Explain the meanings of the lexical units below.

3. Name the animal which is described by the following words and expressions. Do you agree with this description?

To get on really well with children, to be a better pet for someone disabled, to have a home feeling, have their very own character, can be trained to do extraordinary things, to sacrifice one’s life to protect smd, to obey master's command, never miss the master much, can help search for people in a wreckage, to be a fastidious and neat creature, are characterized by calm behaviour and easy upkeep, to be an additional personality in one’s home, to make the choice to end the friendship, can lead the blind, they demonstrate devotion and unconditional love, can save lives, to behave in a more "dignified" way, to be intimate with one’s owner.

3.3 Some people find traditional cats, dogs, hamsters and parrots a bit trivial and they make exotic choices. Some of them are described in the texts below. Divide into two groups. Students from the 1^st group should read story A, students from the 2^nd group - story B, then exchange the information and discuss it.

Story A

Australia: Vicki Lowing lives in Australia with her three pet crocodiles. She adopted Johnie, her first crocodile, fifteen years ago. Johnie is now 6 feet long! Lowing tells how the crocodile would get into bed with her and her then-husband, and even slept with her young son.

"Johnie would jump on Andrew's bed nearly every night. They were like a brother and sister," Lowing said. Animal experts tell her that there is no way to domesticate a crocodile. They are too aggressive, powerful and unpredictable. A relationship like this may end in real tears – and not crocodile ones.

Lowing, who is now divorced, says the crocs were not responsible for the end of her marriage. But now it’s hard for her to find a new partner. " I do meet nice blokes. And then when they do eventually come home and see I've got the crocodiles, they just run, they all run. If I could find a man, that could take me and my animals and share the same passion, that would be wonderful," says Lowing.

Story B

Germany:Ants by the thousands have taken over apartments all across Germany – as the latest craze in the house pets. A country where more than 80 per cent of the population live in apartments, Germany and the Germans have always keen on small lap dogs, kittens, budgies and gold fish. But in increasing numbers, Germans are choosing the tiniest of the tiny – a queen ant and her thousands of workers.

“People are realizing that a pet doesn’t have to be a puppy or a kitten”, says Martin Sebesta, the owner of the shop called The Ant Store. “Ants are much easier to care for than a cat, for example. They don’t eat much, they don’t smell, they don’t make any noise, they are very clean and – best of all – they are fascinating creatures. You think you’ve been watching them 10 minutes and then look at the clock and realize a couple of hours have gone by”, she explains.