ENS

Level-graded English lessons with reading, listening, activities, and discussion.

Lesson Info

Type
Article
Level
2 / A2
Published
Title
Missing Giraffe in Texas
Webpage
https://eslnewsstories.com/articles/2026-06-25-missing-giraffe-in-texas/

Lesson Content

Warm-up, Vocab List, Reading and Audio

Understanding: Main Idea, True or False, Put Events in Order, Multiple Choice

Language: Vocab Match

Use It: Discussion Builder, Sentence Unscramble, Discussion Questions

Answers

Think Ahead: Which detail do you think appears in this story?

a) People find a giraffe near a busy city.

b) People search for a giraffe from the air.

c) People move a giraffe to a zoo.

A giraffe tries to hide behind a large rock formation in the Texas Hill Country, with its head, body, legs, and tail still partly visible in a wide, vintage-style landscape.
Has anybody seen a giraffe?

Ask: (1) What's your favorite animal? (2) Who is the tallest person you know?

Vocab List

remote (adj.) — Far away from towns or cities.
reward (n.) — Money given for help or useful information.
searcher (n.) — A person looking for someone or something.
ranch (n.) — A large farm, often with animals.
helicopter (n.) — An aircraft with blades that turn on top.
leaf (n.) — A green part of a plant or tree.
report (v.) — To give information about something that happened.
escape (v.) — To get away from a place.
Reading

A giraffe named Gracie is missing in Texas. She escaped from a ranch in Texas nearly two weeks ago. Gracie is about three years old and as tall as a small tree.

It may sound strange that such a tall animal can disappear. But Gracie is in a very remote area with many trees, rocks, and hills. Searchers have looked for her by helicopter, but they still have not found her.

A few people have reported seeing Gracie. However, by the time searchers arrived, she was already gone. The ranch is now offering a $5,000 reward for information.

The ranch owner says people do not need to worry. Gracie is far from towns and is not usually near people. She can probably find enough food because giraffes eat leaves and other plants.

Animals sometimes go missing in this part of Texas. In the past, people have looked for zebras, monkeys, and water buffalo. Sometimes they find the animals, and sometimes they do not.

Now searchers are trying to find Gracie. She is tall enough to stand above many animals, but in the trees and hills of Texas, she is still hard to see.

Missing Giraffe in Texas

Level 2 Article Source: apnews.com
Warm-up → or → Check Understanding → Language → Use It

A giraffe tries to hide behind a large rock formation in the Texas Hill Country, with its head, body, legs, and tail still partly visible in a wide, vintage-style landscape.
Has anybody seen a giraffe?

A giraffe named Gracie is missing in Texas. She escaped from a ranch in Texas nearly two weeks ago. Gracie is about three years old and as tall as a small tree.

It may sound strange that such a tall animal can disappear. But Gracie is in a very remote area with many trees, rocks, and hills. Searchers have looked for her by helicopter, but they still have not found her.

A few people have reported seeing Gracie. However, by the time searchers arrived, she was already gone. The ranch is now offering a $5,000 reward for information.

The ranch owner says people do not need to worry. Gracie is far from towns and is not usually near people. She can probably find enough food because giraffes eat leaves and other plants.

Animals sometimes go missing in this part of Texas. In the past, people have looked for zebras, monkeys, and water buffalo. Sometimes they find the animals, and sometimes they do not.

Now searchers are trying to find Gracie. She is tall enough to stand above many animals, but in the trees and hills of Texas, she is still hard to see.

Speaker: American Male  Duration: 1:49  YouTube

Listen Closely

Listen and Fill Gaps

Listen to the audio on eslnewsstories.com and complete the gaps below:

A giraffe named Gracie is missing in Texas. She escaped from a ranch in Texas nearly two (1) ago. Gracie is about three years old and as tall as a small tree.

It may sound strange that such a tall animal can disappear. But Gracie is in a very (2) area with many trees, rocks, and hills. Searchers have looked for her by helicopter, but they still have not found her.

