Exercise 1
1. Listen to three teenagers talking about three of the animals. What problems does each person mention?
2. Complete the sentences with the words in the box. Then listen again and check.
|
creatures crops endangered environment habitat humans hunting jungle landscape population rainforest |
1 This problem is as serious as saving the …………… .
2 The …………… of honey bees today is far lower than it used to be.
3 Bees and other insects help our …………… to grow in the fields.
4 Some people say that the bluefin tuna is one of the tastiest living …………… in the sea.
5 Well, this large fish is also ……………, probably more so.
6 The balance of the ocean …………… will be damaged forever.
7 This is all due to the actions of …………… .
8 Besides ……………, tigers are facing another challenge.
9 The …………… where they live is changing, as more and more trees are cut down.
10 The areas of …………… are getting smaller.
11 Their …………… is decreasing all the time.
Answer & Audioscript
1
Daniel: The population of honeybees is lower than it used to be, and because they help our crops to grow, this means there won’t be as many plants and flowers, and food will be more expensive.
Ruth: The bluefin tuna is endangered because of overfishing. If we don’t stop this, the balance of the ocean environment will be damaged forever.
Tommy: 95% of tigers have disappeared, and the area of the jungle where they live is getting smaller.
2
1 rainforest 2 population 3 crops 4 creatures
5 endangered 6 environment 7 humans 8 hunting
9 landscape 10 jungle 11 habitat
Audioscript
Daniel: Everyone knows that bees make honey, and I love honey! But it’s not just about saving something sweet and tasty. This problem is as serious as saving the rainforest. It’s really important. Why is that? Well, you see, the population of honey bees today is far lower than it used to be, even a few years ago. And why does that matter? Well, because bees and other insects help our crops to grow in the fields. Besides, if there weren’t any bees, we wouldn’t have nearly as many plants and flowers. If bees disappeared completely, we would all suffer and our food would be more expensive.
Ruth: Some people say that the bluefin tuna is one of the tastiest living creatures in the sea. But you wouldn’t eat a tiger, would you? Well, this large fish is also endangered, probably more so. It is overfished, because it’s such a popular ingredient in sushi and other dishes. If we don’t stop this soon, the balance of the ocean environment will be damaged forever. There are other kinds of tuna besides the bluefin that we can eat instead and these exist in bigger numbers, so why don’t we eat those?
Tommy: Over the last hundred years, at least ninety-five percent of tigers living in the wild have disappeared. There could be as few as 3,200 left today. This is all due to the actions of humans. Besides hunting, tigers are facing another challenge. The landscape where they live is changing, as more and more trees are cut down for wood, and the areas of jungle are getting smaller. Their habitat is decreasing all the time. This is serious because animals die out if they have nowhere to live. However, many things are happening at long last to protect tigers and increase their numbers, so by the next Year of the Tiger in 2022 we could all have better news.
Exercise 2
1. You will hear a video call between two teenagers, Lola and Pete. What do they have to do for their homework?
2. Listen again and answer the questions.
1 Why is the first animal they talk about endangered?
2 Why doesn’t Lola think they should include tigers in their presentation?
3 What are marine animals? Why does Pete think they should talk about them?
4 What do they decide to do at the beginning of their presentation?
5 What three animals do they decide to include in their presentation?
Answer & Audioscript
1
Prepare a project on endangered species.
2
1 Humans are destroying its habitat.
2 Lola wants to focus on animals that have something in common.
3 Marine animals live in water for most of their life. Pete thinks people need to know about these animals too.
4 Start by explaining what ‘endangered’ means.
5 turtle, whale and seal
Audioscript
Pete: Hey Lola! Cool, I can see you now. So have you found any good photos for the project yet?
Lola: Well, I’m looking but there are some that really aren’t great. I’m sending you one now. It’s a blue whale.
Pete: OK. Oooh, that’s nice. We could definitely use that. It’s beautiful.
Lola: And that’s the tragedy. This animal is definitely on the endangered list.
Pete: I missed that. Can you repeat that please?
Lola: It’s on the endangered list.
Pete: Why?
Lola: It’s because of humans. We’re destroying their habitat by fishing and their numbers are falling quickly.
Pete: That’s right, I read about that. OK, we could also include tigers?
Lola: We could, but why don’t we concentrate on something that they all have in common.
Pete: OK, so do you want to do marine animals?
Lola: Sorry, I don’t understand.
Pete: Animals that live in water for most of their life.
Lola: Ah, I see.
Pete: People always think about tigers and pandas, but some of the most endangered animals live in the sea. I think we should talk about these animals, so that people know that we need to protect them too.
Lola: Oh yes, that’s a good idea. But going back to endangered animals, what do we mean by that? I means are we …
Pete: Here … I’m sending you a photo of a turtle now. Sorry, what were you going to say?
Lola: So, are we going to define ‘endangered’?
Pete: Yes, we should do that. We should start by saying what endangered means, and then show some examples of endangered animals.
Lola: Do you mean we’re going to show the pictures using the projector?
Pete: Yes, we can show the pictures while we’re talking.
Lola: Cool. Remember we can only have three photos though.
Pete: Yes, that’s true. We have the turtle and the whale, which means we can choose one more animal.
