Animals & Environment
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NEW
7 Oct 2026
Siberian spring/Shutterstock.com
Flying Drones are Bringing Lost Pets Home
Warm-up → Read & Listen → Check Understanding → Language → Use It
WARM UP
Section: Warm Up
Think Ahead: Which detail do you think appears in this story?
a) A pilot uses a drone with a heat camera to find lost pets.
b) A pet dog learns how to fly a camera drone in the park.
c) A drone drops food to wild animals in a forest.
Ask:
(1) Have you ever lost a pet or a toy?
(2) How can technology help us find lost animals?
VOCABULARY
drone (/drəʊn/, noun)
Meaning: A small flying machine with a camera controlled from the ground.
Example: The pilot flew the drone high above the trees.
thermal (/ˈθɜː.məl/, adjective)
Meaning: Related to body heat.
Example: The thermal camera sees animal body heat in the dark.
screen (/skriːn/, noun)
Meaning: A flat surface on a computer or phone that shows images.
Example: He looked at the screen to find the missing cat.
frightened (/ˈfraɪ.tənd/, adjective)
Meaning: Feeling scared or afraid.
Example: The frightened dog hid under a big bush.
grateful (/ˈɡreɪt.fəl/, adjective)
Meaning: Feeling happy and thankful.
Example: The grateful family hugged their found dog.
rescue (/ˈres.kjuː/, verb)
Meaning: To save someone or something from danger.
Example: Firefighters help rescue animals in danger.
collect (/kəˈlekt/, verb)
Meaning: To go and pick up a person or animal.
Example: The owners came quickly to collect their lost cat.
Many pets run away every single day. Dogs and cats get lost in big woods or dark parks. It is very hard for worried owners to find them.
However, a helpful man has a smart idea. He flies a small drone in the sky. A drone is a flying camera machine. His special drone has a clever thermal camera. This camera can see body heat in the dark. The camera shows hot animal bodies as bright white shapes on a screen.
The man looks at his screen to spot missing animals. He finds frightened dogs hiding under thick trees. Then, he calls the happy families immediately. The grateful owners come quickly to collect their beloved pets.
The lucky animals go back to their warm home safe and happy. The drone operator loves helping lost animals return home. Children and parents thank him for his kind work. Technology can be very helpful for animal safety. Now, more people want to use flying drones to rescue lost pets.
Drone technology used by experts. ©iStock.com/golubovy
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Do you have a pet dog or cat at home?
2. What would you do if your pet got lost in a park?
3. Why is it hard to see lost animals at night?
4. Would you like to fly a drone with a camera?
5. How else can machines help animals?
FILL IN THE GAPS
FILL THE GAPS
Section 1: Fill in the Gaps
Word Bank: drone, frightened, grateful, thermal
Many pets run away every single day. Dogs and cats get lost in big woods or dark parks. It is very hard for worried owners to find them. However, a helpful man has a smart idea. He flies a small _______(1) in the sky. A drone is a flying camera machine. His special drone has a clever _______(2) camera. This camera can see body heat in the dark. The camera shows hot animal bodies as bright white shapes on a screen. The man looks at his screen to spot missing animals. He finds _______(3) dogs hiding under thick trees. Then, he calls the happy families immediately. The _______(4) owners come quickly to collect their beloved pets. The lucky animals go back to their warm home safe and happy. The drone operator loves helping lost animals return home. Children and parents thank him for his kind work. Technology can be very helpful for animal safety. Now, more people want to use flying drones to rescue lost pets.
Section 2: Main Idea
What is the main idea of this news story?
a) Drones are used to deliver packages to houses.
b) A man uses a thermal drone to help find missing pets.
c) Dogs like to chase flying drones in the woods.
UNDERSTANDING
Section 3: True or False
(1) Thermal cameras show hot animal bodies as bright shapes on a screen. T/F
(2) The drone operator leaves lost pets in the woods alone. T/F
(3) Worried owners come to collect their found pets. T/F
Section 4: Put Events in Order
Put these events in order from 1 to 3:
( ) The drone operator spots a white shape on his thermal screen.
( ) A family pet runs away and gets lost in the dark woods.
( ) Grateful owners arrive to collect their lost pet safely.
LANGUAGE
Section 5: Vocab Match
(1) drone
(2) thermal
(3) screen
(4) frightened
(5) rescue
a) Related to body heat
b) To save someone from danger
c) A flying machine with a camera
d) Feeling scared or afraid
e) A flat surface that shows images
USE IT
Section 6: Discussion Builder
(1) Thermal cameras work well because animals give off _______ in the dark.
a) body heat
b) cold water
(2) Drone pilots help owners _______ their lost pets quickly.
a) forget
b) collect
Section 7: Sentence Unscramble
(1) Unscramble the sentence:
[A] flies / [B] The pilot / [C] in the sky / [D] a small drone / [E] to find pets.
(2) Unscramble the sentence:
[A] can see / [B] in the dark / [C] Body heat / [D] thermal cameras / [E] using.
ANSWER KEY
Answer Key - A1 Level
Warm Up Think Ahead: a
Section 1: (1) drone (2) thermal (3) frightened (4) grateful
Section 2: b
Section 3: (1) T (2) F (3) T
Section 4: 2, 1, 3
Section 5: (1) c, (2) a, (3) e, (4) d, (5) b
Section 6: (1) a, (2) b
Section 7: (1) B-A-D-C-E (The pilot flies a small drone in the sky to find pets.) (2) C-A-E-D-B (Body heat can see using thermal cameras in the dark. / D-A-C-B-E: Thermal cameras can see body heat in the dark using... Correct order: D-A-C-B: Thermal cameras can see body heat in the dark.) Corrected Unscramble 1: B-A-D-C-E, Unscramble 2: D-A-C-B
Section 8: Student personal responses.
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