Do you drink milk for breakfast? The milk we drink comes mostly from cows and buffaloes. Did you know
that butter, cheese, and yogurt are all made from milk and cream? Ice cream is made by adding sugar and
flavouring to cream and then stirring and freezing it.
Many of the clothes you wear come from animals. The farmer shears off the sheep’s wool.
The wool is spun and used to make clothing.
Eggs come from birds too. One hen may lay over 200 eggs in a year!
Some of the smallest animals also help us. Honeybees collect nectar from
flowers. The bees make honey in a hive.
When a silkworm is ready to turn into a moth, it begins making silk in its body. It wraps the silk around
itself as a cocoon. Farmers gather the cocoons and unwind the silk thread. It is used to make soft and gorgeous cloth.
Shells were the homes of sea creatures. What are they used for?
Another important thing that animals give us is their friendship. Pets can be good friends.
We get many important things from animals. But we must be careful not to take too much from them.
Whales are hunted for the oil in their bodies. It is used in lamps and candles. But some kinds of whales are
beginning to disappear. Too many have been hunted.

A) Vocabulary
Please make sentences from the words below. The sentences should show that you understand the
meaning of the word.

Shear – cut the wool off a sheep or another animal
Spin – to make thread by twisting fibres from wool, cotton, or other material
Wind – to turn
Unwind – undo after winding
Hunt – pursue and kill (a wild animal) for sport or food
Nectar – A sweet fluid inside flowers which bees make into honey
Hive – a home for bees
Cocoon – a soft, smooth covering that surrounds and protects some insects
Pet – an animal kept at home for companionship
Gorgeous – beautiful

Revised July 2020

Audio courtesy Tara Kriplani: