling⃰. Hachiko died on March 8, 1935. His body was cremated and his ashes⃰ were buried next to his master.

⃰Akito – порода собаки; cerebral hemorrhage – кровоизлияние в мозг; commuter - пассажир; was erected – был воздвигнут (о памятнике, здании); unveiling – торжественное открытие памятника; ashes – прах (после кремации).

СПИСОК ИСПОЛЬЗОВАННОЙ ЛИТЕРАТУРЫ

1. Комарова Е.Н. Английский язык для специальностей «Зоотехния» и «Ветеринария». – М.: Издательский центр «Академия», 2008.

2. Лейн Д., Гутри С. Краткий толковый словарь ветеринарных терминов. М., Софион, 2007. – 512с.

3. McCurnin's Clinical Textbook for Veterinary Technicians. Saunders, 2013.
4. The Merck/Merial Manual for Pet Health. Merck, 2007.
5. Nicke L., Schummer A. The Viscera of the Domestic Mammals. Berlin, 19731997.
6. Pinney Chris C. The Complete Home Veterinary Guide. - New York, 2004.
7. Sebastiani A.M., Fishbeck D.W. Mammalian Anatomy. The Cat. Colorado, 2005.

Периодические издания

Smallholder
Your Cat magazine
Catworld
Poultry magazine
Dogs

Электронные ресурсы

www.telegraph.co.uk/
www.smallholder.co.uk
www.avma.org/KB/Policies/Pages/Certificates-of-Veterinary-Inspection.aspx
www.oregon.gov/ODA/AHID/pages/animal_health/cvi.aspx

CONTENTS

Unit 1. I AM A STUDENT OF THE STATE ACADEMY
OF VETERINARY MEDICINE......................................... 3

Unit 2. THE SKELETON …............................................................... 16

Unit 3. THE MUSCLES ….............................................26

Unit 4. ANIMAL NUTRITION ….........................................35

Unit 5. DIGESTIVE SYSTEM …...................................................... 49

Unit 6. TISSUES …............................................................................ 63

Unit 7. RESPIRATORY SYSTEM ….............................................. 72

Unit 8. CIRCULATORY (CARDIOVASCULAR) SYSTEM …... 81

Unit 9. THE NERVOUS SYSTEM ….............................................. 91

Reader …................................................................................. 101

Список использованной литературы ….......................... 110

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