Lexical-Grammar Test 2.

Pets in the Family

Perhaps 1) ___ (a/the/ -) British are too good to their pets, but more interesting is 2) ___ (a/the/ -) recent theory among psychologists that pets are very good 3) ___ us. A Dutch psychologist 4) _______ (say) that people may derive more benefit from an animal companion than from a human one.

The basic 5) ______ (mean) of “pet” is an animal we keep for emotional rather than economic reason. A pet animal is really kept as a companion, and we all need companions to feel happy. But pets offer us more than mere 6) ____________ (companion); they invite us to love and 7) __________ (love).

Many owners feel their pets understand them, because animals can easily feel anger and sorrow. Often 8) ______ (a/the/ -) cat or dog can comfort us at times when human words don’t help. We feel loved too, by the way pets depend 9) _____ us for a home, for food and drink. Dogs especially look 10) _____ to their owners, which makes them feel important and needed. It 11) __________ (know) that people who have 12) _________ (emotion) support from their pets suffer fewer 13) __________ (ill) and recover more quickly when they get ill than those who 14) _________ (prefer) to have no pets.

Some people think that dog owners have 15) ______ (a/the/ -) better health because they get more exercise while 16) _________ (walk) their pets. But British psychologists studying people’s 17) ____________ (relation) with their pets believe the effect is 18) ____(deep).

A pet can be something different to each member of the family: another baby 19) ____ the mother, a sister or brother 20) _____ an only child, a grandchild 21) _____ the elderly, but for all of us pets provide pleasure and companionship. It 22) _______ even (suggest) that tiny pets should 23) _______ (send) as companions to astronauts on spaceships, to help reduce the stress and loneliness of space 24) ____ (flight).

25) ______ our Plastic Age, when most of us live in large cities, pets are especially important for children. A pet in the family 26) _________ (keep) people in touch with the more natural, animal world. 27) _______ (see) an animal give birth brings understanding of the naturalness of childbirth. Learning to care 28) _____ a pet helps a child to grow 29) ___into a loving adult who feels responsible towards those people who depend on him. It’s right that we teach children to be good to their pets. They should learn that pets are good 30) _____ us, human beings.