Lola: When I was online earlier I found an amazing picture of a koala climbing up a tree in Australia. It looks so cute!
Pete: That’s a nice photo, but koalas don’t live in the sea. Like I said before, I think we should just talk about marine animals. What about a seal? There’s a species of seal that lives in the sea around Hawaii and is endangered. They’re also really cute.
Lola: Awesome! Let’s include that then. On a completely different subject, what are you doing this weekend?
Exercise 3
1. Listen to Sonia giving a presentation to her class. Tick (✓) the topics that she talks about.
1 when the eagle became a national symbol
2 where the bald eagle lives in winter
3 how Sonia feels about the bald eagle
4 why bald eagle became endangered
5 some other animals that people suggested
6 how a famous man felt about the bald eagle
7 how the bald eagle usually gets its food
2. Listen again. Answer the questions.
1 When did the bald eagle become a national symbol?
2 Why does Sonia think the eagle is a symbol of freedom?
3 When was the bald eagle more common: now or in the eighteenth century?
4 What mistake can you find on some old ten-dollar coins?
5 Why didn’t Benjamin Franklin want the bald eagle as a national symbol?
6 How does Sonia feel about the bald eagle and what it symbolises?
Answer & Audioscript
1
She talks about topics 1, 3, 6 and 7.
2
1 1782
2 It can fly away into the air from the tops of mountains.
3 in the 18th century
4 There are golden eagles rather than bald eagles.
5 He said they were birds of bad character, who steal their food from other birds.
6 She think it’s a magnificent bird and a great symbol.
Audioscript
Sonia: Hello, everyone. It’s my turn today to give a presentation of my project, which is called ‘The bald eagle: symbol of the free and the brave’. Obviously my project is about the bald eagle, the symbol of the United States, our country, but I’m going to talk about the symbol rather than the bird itself. This is a bald eagle, on the screen now. The bald eagle ahs been the symbol of our country for over 200 years. It was chosen in 1782 because it’s known for its long life and for being a strong animal, and of course it looks so beautiful. Perhaps more than this, though, it is a symbol of freedom, of a free country, in the way that it can fly away into the air from the tops of mountains, as you can see here. Of course, in the 18th century, the bald eagle was very common and could often be seen in the sky. It isn’t as common now, but at least it isn’t in danger any more.
So, where can you see images of the bald eagle? It appears on several of our coins, on postage stamps and also on some old flags. Look carefully, though – there have been mistakes on some coins, in particular ten-dollar coins, and they have actually got pictures of golden eagles on them – a totally different bird! You could see if you have any coins with the wrong bird in your pocket.
Although we welcome the bald eagle as our national symbol now, it was not a totally popular choice when it was made. Benjamin Franklin, in particular, one of the fathers of our country, hated the idea of the bald eagle becoming our national animal, because, in his opinion, bald eagles are birds of bad character, who don’t get their living (I think that means their food) honestly – they’re too lazy to catch fish for themselves, so they wait until other birds have caught fish and then they go steal it from them.
Well, whatever Franklin thought, I think the bald eagle is a magnificent bird, and a great symbol of our country. Thank you.
Exercise 4
1. You will hear a conversation between a boy and a girl who attended an exhibition which displayed photos a-c in a competition. Tick the topics.
the number of people there
rainforests
different types of camera
people changing photos
features of a good photograph
how to take a good photograph
2. Listen to the conversation again. Decide whether each sentence is true (T) or false (F).
1 Lindsay found the exhibition too crowded.
2 Ben enjoyed the photos that were taken in a hot, wet place.
3 Lindsay thought that the best picture was a water scene.
4 Ben suggests that Lindsay’s favourite photo was changed in some way.
5 Lindsay thinks the desert picture was an original subject.
6 Both Ben and Lindsay are excited to find out who will win the competition.
Answer & Audioscript
1 Ticked: the number of people there, rainforest, people changing photos, features of a good photograph
2 1 F 2 F 3 T 4 T 5 T 6 T
Audioscript
Ben: What a great idea for an exhibition – using photos to show how our planet is changing!
Lindsay: I know! I loved it, even if it was a bit busy – there was still enough space to look at the photographs. Weren’t they awesome?!
Ben: Yeah! I can’t stop thinking about the scenes from the rainforest – they were on the left as we went in.
Lindsay: I didn’t like those so much, but I loved the photo of the bird with the fish in its mouth, just as it was coming out of the lake – the image of the drops falling from the fish was amazing. I thought it was a really strong photo – in fact, I didn’t see anything else as good as that in the exhibition.
Ben: I don’t agree. It was a great photo of the bird, but I don’t think it showed anything about our changing planet. Besides, the competition clearly said that the photographs shouldn’t be edited – you know, on the computer. I don’t think the water looked real.
Lindsay: I’m not sure about that … Anyway, did you like the photo of the desert landscape?
Ben: Well, yes and no. I liked the idea, you know, the evening light on the sand, but I didn’t think it was that original.
Lindsay: Oh, I don’t know about that – it was taken in such a remote area, hardly anyone’s likely to have that same photo!
Ben: Maybe you’re right. So, when do they announce the winner?
Lindsay: On the last day of the exhibition. Can’t wait to see which photo wins!
Ben: Me neither!
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