Exercises

Fast friends

The world's fastest runner wasn't interested in spending his money on a fast sports car or a speed boat for recreation. Instead, Usain Bolt recently decided to adopt a baby cheetah.

Read the story from the Bangkok Post about these fast friends.

The world record holder in the 100 and 200-metre sprints recently adopted one of the animal kingdom's fastest runners. Champion athlete Usain Bolt welcomed a new baby cheetah named Lightning Bolt into his life.

The Jamaican sprinter's adoption of the 3-month-old male cheetah is part of an effort to help save Kenya's famous wildlife. The wildlife of Kenya is constantly under threat from trophy hunters, climate change and human encroachment.

FAST AND FASTER

Lightning Bolt is among three cubs rescued by Kenya wildlife officials after their mother abandoned them in a game park. Usain paid the equivalent of 548,000 baht to adopt the cub. He will also pay 120,000 baht per year to care for Lighting Bolt, who will be raised at an animal orphanage in Nairobi.

The money will go to the Kenya Wildlife Service, and some will be used to protect Kenya's endangered species, according to KWS director Julius Kipngetich.

WILD LIFE

On his trip to Kenya, Usain was joined by former Olympic champion Colin Jackson. During the trip, Jackson adopted a 2-year-old eland, the largest of the antelope species.

Usain said that he loved seeing Kenya's wildlife during his four days in the country, but that he was scared of meeting any lions. He was also reluctant to pat a fully grown cheetah during a photo shoot with Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

HELLO KITTY

Despite Usain's reluctance to pat the big cats, the runner appeared comfortable when he got to handle his baby cheetah, which was about the size of an adult domestic cat. He held the cub while feeding it bottled milk.

"I used to be afraid of cheetahs, but I'm not anymore," Usain said.

Exercises

Read the story. Then, answer the following reading comprehension questions.

1.What animal was Usain afraid of seeing?
2.Why does Usain have to pay an additional 120,000 baht a year?
3.Why did Usain adopt the cheetah?
4.Why did the baby cheetahs have to be rescued?

	recreation (n): a particular activity that somebody does when they are not working adopt (v): to take somebody else's child into your family and become its legal parents sprint (v): to run a short distance very fast encroachment (n): the act of slowly beginning to cover more and more of an area abandon (v): to leave somebody, especially somebody you are responsible for, with no intention of returning orphanage (n): a home for children whose parents are dead endangered (adj): put in a situation in which somebody or something could be harmed or damaged antelope (n): an African animal like a deer, that runs very fast