A few people have reported seeing Gracie. However, by the time (3) arrived, she was already gone. The ranch is now offering a $5,000 reward for information.

The ranch owner says people do not need to worry. Gracie is far from towns and is not usually near people. She can probably find enough (4) because giraffes eat leaves and other plants.

Animals sometimes go missing in this part of Texas. In the past, people have looked for zebras, monkeys, and water buffalo. Sometimes they find the animals, and sometimes they do not.

Now searchers are trying to find Gracie. She is tall enough to stand above many animals, but in the trees and hills of Texas, she is still hard to (5) .

Listen and Fill Gaps

Loading listening activity...

Discussion Builder

  1. Q: Why does the ranch owner say people do not need to worry?

    A:

  3. Q: If you saw Gracie, what would you do?

    A:
Use It

Discussion Builder

Choose the best phrase for each gap:

  1. Q: Why does the ranch owner say people do not need to worry?

    A: People do not need to worry Gracie is far from towns.

    because / so / but

    People do not need to worry because Gracie is far from towns.

  2. Gracie is very tall, she is still hard to see in that area.

    and / but / so

    Gracie is very tall, but she is still hard to see in that area.

  3. Q: If you saw Gracie, what would you do?

    A: I would stay far away from Gracie. , I would call the ranch.

    Also / But / I think

    I would stay far away from Gracie. Also, I would call the ranch.

Sentence Unscramble

Sentence Unscramble

  1. A. ranches B. animals leave C. more food. D. when they want E. I think

    I think animals leave ranches when they want more food.

  2. A. like a good place B. Texas seems C. for Gracie D. space. E. because it has

    Texas seems like a good place for Gracie because it has space.

Discussion Questions
  1. Have you seen a giraffe in real life? What was it like?
  2. Why do animals sometimes walk away from farms or ranches?
  3. Why does the ranch owner say people do not need to worry?
  4. Do you think helicopters are useful for this search? Why or why not?
  5. If you saw Gracie, what would you do?
  6. Is the $5,000 reward a good idea? Why or why not?
  7. Do you think Gracie can live safely by herself for a while? Why?
  8. Texas is famous for big things. Is Texas a good place for Gracie to live?

Discussion Questions

  1. Have you seen a giraffe in real life? What was it like?
  2. Why do animals sometimes walk away from farms or ranches?
  3. Why does the ranch owner say people do not need to worry?
  4. Do you think helicopters are useful for this search? Why or why not?
  5. If you saw Gracie, what would you do?
  6. Is the $5,000 reward a good idea? Why or why not?
  7. Do you think Gracie can live safely by herself for a while? Why?
  8. Texas is famous for big things. Is Texas a good place for Gracie to live?

Answers Missing Giraffe in Texas / Level 2

Listening: (1) weeks, (2) remote, (3) searchers, (4) food, (5) see

Main Idea: A missing giraffe is hard to find in Texas.

True or False:

  1. True. The story says she escaped from a ranch in Texas nearly two weeks ago.
  2. False. The story says teams looked for her by helicopter, but they still have not found her.
  3. True. The owner says Gracie is far from towns and is not usually near people.

Multiple Choice: b, c, a

Put Events in Order:

  1. Gracie escaped from a ranch in Texas.
  2. Searchers looked for Gracie by helicopter.
  3. People reported seeing Gracie.
  4. Searchers arrived, but Gracie was already gone.

Vocabulary:

  1. Remote (adj): Far away from towns or cities.
  2. Searcher (n): A person looking for someone or something.
  3. Helicopter (n): An aircraft with blades that turn on top.
  1. Reward (n): Money given for help or useful information.
  2. Escape (v): To get away from a place.

Discussion Builder:

Hints: 1) Reason. 2) Contrast. 3) Addition.

  1. because
  2. but
  3. Also

Sentence Unscramble:

  1. I think animals leave ranches when they want more food.
  2. Texas seems like a good place for Gracie because it has space.

eslnewsstories.com