Listening skills practice: Llamas – exercises

Listen to the zoo guide talking about the llamas and do the exercise to practice and improve your listening
skills.

1. Preparation: matching
Do this exercise before you listen. Match the vocabulary with the correct definition and write a – e next to
the numbers 1 – 5.

1…….. to spit a. to make a continuous sound with the lips closed

to shear (past participle

3…….. wool c. to cut the wool off a sheep or similar animal

4…….. to lick d. to force out liquid from the mouth

5…….. to hum e. to pass the tongue over a surface

2. Check your understanding: true or false

1. Llamas, alpacas, vicuñas and guanacos are all related to camels. True False

2. Llamas are the smallest of the four. True False

3. Llamas only spit at humans if you treat them badly. True False

4. Alpacas look as if they are sad. True False

5. Alpaca wool is good for clothes. True False

6. Vicuña wool is very expensive. True False

7. Vicuñas eat cacti. True False

8. Llamas and alpacas can’t live in the UK. True False

dogs wild stressed relaxed

warmer gentle three softer

herds curious foxes 4,000 metres

Llamas and alpacas are both domesticated animals and vicuñas and guanacos are
1.
_______________.

2. Llamas are very sociable animals and live together in groups, in _______________.

They respond well to being trained and they are usually _______________ and
3.
_______________.

The alpaca is famous for its wool, which is _______________ and _______________ than sheep’s
4.
wool.

5. Vicuñas can only be shorn of their wool every _______________ years.

6. Guanacos are capable of surviving at over _______________ in the Andes.

7. Llamas hum when they are _______________, or the opposite, feeling _______________.

Sometimes farmers use llama to protect sheep and hens from animals that might attack them, like
8.
_______________ or _______________.

What’s your favourite wild animal? Why?

Vocabulary Box Write any new words you have learnt in this lesson.
 Listening skills practice: Llamas – transcript

Transcript for Llamas

Zoo guide: OK, are we all together? Right, next we’re going to look at the llamas, but actually here we
have four different animals which are all from South America and all related to camels. Llamas, which you
have probably heard of, over here. And over there alpacas, vicuñas and guanacos.
Llamas and alpacas are both domesticated animals and vicuñas and guanacos are wild. Llamas are the
biggest animal – they can grow up to 1.8 metres tall and in the past they were used to carry things. Llamas
are very sociable animals and live together in groups, in herds.
Teenager 1: Don’t they spit at people, though?
Guide: Well, yes, they can. All members of the camelid family sometimes spit. You don’t want to mistreat a
llama; it might even spit some of the contents of its stomach at you.
Group of teenagers: Uuuugggh!
Guide: But if you treat them properly they are not likely to. They respond well to being trained and they are
usually gentle and curious.
OK, over here we have the alpacas. As you can see, they are smaller than the llamas. They’ve got smaller
faces and they always look as though they are smiling. Look at this one’s face.
Group of teenagers: Aaaah!
Guide: The alpaca is famous for its wool, which is softer and warmer than sheep’s wool. There’s a big
demand for alpaca wool from the fashion industry.
Right, next to the alpacas we have the vicuñas. As I said before, these animals are wild and they are
thought to be the ancestors of the alpacas. Vicuñas are very elegant and graceful creatures. Look at this
one. She’s beautiful.
Group of teenagers: Mmmm. She’s lovely. (etc.)
Guide: Have you heard of the Incas? The ancient rulers of Latin America who lived in the Andes? Well,
they wore clothes made from vicuña wool – only the royal family were allowed to wear the wool. It is even
softer than alpaca wool but vicuñas can only be shorn of their wool every three years. For that reason the
wool’s very expensive.
And, lastly, we have the guanacos. They are similar to the vicuñas, but larger and stronger. They are
capable of surviving at over 4,000 metres in the Andes. When they are in the desert they survive by licking
the water off the cacti and other desert plants. Right, any questions?
Teenager 2: I think I can hear this llama making a noise.
Guide: Ah, yes. That could be the llama humming. They don’t open their mouths, they just make this
strange noise. They hum when they are stressed, or the opposite, feeling relaxed.
Teenager 1: Can llamas live in the UK?
Guide: Yes, there are quite a lot of llamas and alpaca in the UK. They adapt very well to our climate. They
make good pets and sometimes they’re used for trekking. You go on a picnic and use a llama to carry your
food.
Teenager 3: Cool! I want to do that!
Guide: And sometimes farmers use them as guard dogs, I mean guard llama. The adult males will protect
sheep and hens from animals that might attack them, like dogs or foxes. They’re really useful animals.
 Listening skills practice: Llamas – exercises

Answers to Listening skills practice: Llamas – exercises.

1. Preparation: matching

1. d 4. e
2. c 5. a
3. b

2. Check your understanding: true or false

1. True 5. True
2. False 6. True
3. True 7. False
4. False 8. False

3. Check your understanding: gap fill

1. wild 5. three
2. herds 6. 4,000 metres
3. gentle / curious 7. stressed / relaxed
4. softer / warmer 8. dogs / foxes