Read the following passage and do the exercises that follow. Then complete the family tree of dogs given on the facing page.
The Dog Family
The dog family is one of the 11 families that make up the Carnivores, a large group of intelligent, flesh-eating, backboned animals. In this group are such varied animals as bears, pandas, raccoons, cats, hyenas, and even seal. The dog or canine family has many wild species like wolves, foxes, coyotes, jackals, and wild dogs.
The dog is the only domesticated member of the canine family though now and then someone tames a wolf, fox or coyote as a pet. All members of the dog family are descendants of a wolf-like animal which lived about 15 million years ago. From this distant ancestor, the true dogs gradually developed. But nobody knows the exact ancestor of the modern domestic dog.
Several wild dogs look and behave like domestic dogs. The dingo or wild dog of Australia is one of these. It is possible that the dingo was a tamed dog brought to Australia long ago which then ran wild.
Dogs were the first animals tamed by humans — perhaps 20,000 years ago. Tamed dogs were brought from Asia to the New World 5,000 or more years ago. Dogs were first used for hunting.
(a) Find the opposites of these words in the text above.
(i) ancestor _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
(ii) wild t _ m _
(iii) ancient _ _ _ _ _ _
(iv) near d_ _ _ _ _ t
(v) suddenly gr _ _ _ _ _ _ _
(b) Complete the following sentences.
(i)The dingo is _________
(ii) Dogs were the ________ animals tamed by humans. The other animals tamed by humans are __________
(Think and name some other such animals.)
(iii) The New World refers to _______.
Dogs were brought there from ____________.
