Some say zoos save animals from dying out. Others argue that living in a small space is bad for an animal’s health. Here are some opinions from our young readers.

Grace, 8 years old

Thanks to zoos, many e    21     animals are saved from disappearing completely. Last summer in China, I saw pandas at the zoo and learned about the wildlife program there. Several decades ago, these cute big bears were almost wiped out in the wild. But the zoo p    22     them and helped them give b    23     to more young pandas. Now there are much m    24     pandas. Zoos provide animals with food and an environment that is made to look like their n    25     environment and try hard to increase their p    26    .

Yanni, 10 years old

We shouldn’t have zoos. In zoos, animals might not be given proper living c    27    . Living in an unfamiliar environment and being watched by humans, animals can feel nervous. In 2003, a study of 35 species of carnivores (食肉动物) found that most zoos were too s     28     for some of the animals to carry out their regular years old daily activities. They’re in zoos, but they can also lose the abilities they were born with. If they were released into the w    29    , they wouldn’t know how to survive. An animal’s health is more important t    30     our entertainment.

As a mountain, 1,642-foot squad Peak isn’t that impressive (给人深刻印象的). But its views attract many hikers (远足者). Hear Grant, a college student at Ithaca College, was one of them.

While waiting for his mother one day in August 2019, Grant watched other hikers enjoy the view. One hiker, dressed in pink, was looking over the lip of the cliff (悬崖) with her husband.

When Grant’s mother rejoined (与……再会合) him, the two continued on their way. Suddenly, he heard something scaring. “Paula! Paula!” a man shouted crazily. Grant turned around quickly.

Several hikers immediately started looking for her, but their view was screened by trees. Uncertain they could help, Grant and his mother headed down the trail (小路). But when he saw some hikers still searching, he decided to lend a hand. After promising his mother that he would be safe, he went on alone.

After 15 minutes of climbing over large rocks, pushing past bushes, and slipping (滑) down loose earth, Grant found a pink figure. The woman had fallen about 75 feet. Luckily, she was alive (活着的).

“Paula! Paula!” Grant shouted. The woman didn’t reply. She was badly hurt. Grant called the police to report her location (位置). She kept trying to move, and every time she moved, she slipped a little more. Afraid that in her unclear state of mind she might fall off the rock to her death, Grant climbed on all fours up a tight and narrow path by digging into the earth with his fingers and feet until he reached Paula.

Paula was moaning (呻吟), almost senseless. Grant gently put her hand in his, trying to keep her mind off the pain by keeping asking her questions: “Where are you from? Do you have kids?” Soon, they were joined on their perch (歇脚处) by another hiker named Simon.

About 45 minutes later, the first rescuers (救援者) arrived. Paula and her husband were flown to a hospital. Five hours after the woman in pink had fallen, Grant was back on top of squad Peak.