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GENERAL ENGLISH · BREAKING NEWS · UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)

INSTAGRAM
INFLUENCERS TO
CLONE THEIR PETS

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1 Warm up

Discuss the questions in pairs or small groups.

1. Do you have any pets?

2. If your pet died, would you want to replace it with a similar animal?
3. Would you ever consider having your pet cloned?
4. Do you post pictures of your pet on social media? Do you know anyone who uses their pet to get
attention?
5. Do you know anyone who has become, or wants to become an influencer?
6. Is the concept of an influencer a temporary trend, or is it the future of marketing?

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2 Pre-listening: vocabulary focus

Part A: Match words with the correct definitions.

1. ring off the hook (ph.) a. carry a young human or animal inside the womb until it
is born
2. tissue (n) b. join two or more things together to form a single thing

3. donor (n) c. (of a phone) to ring many times, with one phone call
after another
4. embryo (n) d. a collection of cells that form the different parts of
humans, animals and plants
5. fuse (v) e. something different from what was expected, especially
something worse or more difficult to deal with
6. gestate (v) f. a label on something that shows how much you must pay

7. price tag (n) g. a young person, animal or plant in the very early stages
of development before birth
8. more than (sb) bargained for h. a person or thing that is very similar to somebody/
(ph.) something else
9. carbon copy (n) i. a person or animal that gives blood or part of his or her
body to be used by doctors or scientists

Part B: Complete the sentences with the missing words from Part A. You may need to change the
form of the word.

1. Scientists in some facilities have preserved a collection of human , in case of a

worldwide disaster.

2. When we adopted our cat, we got – he was very naughty!

3. Some football players have huge based more on their nationality than their ability.

4. Doctors had to remove some of the surrounding after the accident. He almost
lost his arm.

5. The phone has been since we offered to give away our possessions to local people.

6. A killer whale can for 15 – 18 months.

7. They’re looking for an egg so that they can have a child together.

8. The teacher said my essay was a of my friend’s, so now we’re both in trouble.

9. Bones should together naturally as part of the healing process.

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3 Listening for specific information

Listen to the report. Match the numbers mentioned with the things they relate to.

2 20,000 35,000 4 5 50,000 millions

a. : The number of times that Barbra Streisand’s dog was cloned.

b. : The number of days during which skin samples can be taken from a pet after
it dies.
c. : The number of Instagram followers that Kelly Anderson lost after her cat
died.
d. : The number of years Kelly Anderson had to wait for a clone of her cat.

e. : The price of a cloned dog at ViaGen.

f. : The price of a cloned cat at ViaGen.

g. : The rough number of healthy animals that need to be adopted.

4 Listening for comprehension

Listen to the report again. Mark the statements as true, false or not given.

1. A cloned animal is basically the same as an identical twin of the original pet, according to Melain
Rodriguez.

2. Rodriguez has noticed that fewer and fewer people are considering having their pets cloned.

3. A complete embryo is taken from the donor animal.

4. Surrogate animals are often pets of staff members.

5. Owners are sometimes given more than one clone of their pet.

6. A cat called Chai went missing.

7. Kelly Anderson appears happy with her decision to have her cat cloned.

8. The Humane Society of the United States recommends alternatives to having your pet cloned.

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5 Reading: General Vocabulary

Part A: Match the words and phrases in bold with the correct definitions.

Group 1:

1. Our cat had to be put to sleep last night. My daughter has been crying all day!

2. If there are concerns about a child’s welfare, social services may get involved.

3. The fad for video parties began in the pandemic, but was short-lived.

4. Scientists have launched satellites containing messages directed at aliens. Personally, I don’t think
we should meddle with creatures from other planets.

5. Creepy behaviour, such as following and closely watching a person in the street, should be discouraged
by society.

6. Grief can be difficult for children to process, which is why a child therapist may be required.

a. the general health, happiness and safety of a person, animal or group

b. describing something that causes an unpleasant feeling of fear or slight horror

c. something that people are interested in only for a short period of time

d. kill an injured or unwell animal by giving it drugs so that it dies without pain

e. a very sad feeling, especially when someone dies

f. involve yourself in or with something that should not really involve you

Group 2:

1. Alternative therapies are becoming popular as way to promote healing after a difficult experience.

2. I’ve been making a living from my art for the last few years. It’s great to do something creative!

3. On Instagram, it has become popular to copy the poses of famous influencers in photographs.

4. Mark’s apology was nothing more than theatrics. I’m sure he’s not really sorry for his actions.

5. Some people claim that the Moon landings were simulated, despite the huge amount of evidence
that they took place.

6. I had to reassure my child that there were no monsters in the cupboard last night.

a. behaviour that is intended to get attention

b. the process of becoming or making sb/sth healthy again, or the process of getting better after an
emotional shock

c. not real, but made to look or feel like the real thing

d. say or do something that makes somebody feel less worried or frightened

e. a particular position in which sb/sth stands, sits etc. in order to be photographed or painted

f. earn enough money to buy the things you need

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Part B: Complete the short text with the correct words from Part A. You may need to change the form
of the words.

