IELTS Reading Solution: Nature On Display In American Zoos

The emergence and evolution of American zoos deeply reflect the process of urbanization and the changing relationship between humans and the natural world. From rudimentary wildlife exhibits primarily for entertainment in the 19th century, the zoo system has undergone many phases of redefinition: from classification by geography and behavior to “landscape immersion” models and a focus on the mission of rare species conservation. The reading passage Nature on Display in American Zoos provides a complete socio-historical and scientific overview of the development of American zoos over more than a century.

Falling under the themes of urban history and animal welfare (Urban History, Zoos & Wildlife Welfare), the reading passage features a clear chronological structure, organized by decade. The test assesses candidates through two core question types in the IELTS Reading exam: True/False/Not Given and Table/Note Completion. This article, with its answer explanations, academic vocabulary compilation, and detailed translation by ECE English, will help you fully master this reading passage.

Reading Passage

Nature On Display In American Zoos

[Paragraph 1] The first zoo in the United States opened in Philadelphia in 1874, followed by the Cincinnati Zoo the next year. By 1940 there were zoos in more than one hundred American cities. The Philadelphia Zoo was more thoroughly planned and better financed than most of the hundreds of zoos that would open later. But in its landscape and its mission to both educate and entertain, it embodied ideas about how to build a zoo that stayed consistent for decades. The zoos came into existence in the late nineteenth century during the transition of the United States from a rural and agricultural nation to an industrial one.

[Paragraph 2] The population more than doubled between 1860 and 1900. As more middle-class people lived in cities, they began seeking new relationships with the natural world as a place for recreation, self-improvement, and spiritual renewal. Cities established systems of public parks, and nature tourism, already popular, became even more fashionable with the establishment of national parks. Nature was thought to be good for people of all ages and classes. Nature study was incorporated into the school curriculum, and natural history collecting became an increasingly popular pastime.

[Paragraph 3] At the same time, the fields of study which were previously thought of as ‘natural history’ grew into separate areas such as taxonomy, experimental embryology, and genetics, each with its own experts and structures. As laboratory research gained prestige in the zoology departments of American universities, the gap between professional and amateur scientific activities widened. Previously, natural history had been open to amateurs and was easily popularized, but research required access to microscopes and other equipment in laboratories, as well as advanced education.

[Paragraph 4] The new zoos set themselves apart from traveling animal shows by stating their mission as the education and the advancement of science, in addition to recreation. Zoos presented zoology for the non-specialist, at a time when the intellectual distance between amateur naturalists and laboratory-oriented zoologists was increasing. They attracted wide audiences and quickly became a feature of every growing and forward-thinking city. They were emblems of civic pride on a level of importance with art museums, natural history museums, and botanical gardens.

[Paragraph 5] Most American zoos were founded and operated as part of the public parks administration. They were dependent on municipal funds, and they charged no admission fee. They tended to assemble as many different mammal and bird species as possible, along with a few reptiles, exhibiting one or two specimens of each, and they competed with each other to become the first to display a rari<span class="citation-4587 citation-end-4