What species are threatened with extinction in other parts of the world?

2. What animals and plants are on the rescue list in your country\region?

Text 2. Animals disappearing from the face of the Earth.

Study the vocabulary:

a)

· shy · flightless · kiwi · to head towards · to endanger · conservationist · secure · discreet · nocturnal · mammal · predator · extinct   b) · bald · eagle · mascot · to remove · affection · to ban · insecticide

пугливый, робкий нелетающий киви, бескрыл(нелетающая птица) приближаться к подвергать опасности служащий заповедника безопасный осторожный ночной млекопитающее животное хищник вымерший   лысый, лишённый перьев орёл талисман удалять привязанность запрещать средство от насекомых

 

Read the following passages:

A)

The shy, flightless kiwi, which is New Zealand’s national symbol, is heading gradually towards extinction. Sadly all three species of Kiwi will go on the endangered species list. A recent survey shows that kiwis are disappearing rapidly from the forests where they have lived for thousands of years.

Ten years ago conservationists thought that kiwi’s future are secure. But today they warn that if the government does not act immediately, the kiwi may disappear in less than ten years.

Dogs, cats and Australian possums are rapidly reducing the numbers of this discreet, nocturnal bird. Human introduced these animals into New Zealand where no mammals lived until modern times. In the past there were probably millions of kiwis living in the vast forests. Their only predator was the large New Zealand eagle which itself became extinct thousands of years ago.

Zoos in New Zealand have several birds and these are only ones which most humans are ever likely to see. It would be extremely unfortunate if the national emblem of the country would go the same way as the great eagle.

 

B)

The majestic bald eagle has made an astonishing recovery. America’s patriotic mascot was close to extinction (1)…..(when). The government will (2)…..(how) remove it from the country’s list of endangered species.

The government declared the bald eagle to be the national symbol in 1782. But farmers felt little affection for the predator and they killed thousands of birds at the beginning of the last century.

The eagle was once a common sight (3)….(where). But chemical pesticides, deforestation a ns hunters reduced the number of birds to just 400 pairs in the early 1960s. the bald eagle became so rare that most Americans have only ever seen their national symbol in zoos or on the back of dollar bills.

In the 1960s the government banned the insecticide DDT and it became illegal to hunt the bird. The number of eagles increased (4)….(how). Today more than 8000 bald eagles live (5)….(where) in US.

 

COMPREHENSION

I. By reading passage B decide where these adverbs and adverbial phrases can go:

 

a) in the wild

b) 30 years ago

c) all over the United States

d) officially

e) rapidly

 

II Read the passage A again and underline all the adverbs and adverbial phrases.

 

III. Find out what the two species are what they have in common. Tick the correct statements.

ü They are both birds.

ü They are both in danger of extinction.

ü They disappeared from the face of the Earth.

ü They are both national symbols.

ü They are both rare because humans have hunted them.

ü Most people have only seen them in the zoo.

 

IV. Which animal or bird would you choose as the national symbol of your country? Why?

Read the texts and put the words from the boxes. You may have to make some small changes.

 

Operation tiger

 

create left remain save

Seventy years ago there were 100 000 tigers in the wild. Today there are not more than 8000…. In 1972 the World Wildlife Fund launched “Operation Tiger” to … the tigers that …. 18 tiger reserves have been… in India and 3 in Nepal.

 

The last thirty oryx

 

almost hunter natural rare survive wildlife zoo (twice)

By the 1970s…had killed…all of the Arabian oryx. The WWF helped to capture the last thirty …oryx and send them to Phoenix… in Arizona where a herd of these…animals has been built up. Other… and…parks have helped, and the oryx has been reintroduced into its…surroundings in Oman, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.