17-05-2016 15:00

After 145 years as the centrepiece of the Ringling Brothers’ Circus, the show’s last 11 elephants arrived at a conservation centre in Florida. They are there to officially retire. They spent most of their lives in front of crowds of people. Now, it is time for a well-earned rest.

Fewer than 40,000 elephants remain in the wild. Two hundred and fifty are in captivity in the United States, 39 of which are now at the 200-acre centre in Florida.

Difficult words: centrepiece (the most important part of something), conservation centre (a place where animals can live safely), captivity (not in the wild).

You can read the original story and watch the video in the Level 3 section.