Everybody likes [a / the] birthday. Some people live long [enough / plenty] to have 120 of them. The world's oldest land animal has just [celebration / celebrated] his 190th birthday. The animal is a Seychelles giant turtle called Jonathan. [Zoologists / Zoology] believe he was [born / birth] 1832, but there are no [officially / official] records of his birth. Some scientists think Jonathan might [actual / actually] be ten years older. He could be as old as 200. Jonathan was born in the Seychelles. He was taken [to / at] the British overseas territory of St Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean in 1882 as a gift for the St Helena governor. Jonathan was born before Britain's Queen Victoria [got / became] queen, and before the invention at / of] the postage stamp, Morse code, refrigeration, and the gun.
Jonathan's [vest / vets] say he had a good birthday. There was a three-day party for [his / him] . Chefs made him a special tortoise birthday cake that was full [of / at] his favourite vegetables. St Helena also [launched / lunched] a set of special postage stamps to celebrate his birthday. Unfortunately, Jonathan did not [get / look] to see any of the celebrations because he is blind. He also has no [cents / sense] of smell. However, he has an excellent sense of [hearing / hear] , so he could hear "Happy Birthday" being sung. Jonathan's vet, Joe Hollins, said the giant tortoise still has plenty [on / of] energy. He also likes to relax in the sun. Mr Hollins said: "On [mild / mid] days, he will sunbathe - his long neck and legs stretched fully out of his shell to absorb [heat / cold] and transfer it to his core."
