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WRITING A description of an animal WRITING
SKILL because & because of

1 In pairs, discuss the questions.
4 Find examples of because and because of in the
1 What’s your favourite animal? Why? description. Then use them to complete the
2 Which wild animals live in your country? explanations.

2 Read the description. Why don’t Iberian lynxes have 1 … is followed by a subject and a verb.
much food? 2 … is followed by a noun or an -ing form.

5 Complete the sentences with because or because of.

1 We didn’t go to the safari park yesterday … the weather
was bad.
2 … living in a desert, cactus plants don’t need much water.
3 … problems with disease, mountain gorillas are an
endangered species.
4 We visited Edinburgh Zoo … we wanted to see the
pandas.
5 … the plants were poisonous, we didn’t touch them.
6 … its thick fur, a polar bear can survive freezing
temperatures.

YOUR TURN
TO WRITE
The Iberian Lynx
PLAN BEFORE YOU WRITE
By Harry Curtis 6 Think of an animal that you know something about.
The Iberian lynx is my favourite animal. It’s very Make notes. Think about the following:
beautiful. It’s got spots, very long legs and a short ● colour
tail, and the top of its ears are black. It lives in ● size
southern Spain. There are now only between 84 ● where it lives
and 143 adult lynxes in the world. ● food
The Iberian lynx eats animals like wild rabbits, ● other interesting facts about your animal
ducks and other birds. An adult lynx can eat one ● dangers / problems for your animal
rabbit each day, but a mother lynx needs three
rabbits a day when she is feeding her babies. A WRITE NOW
lot of rabbits are dying because of disease, so the
lynxes don’t have much food. Their lives are also 7 Write a description of the animal you chose in
in danger because of an increase in the number of exercise 6.
cars on the roads. 1 Use Harry’s description as a model.
Spanish conservationists are working hard because 2 Use your notes from exercise 6.
they don’t want the Iberian lynx to become extinct. 3 Try to use because and because of to give reasons for
your ideas.

3 Read the description and decide if the sentences are CHECK AND CORRECT
true or false.
8 Check and correct your descriptions.
1 The Iberian lynx has short legs. 1 Check that the use of because and because of is
2 The Iberian lynx has white ears with spots. correct.
3 There aren’t many Iberian lynxes in the world. 2 In pairs, swap your descriptions and check each
4 The Iberian lynx eats plants and flowers. other’s work.
5 There is a lot of food that the Iberian lynx can eat.
6 The number of cars on the roads is causing a problem for
the Iberian lynx.

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