The decision to adopt or purchase a pet is one that should be carefully considered. People choose to
1
have a pet for a variety of reasons, some of which could be harmful to the animal’s .
2
I’ve heard of parents who – in their – decided to get a dog after losing a child. One
case that came up during my work for the dog rescue centre was that of a couple who named the dog
3
after their son, which I found incredibly . Although I felt like I should say something
4
when we visited to check on the pet, my partner told me not to in the situation. I’m
glad I took her advice!

Another case involved a young man who wanted to enhance his social media business with a cute
5
puppy. Apparently, he from his online videos, and felt that a dog would increase his
income. My colleague and I found photos he’d posted on his Instagram, in which he arranged the poor
6 7
puppy in strange and violent acts with it, just for laughs. He’d tagged
8
the rescue centre in his post, and his account was full of these sorts of . We got in
touch with the police and they took the dog away.

Sometimes people have good intentions that go wrong. A woman got in touch with us one day –
she’d been in a terrible accident and had lost a lot of confidence. She wanted to adopt a dog as a
9
animal, as she had heard pets can be positive influences on our health. Sadly, the dog was
10
returned to us a few months later, and after attempts to rehome it failed, it had to be .

I do recall, however, one story that had a particularly happy ending. A woman who had selected a rare
11
type of dog which had become something of a brought the animal into the centre
one day. The next week, a young mother adopted the dog, which members of staff had named Stacy.
We checked in on Stacy and her new family the next month, and they were doing great. Apparently,
12
the youngest child had severe anxiety, and the dog would her by staying with her
during the night. The mother was delighted.

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Discuss these questions in pairs.

1. How do you react if someone behaves in a creepy way towards you?

2. Do you think getting a pet could help people to process grief? Can they help with emotional
healing in general?
3. What is your opinion on people who make a living as an influencer on social media?
4. What’s the best way to reassure someone who is suffering from anxiety?
5. Do you think that many emotional responses on social media are simulated, or do you think they
are genuine?
6. Are there any areas of science that we shouldn’t meddle with as a species?
7. Do you think that many people who get pets fail to consider the animal’s welfare?

6 Reading for general understanding

You are going to read a text about people’s reactions to pet cloning. Scan the text quickly and match
the profession with the correct speaker. One of the speakers doesn’t mention their profession and
should be matched with ‘Not given’.

1. Not given a. Hannah

2. Vet b. Pam

3. Therapist c. Barry

4. Shop assistant d. Travis

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Copying your pet

Should cloning your animal companions be allowed?

1. Pam, 56 I’ve spent my life working with animals. As a teenager, I volunteered with animal shelters. At university,
I trained to be a vet. I’ve had a long and sometimes difficult career treating animals. Some of my friends work for
charities that take in unwanted pets, which then need to be put to sleep if an owner can’t be found. My house is
home to four dogs, two cats and a parrot. All of my pets have been adopted, either through friends or shelters.
When I heard that rich and famous people were having their pets cloned, my first thought was for the animal’s
welfare. Is it safe? Will they experience a short life of poor health? I’m also concerned that people might think
it’s okay to spend a huge amount of money on a clone, rather than adopting a dog or cat that desperately needs
a loving home. Hopefully, this strange little fad will never take off.

2. Barry, 34 It’s unnatural, isn’t it? Bringing something back to life – there are some things we shouldn’t meddle with.
Looking at images of these celebrities with their cloned pets, it’s just creepy, like they can’t let go. I had a dog as
a child, Barney, a Labrador. Barney died when I was 12. I was devastated, but dealing with the grief helped me
to develop. When my grandfather died, I feel like I was better prepared for the emotions that followed. I don’t
know how I would have reacted if my mother had brought Barney 2.0 back from the clone clinic the next day. I
think it would have been terrifying, to be honest. I work in a photography shop, and a man came in the other day
with a photograph of his dog that he wanted to turn into a giant poster. The dog had recently passed away, and
he was going to hang the photo from the wall in his hall. That’s a bit odd, but I think it’s rather harmless compared
to having your pet cloned.

