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Grade 8 (A2) · Fact text · 212 words

Dogs with a Job

A fact text about assistance dogs, including guide dogs, hearing dogs and dogs for people in wheelchairs, how they are trained and how to behave around them.

Tap any word to hear it · dotted words have a definition in the glossary

🎧 Listen

1Most dogs are pets, but some dogs have a very important job: they help people with live more . These dogs are called assistance dogs.

2The best-known assistance dogs are guide dogs. They help people who are blind or cannot see well to walk safely in the street. A guide dog stops at the edge of the pavement, walks around and helps its owner find doors and steps. However, the dog does not decide when to cross the road. The owner listens to the traffic and gives the order.

3Other dogs help in different ways. Hearing dogs tell people about important sounds, such as a doorbell or an alarm. Some dogs help people in wheelchairs by picking up things from the floor or opening doors.

4Training an assistance dog takes a long time. In Israel, as in many other countries, puppies first live for about a year with volunteer families. There they learn to stay calm on buses, in shops and in places. Only then do they begin their professional training.

5If you see an assistance dog in the street, remember that it is working. Don't pet it, feed it or call it without asking the owner first. A dog that is may make a dangerous mistake.

📘 Glossary
  • disabilities - conditions that make some everyday tasks difficult
  • independently - without needing a lot of help
  • obstacles - things that block the way
  • deaf - unable to hear
  • crowded - full of people
  • distracted - not paying attention because something else takes your focus

Questions

  1. Finding details

    1. Who do guide dogs help?
  2. Finding details

    2. Write TWO things a guide dog does.
  3. Finding details

    3. Complete the sentence: When they need to cross the road,…
  4. Finding details

    4. How do hearing dogs help?
  5. Reference words

    5. In paragraph 4, the word "There" refers to…
  6. Making inferences

    6. Why do the puppies need to learn to stay calm in crowded places?
  7. Word meaning

    7. In paragraph 1, "live more independently" means live…
  8. Finding details

    8. What should you NOT do when you see an assistance dog in the street?
  9. Making inferences

    9. Why is it important not to distract an assistance dog?

Answer every question to get a score (0/9)

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