Reading skills - DOLPHIN MANIA

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     There are stories of dolphins that help people to fish. They do this by chasing fish into the fishing nets. Usually the dolphins are rewarded by the fishermen who give them some of the fish.
 

     There are stories of dolphins that have saved people's lives in the water. In January 1989 three teenage surfers were saved from a shark by dolphins. Before the shark attacked, the teenagers had noticed that the dolphins had been near them in the water. When the shark started to attack, the dolphins attacked the shark and splashed a lot in the water. The teenagers escaped. Some people are not convinced by this story. They believe that the dolphins were protecting themselves.

     There are other rescue stories. One is of a scuba diver who could not float to the surface because he could not take off his weight belt. His air supply was getting low and he was scared. Suddenly something pushed him to the surface of the water. It was a dolphin. The dolphin took him to shallow water and waited to see if he was alright. Then the man and the dolphin played together while the other dolphins waited for the dolphin that had saved the diver.

     Many dolphins have a calming effect on humans, especially children. In the 1980s in Russia, a scientist introduced pregnant mothers to dolphins. They swam together regularly for months. When one woman's baby was six months old, she took him swimming in the sea where the dolphins had been. The baby and the dolphins 'were like old friends'. She said it was as if they had met before.

     At the dolphin research Centre in Florida, dolphins swim with mentally-handicapped children. Many psychologists believe that swimming with the dolphins has encouraged the children to relax and speak more. Sometimes the dolphins help with the children's lessons too. The dolphins bring pictures to the children in the water and the children have to say what is in the picture. If their answer is correct, they can ride on the dolphins' backs.

     The dolphins notice that the children are different to many other children and act very gently with them.

     The 'healers'

    Some doctors also believe that swimming with dolphins is good for cancer patients. They believe that the production of cancer cells is made slower when people dramatically relax. However nothing has been proved yet. Some people are so convinced that contact with dolphins is good for us that they have opened dolphin-contact centres! These are places where it is possible for people to swim with dolphins in a swimming pool. These centres are cruelty-free because the dolphins are not trapped. They can jump over a low wall and are allowed to go back into the sea whenever they want.

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