3. Hannah, 31 Working with individuals and families who have recently experienced loss has taught me a great deal
about life. People process their grief in different ways, and there’s no right or wrong approach. As a therapist,
my role is to guide my patients along their path to healing, without judgement. One of my wealthier clients came
in last week and informed me that he was planning on having the family dog cloned. We sat down together and
talked about it, and my client admitted that he was more affected by the dog’s passing than he had realised at first.
It turned out that he associated the dog with his mother, who had died a few years earlier. If he could have the
dog cloned, perhaps his mum would live on in some way. It sounds irrational, and of course, it is, but the patient
left feeling a little better about the situation, having decided to adopt a rescue dog instead. This morning, he sent
me a picture of his new pet via email: it’s the same breed of dog, but at least it’s not identical!

4. Travis, 23 At school, some of my friends were obsessed with Instagram. Outside classes, they would take selfies or
make little videos and upload them. Several of them told me they wanted to become influencers. Well, in the end,
one of them made it. She has several million followers and makes a living from posting content online. I don’t think
she has a pet, but if she did, I’m sure the poor creature would be posted all over the Internet in various poses. The
last time I saw her in person was a year ago. She invited me and a few others to a party. It was a disaster. Most
of the people there were famous, for reasons I never really understood. They all appeared completely identical
to me. One, an influencer from London, broke up with her boyfriend live on Instagram. We had to witness the
theatrics and were encouraged to take part in a sort of simulated sympathy session, patting her on the back and
reassuring her. The one thing I’ve taken away from the experience is that influencers don’t need clones in order
to make money – they are the clones.

Sources: BBC, Reuters, The Guardian, The Independent and National Human Genome Research Institute

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7 Reading comprehension

Part A: Read the article again. Match statements with the correct speakers. Some statements can be
matched to more than one speaker. One of the statements cannot be matched to any of the speakers
and should be marked ‘Not given’.

1. They offer opinions on the grief process.

2. They seem concerned with the welfare of the cloned animals.

3. They seem to have a negative opinion of influencers in particular.

4. They think that science fiction films are to blame for the cloning fad.

5. They discussed pet cloning with another person at work.

Part B: For each question, choose the answer you believe best suits the speaker.

1. Why might Pam be opposed to pet cloning?

a. She thinks that it’s unhealthy for people to try to replace a lost family member with a cloned
pet.
b. She is concerned about the safety of the procedure and thinks that there are better
alternatives.
c. She thinks that the money spent on pet cloning could be put to better uses.

2. Why does Barry consider cloning to be unnatural?

a. He thinks that death is a natural part of life.

b. He has strong religious beliefs that oppose cloning.

c. He thinks that it will lead to human cloning as a way to extend life.

3. Which statement best describes Hannah’s approach to work?

a. She thinks it’s best to try to talk her clients out of making unhealthy decisions.

b. She believes that it’s healthier not to talk about grief openly.

c. She believes in guiding the healing process without passing judgement on her patients.

4. Why might Travis dislike the profession his friend chose?

a. He thinks that it’s very fake and exploitative.

b. He thinks that people in her profession are paid far too much.

c. He wanted to do the same thing, and is frustrated that he was unable to do so.

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8 Talking point

In pairs or small groups, discuss the following questions.

1. Do you think that pet cloning should be illegal? Why/why not?

2. What ethical issues can you think of with regards to animal or human cloning?
3. Do you think that human cloning will happen in the future? Could it have happened already?
4. If you could have yourself or a loved one cloned, would you?
5. Would a clone of a person share the same awareness? Would they be truly identical to the original?
6. Why do you think there are so many stories about cloning in film and literature?
7. Could cloning ever have any positive uses for humanity?

9 Extended activity / writing homework

Write an opinion essay on ONE of the topics below. Your essay should agree with or disagree with
the statement and should be between 260 and 320 words.

1. The cloning of pets should be made illegal.

2. Human cloning could solve a variety of problems that we face today. If we cloned organs
or other ‘spare parts’ rather than entire people, it could save lives.

Alternative extended activity: Class debate.

In two groups, argue FOR or AGAINST the statement below. When preparing the debate, you should
create a bullet point of arguments in groups, and try to think of the possible arguments the other side
may use. Each side should present their argument, then allow the opposing group to offer counter-
arguments.

Debate topic:

Human cloning should never become legal.

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