Global Breaking News - Monday, May 13, 2024

  Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? A zoo has no useful purpose. Use specific reasons and examples to explain your answer.

 Children like to go to the zoo on holidays. They find it interesting to watch monkeys or bears doing funny things. But how many adults go to the zoo not for children's sake? I think few. Because we finally find that a zoo has no really useful purpose and it's not a truly fun place for us.
* holiday = 휴가, 방학, 휴일 cf) on ~s = ~마다 / adult = 성인 / for something's sake = ~를 위해서 / useful purpose = 유익한 목적 / truly = 정말로, 진심으로

When a person breaks the law, he will be thrown into prison. But the animals in the zoo have done nothing to deserve being locked in a small cage. No plants, no water, just brick walls and floors. Every animal is in the same environment and can do no other things except for wandering around in the little space. Do you think that's what an animal should look like? And after visiting such a living place of animals as a zoo, no one would ever be left a nice impression of beauty and harmony of the nature that the zoo tries to demonstrate.
* break the law = 법률을 위반하다 / throw into = ~에 빠뜨리다 / prison = 감옥 / deserve = 받을만 하다, 누릴 자격이 있다 / cage = 새장 / brick wall = 벽돌 담, 큰 장벽 / except for = ~을 제외하고는 / wander around = 이리저리 돌아다니다, 헤매다 / space = 공간 / impression = 인상, 감명 / demonstrate = 보여주다

In addition, going to the zoo is not a good chance for educating children. Children see animals being tamed and locked, just for people to watch and have fun with. That will give the wrong impression to them that animals ought to be like that. In such an artificial circumstance, they don't realize that animals and people are friends and they are just as important in the ecological system as we are.
* tame = 길들여진, 말을 잘 듣는 / lock = 잠그다, 잠가두다 / have fun with = 재미있게 놀다 / ought to = ~해야한다 / artificial = 인공의, 인조의 / circumstance = 환경, 상황 / ecological system = 생태계

The last but not the least, animals in the zoo are often treated badly by the visitors. People like to feed them with whatever they bring with them: hamburgers, popcorns, or even paper. Animals are not able to distinguish which food is bad for them and thus they eat too much unsuitable food. It is very harmful to their health.
* last but not the least = 마지막에 말하지만 중요한 것은 / treat = 다루다, 취급하다, 대접하다 / feed = 먹이다, 먹이를 주다 / distinguish = 구별하다 / unsuitable = 적합하지 않은, 알맞지 않은 / harmful = 해로운

So I don't see any useful purpose to build up a zoo in a city just for people's entertainment, but to sacrifice the animals' health and freedom. And it does no good to teach our children to have animals as our best friends.
*  zoo = 동물원 / entertainment = 오락, 여흥 / sacrifice = 희생 / freedom = 자유