PET Reading Part 4
There are three extra sentences which you do not need to use.
- Dangerous Snakes
Many people believe that snakes are the world's deadliest creatures to humans, but actually they are not. The most dangerous creatures to humans are insects. 1) One of the most dangerous insects is probably the mosquito. Mosquitoes can carry certain diseases, such as West Nile virus, malaria, yellow fever, which many millions of people die from every year. Flies can also carry many diseases of humans and domestic animals.
2) There are more than 3,000 species of snakes in the world and they're found everywhere except in Antarctica, Iceland, Ireland, Greenland, and New Zealand. 3) But not all snakes kill with venom. A constrictor grabs its prey with its teeth, then quickly winds itself around it and squeezes tightly. 4) The snake can then swallow it.
Most constrictors are very large snakes. 5) More than 30 000 people die every year because of snake bites, the vast majority in South East Asia and India. They die because they live far away from towns and medical help.
- A) Snakes have extremely poor sight and hearing.
- B) Snakes are actually the second most deadly animals in the world.
- C) Of these, about 400 can kill a man with their venom.
- D) These snakes are not usually kept as pets.
- E) For example, The anaconda of South America can grow up to 11 metres long.
- F) But people are usually more dangerous than animals.
- G) Many of them carry and transmit diseases that can kill people.
- H) The prey cannot breathe and usually dies.
