PART THREE
Survive and Thrive
Anticipating the Issue
➢ How do you understand the title?
➢ What problems do you think will be raised in this unit?
➢ Are you concerned about pollution and the environment? To put it another way, how ‘green’ are you?
Raise the Issue
➢ What do you know about endangered species?
A Words in Context
1. Tick the word closest in meaning to that of the each boldfaced word. Use the context of the sentences to help you figure out each word’s meaning.
accelerate (v) The sun has an adverse effect on the skin. It accelerates the aging of the skin, resulting in more wrinkles at a younger age, and can also cause skin cancer, which can be lethal.
Accelerate means a. slow down b. keep pace c. speed up
advent (n) The advent of Euro redefined Europe.
Advent means a. introduction b. end c. change
annihilation (n) Indiscriminate usage of non-renewable resources is certain to cause annihilation of mankind.
Annihilation meansa. destruction b. progress c. status-quo
demise (n) Many scientists voice their anxiety about irreparable damage of the economic progress to the environment claiming that it entails inevitable demise of various species.
Demise meansa. proliferation b. death c. bringing-up
derive (v) We derive plasticsfrom oil. As a result, when prices go up, so do the prices of plastic products.
Derive means a. recognize b. get c. want
doom (n) Biologists predict doom for the whole mankind unless each of us cares more about the survival of our planet.
Doom means a. revival b. beginning c. failure
extinct (adj) Dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years.
Extinct means a. no longer existing b. uniquec. strong
havoc (n) Winter storms continued to wreak havoc for drivers.
Havoc means a. pleasure b. confusion c. idea
impending (adj) Just before the flood, I had a sense of impending disaster; I could tell that something bad was going to happen.
Impending means a. approaching b. important c. confusing
portend (v) There was a chain of strange events that portended some great disaster.
Portend means a. prevent b. be a sign of c. appear
schizophrenic (adj) If you have a schizophrenic attitude toward a problem, it means that you quickly change opinions about it or attitudes to it.
Schizophrenic means a. confident b. stable c. changing
somber (adj) Scientists usually make somber predictions about the future of the human race.
Somber means a. gloomy b. happy c. optimistic
Write the word next to its definition. The sentences in the previous exercise will help you decide on the meaning of each word.
………………. Receive from a source, get
………………. The end of smth that used to exist, death
………………. Complete and easy destruction
………………. Be a sign of
………………. The introduction of smth
………………. No longer in existence
………………. Dark in color, especially grey or black
………………. Speed up
………………. Frequently and suddenly changing opinions and attitudes, unreasonable
………………. About to happen; imminent
………………. A bad event, which cannot be avoided
………………. A situation in which there is a lot of confusion and damage
Using the answer line provided, complete each item below with the correct word from the box. Use each word once.
| Demise, somber, havoc, doom, portend, extinct, impending, annihilation, accelerating, advent, derive, schizophrenic |
Somewhere between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago, man's first clash with nature may have begun. Historians and philosophers agree that since the …………. of agriculture, human beings have had an effect on the natural habitatof many plant and animal species. As human populations have increased, so has the ………… of other living things: As many as 6,000 species are disappearing each year from deforestation, a number 10,000 times greater than before man appeared on the planet. In one day alone, say scientists, some 45 kinds of plants and animals will die. One year alone brings ……………. of some 17,500 species.
In 1977, the United States Congress took an important step to help the ever-increasing number of endangeredspecies; it passed a law known as the Endangered Species Act. Through this law, the government officially recognizes the right of all species to share life on the planet. The law mandates protection for "endangered species," those that may become……………., and "threatened species," those likely to become endangered in the near future. The act has already helped to save the grey wolf, the bald eagle, and the alligator from extinction. At the same time, the act has been powerful in altering or stopping many plans for land construction and development. For example, a highway-widening project in Illinois was rerouted in order to protect a rare plant, the prairie bush clover. The construction of a damwas stopped in Tennessee to protect a tiny endangered snail.
With the enforcement of the Endangered Species Act, some species have gained more public recognition than others. Pressure groups have pushed to protect those endangered animals that people love and adore. Elephants, whooping cranes, whales, and the spotted owl, for example, have received far more media attention than have the smaller, less known, and less attractive species that are also endangered. Of the 676 native American species that are threatened, only 24 or so have received attention; yet, it is the tiny species, such as bugs and bacteria, that keep the planet in balance, preventing the possibility of………... Scientists are becoming ever more concerned with the fact that without equal concern for these species, the planet’s biological diversitywill be destroyed, leaving us with a loss of potential new foods and drugs. Their forecast for the future of this planet is a ………….one.
On the other hand, some scientists argue that the extinction issue is being exaggerated, and that people are "crying wolf” by describing the loss of species as more alarming than it really is. They ……….. their arguments from history, which proves that every species will eventually become extinct. They argue that conservationist-scientists may be oversellingtheir case by creating fears of………... Evolution of species, they say, naturally involves the extinction of species; man has no control.
In addition, many people point to the fact that the world is already lacking in resources, food, and adequate health care. Concerned more with economic survival, they ask whether it is, in fact, realistic to make a fussover saving the elephant or other species that may become extinct many years from now, when people have families to feed tomorrow. They say that saving endangered species ………….. somewhat …………….. attitude to the problem as it interferes with or contradicts human goals. These people question a law that puts the continuance of lower forms of life above man’s own survival.
While the debate continues over how much effort should be made to save species from extinction, the addition of more species on the endangered species list at ever-…………. speed is…………., and many loggers, real estate developers, ranchers, and shrimpers find decreasing opportunities to make a living.
4. Summarize the issue presented in the text.
1. The issue (state in your own words):
2. Proponents' (of saving endangered species) arguments:
3. Opponents' (of saving endangered species) arguments:
B. Listening and Watching
² Listen to Jim Trefil’s commentary.
1. Check the statement that summarizes the commentator's viewpoint.
1. Because of man, many living things have become extinct.
2. The dangers of extinction may not be as serious as they are made out to be.
3. The extinction rate today is much more serious than it was in the past.
