Animal’s “Sixth Sense”

A tsunami was triggered by an earthquake in the Indian Ocean in December, 2004. It killed tens of thousands of people in Asia and East Africa. Wild animals, ___1___, seem to have escaped that terrible tsunami. This phenomenon adds weight to notions that I they possess a “sixth sense” for ____2____, experts said.

Sri Lankan wildlife officials have said the giant waves that killed over 24,000 people along the Indian Ocean island’s coast clearly ____3____ wild beasts, with no dead animals found.

“No elephants are dead, not ____4_____ a dead rabbit. I think animals can _____5____ disaster. They have a sixth sense. They know when things are happening.” H.D. Ratnayake, deputy director of Sri Lanka’s Wildlife Department, said about one month after the tsunami attack. The ____6____ washed floodwaters up to 2 miles inland at Yala National Park in the ravaged southeast, Sri Lanka’s biggest wildlife _____7____ and home to hundreds of wild elephants and several leopards.

“There has been a lot of ____8____ evidence about dogs barking or birds migrating before volcanic eruptions or earthquakes. But it has not been proven,” said Matthew van Lierop an animal behavior____9____ at Johannesburg Zoo.

“There have been no ____10____ studies because you can’t really test it in a lab or field setting2,” he told Reuters. Other authorities concurred with this ____11____.

“Wildlife seem to be able to pick up certain ____12____, especially birds… there are many reports of birds detecting impending disasters,” said Clive Walker, who has written several books on African wildlife.

Animals ____13___ rely on the known senses such as smell or hearing to avoid danger such as predators.

The notion of an animal “sixth sense”-or _____14_____ other mythical power-is an enduring one3 which the evidence on Sri Lanka’s ravaged coast is likely to add to.

The Romans saw owls ___15___ omens of impending disaster and many ancient cultures viewed elephants as sacred animals endowed with special powers or attributes.

 1. A) therefore       B) however        C) although       D) whatever

2. A) shelters        B) foods           C) disasters      D) water

3. A) missed         B) protected        C) raised        D) caught

4. A) such          B) too             C) so            D) even

5. A) feel           B) see             C) hear         D) sense

6. A) waves         B) tides            C) winds        D) rivers

7. A) birthplaces     B) playground       C) reserve      D) storage

8. A) experimental    B) apparent        C) scientific     D) chemical

9. A) specialist       B) assistant        C) supporter     D) sponsor

10. A) additional     B) specific         C) especial      D) exceptional

11. A) modification   B) detection        C) assessment    D) value

12 A) route          B) behavior        C) principle     D) phenomenon

13. A) unwillingly     B) occasionally      C) doubtfully    D) certainly

14. A) some          B) much            C) many       D) few

15. B) on            B) as               C) for         D) in