ADVANCED 4 – BRITANICO GOLD – READING TASK – SEP 2023

You are going to read some information about parks and farms to visit in England. For questions 31 – 40,
choose from the places (A – E). The places might be chosen more than once.
A - Otter Trust
A heart-warming success story since it was founded 28 years ago, the Otter Trust has reintroduced 117 otters into the wild,
reversing a trend that saw them disappearing from large areas of the country. Most have been released into Rivers in East
Anglia, where they were virtually extinct in the early 1980s. The biggest draw for children, however, are the playful Asian short-
clawed otters. They are fed at the same time as their European relatives, but are much tamer and seem genuinely curious
about their human visitors, too.
Other attractions: Enclosures with ducks and geese. Cafe with hot drinks, cakes, etc.
Best buy: Cuddly otter cub, £4

B - Seal Sanctuary
Some of the seals here live in a sheltered community. Their home is a series of pools set among the pastures and woodlands
overlooking the Helford estuary. Each one has problems which means they can never be set free. Rocky, for example, used
to perform tricks at a marine centre until he started going blind. The centre also rescues wild seals that are sick, injured or
orphaned. They convalesce at the sanctuary until they are fit again.
Other attractions: Underwater observatory, a few retired donkeys, nature trail. Cafe with ice-creams.
Best buy: All sizes of fluffy seals, £2.99 - £19.99.

C - Sheep Centre
Grazing on the top of chalk cliffs is Terry Wigmore's flock of sheep – 340 adults from 47 British breeds. And down in a couple
of old barns in the village of East Dean is the Seven Sisters visitor centre, where a team of 15 lambs obligingly line up to be
bottle-fed by waiting visitors. The Easter holidays are a good time to go, with four or five lambs born every day. Thirty pence
buys you a bag of feed for the ewes and there are plenty of takers, including local celebrity and TV star, Twiggy.
Other attractions: Occasional weaving. Cafe with light lunches and cream teas.
Best buy: Sheep's milk ice cream, 75p a cone.

D - Abbotsford Swannery
The Swannery is by no means new. It has been managed since at least 1393, when it belonged to a Benedictine monastery.
The main problem the management has had since then has been how to protect the young cygnets from foxes. A local farmer
recently came up with an unusual solution – Radio 4 should be played through loudspeakers. It seems the foxes don’t like
classical music. The present manager, David Wheeler, tried it and it worked!
Highlight of the visit is feeding time, at noon and 4pm. Hundreds of swans gather to greet a member of staff who pushes a
wheelbarrow full of wheat down a path to the lagoon.
Other attractions: Rides in a horse-drawn carriage. Picnic area. Playground for children.
Best buy: Cuddly toy cygnet, £3.95.

E - Ashdown Llama Farm

The centre is full of displays designed to show why these producers of soft wool are so much nicer than other farm animals.
Llamas don't damage trees, they don't make noise and they will happily accompany you on walks and carry your bags for you.
Between 60 and 70 llamas and alpacas live here. One of the current stars is two-year old Tom, a handsome and exceptionally
woolly light-brown male. You can see him and the others on a self-guided walk around the restored 18th century farm buildings,
where you’ll also meet and learn more about the llamas’ relatives, the alpacas and guanacos.
Other attractions: Cashmere and angora coats. Tea shop.
Best buy: Soft alpaca knit wear.

At which of the places could you...

buy clothes? 31. _____________
see a famous personality? 32. _____________
see animals that are quiet? 33. _____________
see animals that are disabled? 34. _____________
hear a sound that is being used to protect animals? 35. _____________
use the facilities to eat outdoors? 36. _____________
see animals or birds that were once almost extinct? 37. _____________
see a place where illnesses are treated? 38. _____________
buy food to give the animals? 39. _____________
see animals that mainly attract children? 40. ____________