by Jonathan Adams Staff Writer

Transcription

1 News from the Zoo! by Jonathan Adams Staff Writer Ruby s paints and brushes are ready, but she isn t. Ruby looks around. Suddenly a little girl walks up. Ruby sees what she wants to paint. The child is wearing a wonderful mix of yellow, blue, and pink. The artist picks up her brush and begins to paint. Ruby doesn t paint the little girl. Instead, she paints a beautiful splash of the colors the child is wearing. Ruby puts down her brush. Ruby the elephant has finished another painting. Ruby came to the Phoenix Zoo when she was only seven months old. She was small but healthy. Every morning she had a shower. Then she ate hay and carrots for breakfast. As she grew older, however, Ruby seemed unhappy. The people at the zoo wanted Ruby to feel at home, so they built a large pen for her to stay in. It had lots of trees and green plants. They gave her logs and toys to play with. They even brought in other elephants so that the animals could play together. Ruby would not play with them and just stayed alone. One day Ruby s keeper saw her doing something unusual. The elephant held a stick in her trunk, moving it here and there in the dirt. Then she stepped back and looked at the lines she had made on the ground. She rubbed them out with her foot. Then she made new marks on the ground. Ruby did this several times. This gave her keeper an idea. The keeper gave Ruby a paintbrush. Ruby held it in her trunk. She scratched it around in the dirt. Then the keeper brought out some cardboard. Before long Ruby was sweeping the paintbrush across the cardboard. Finally the keeper gave Ruby some paints, but the jars were too small. It was hard for Ruby to dip the paintbrush into them, so the keeper did this for her. Holding the brush in her trunk, Ruby then moved it across the cardboard. Some of the paint splashed up on her trunk. But some of it went on the cardboard. Ruby had painted her first picture! Ruby painted from then on. When her keeper brought her art supplies, Ruby wiggled her ears and swung her tail. She also made little squeaking noises. Continued on next page Page 19

2 After a while her keeper set up a stand called an easel. Instead of cardboard, the easel held a large canvas. A canvas is a stiff cloth that artists paint on. Now Ruby could paint like a real artist. When Ruby paints, her keeper holds a tray with several different colors of paints. Ruby points to the color she wants. The keeper also shows Ruby the many different brushes. With the tip of her trunk, Ruby points to the one she wants. Then the keeper dips the brush into the paint. If the keeper dips the brush into the wrong color, Ruby will drop it in the dirt. She seems to prefer certain colors. Most often, she chooses to use red, blue, and yellow. People soon learned about Ruby s art. Many of them asked whether her paintings were for sale. The people at the zoo decided Ruby should have an art show. In April 1990 the zoo displayed more than 30 of Ruby s paintings. Many people came to look at them. All her paintings were sold. People paid hundreds, even thousands, of dollars for Ruby s art. The workers at the zoo decided not to keep the money. They gave the money to a special group of people who work to save the homes of elephants in the wild. The workers at the zoo were glad the money from This is one of Ruby s paintings. Ruby s paintings would benefit elephants far away. They thought that this was the best way to use the money. At first, painting was just a way for Ruby to have fun. But it became much more. It has become a way for Ruby to do something to save other elephants. Photos by Dick George, courtesy of Phoenix Zoo. 03ER0112I Page 20

3 25 A student is writing a summary of the article. Read the first two sentences below. Summary Ruby was an elephant. She learned to paint. Which pair of sentences best finishes the summary? Her keeper gave her hay every day. Ruby did not play with the other elephants. * People bought Ruby s paintings. The money she earned helped save other elephants. Her keeper holds up several brushes. Ruby points to the one she wants. She held the brush in her trunk. Some of the paint splashed on her trunk, but some landed on the cardboard. 03ER01309HZ I 26 The last sentence of paragraph 4 says This gave her keeper an idea. What was the keeper s idea? Ruby might be able to save other elephants. People could pay to watch Ruby make her marks. * Ruby might be able to learn to paint. Workers at the zoo could find a friend for Ruby. 27 In paragraph 8, the word prefer means to count quickly * like best remember give 03ER01305EZ I 03ER04309FA I Page 21

4 28 What is paragraph 5 mostly about? How Ruby holds a paintbrush Who brings the cardboard to Ruby * How Ruby learns to paint Why Ruby has trouble with the paint jars 30 In paragraph 3, which word means the opposite of together? toys pen logs * alone 03ER01308DZ I 03ER01309CZ I 29 Which idea from the article shows the reader that elephants may be able to see colors? * Ruby painted the yellow, blue, and pink the girl wore. Ruby s keeper dipped the brush into the paint for her. Some of the paint went on the cardboard. The keeper showed Ruby different brushes. 03ER04310CZ I Page 22

5 31 Below is a list of the steps Ruby followed in paragraph 4 when she began to draw Ruby made marks in the dirt. Ruby looked at the lines she had made. 32 One way Ruby s keeper helps her with her art is by holding the paintbrush while she paints deciding where to start each painting thinking of things to paint * dipping the brush into the paint 03ER01307BZ I 4. Ruby made new marks in the dirt. Which of these belongs beside the number 3? * Ruby rubbed the marks out with her foot. Ruby held a paintbrush in her trunk. Ruby picked up a stick from the ground. Ruby painted the colors a girl was wearing. 33 Ruby drops her paintbrush in the dirt to show that she * doesn t want that color of paint is thankful that the keeper is helping her can t hold the brush 03ER01307BZ I needs a bigger brush 03ER03309CZ I Page 23

6 34 Read the signs below to answer the following question Which sign was probably made by Ruby s zookeeper for the art show? Sign 1 Sign 2 * Sign 3 Sign 4 03ER04309FD I Page 24