Assignment C - Part 2.

i
Authentic Text
Check the Class Description and Notes on Part 2 on the assignment platform before you begin.
The text should be 500 - 700 words long. (4-5 minutes for listening texts).
In this document, provide a copy of the reading text or a transcript of the listening text you
have chosen.
Ensure the text is referenced, and if you have selected a listening text or video, provide a link.
If you choose a reading text, you can shorten and/or adapt it slightly.
Please supply a copy of the original and your adapted version.
If you have adapted the text, briefly explain the decisions you've made about changing the text
in section b) of the essay.
Highlight 12 vocabulary items (words or phrases) which would be useful to pre-teach.

You are on a hike through an expanse of old-growth forest in the Pacific Northwest. As you admire
the ancient green canopy overhead, your heart beats in tune with the life that exists here.
Suddenly, you stumble upon a rotting log covered in a foreign-looking growth: orange-tinged,
wrinkled, and porous. A feeling of disgust replaces the sense of connection you felt just a moment
before. The irony? You are actually more closely related to this fungus than you are to the trees
and other plants. The life form that you flinch away from is the very type from which you
descended.

1.3 billion years ago, the North American soil we currently occupy belonged to the massive
Rodinian supercontinent. The land was barren and rocky, as land plants had not yet evolved. A
singular, massive ocean that surrounded Rodinia teemed with the earliest forms of microbial life:
cyanobacteria, green algae, and fungi. A symbiotic relationship between these life forms was
ultimately responsible for our current atmospheric conditions and all life that has evolved —
including ourselves.

Fast-forward, to 500 million years ago and the Cambrian Explosion — the eruption of terrestrial
life. It was roughly during this time that we split from fungi. Fungi became multicellular and went
underground, while creaturely life hit the beach from the oceans.

Animals and fungi share more than half their DNA. Mushrooms, like us, inhale oxygen and exhale
carbon dioxide. The two kingdoms belong to the same trophic level. Unlike plants, neither fungi
nor animals are producers; instead each uses an external source for food energy. Some of today’s
most successful antibiotics (such as penicillin, which was derived from the Penicillium fungus)
were made possible due to our shared pathogens, as fungi don’t rot from bacteria. More
wonderful still, the basic reproductive structure of a fungus, the mycelium, involves a paradigm
that can be observed throughout the universe. Its network-like design mirrors that of dark matter,
neural connections in the brain, and even the human-created Internet.

© 2020 The TEFL Academy. All rights reserved. 1

Fungi reproduce by means of spores. When germinated, the spores produce a mass of thread-like,
single-cell-wide structures called hyphae — collectively known as mycelium. Often referred to as
the web of life, mycelial networks transport and deliver nutrients to other plants in need. Though
usually invisible to the human eye, mycelium is virtually omnipresent. It permeates nearly all land
masses on Earth: a single cubic inch of soil can contain more than 8 miles of mycelial cells. With
each step you take on your hike through the forest (or back yard), the sentient underground
mycelial mats spring to attention. Your small footstep evokes a breakdown of wood and other
organic material; the power source for the mycelium. The sensitive membranes respond
immediately in an attempt to collect nutritional debris.

More neural connections exist in a 1,000-acre mycelial mass than we have in our brains. The
network-like design of mycelium allows it to respond to catastrophe; the cell density and sensitivity
allows it to regulate new substances that it comes into contact with. Mycelium is in constant
communication with its surrounding ecosystem and thus is able to prevent predators from
consuming it. Clearly, the implications of common fungi don’t warrant the “mycophobia”
characteristic of current social attitudes.

Mycologist Paul Stamets calls mycelium the “Earth’s Natural Internet.”

“I believe the invention of the computer Internet is an inevitable consequence of a previously
proven biologically successful model. The Earth invented the computer internet for its own benefit,
and we, now, being the top organism on this planet, (are) trying to allocate resources in order to
protect the biosphere,” Stamets declared in a much-watched TED Talk titled Six Ways Mushrooms
Can Save The World. For Stamets, we need to engage our fungal allies in order to prevent a loss of
biodiversity.
Increasing numbers of independent studies are being carried out by Stamets and others who are
able to see an integrated future between humans and fungi. The results have been astounding, in
regard to both environmental bioremediation and pharmacological research.

One such experiment conducted by Stamets, demonstrates the remedial powers of mycelium. Four
piles of organic material were saturated with diesel and petroleum wastes. One acted as the
control pile and went untreated; one was treated with enzymes; another was treated with
bacteria; and the final was inoculated with mycelium. After six weeks, the pile of waste treated
with mycelium was the only one containing living oyster mushrooms. The spores of the newly
grown mushrooms attracted insects, which then laid eggs and attracted larvae as well as birds.
What started as a pile of oily waste became an oasis of life after its treatment with mycelium.
These results open up fungi’s extraordinary potential to naturally revitalize our increasingly
polluted world.

784 words
(Luce, 2018)

© 2020 The TEFL Academy. All rights reserved. 2

Original Article- The parts in bold are the ones that have been omitted without taking out vital
information or altering the integrity of the meaning the text carries.

If Mushrooms Could Talk

Jun 6, 2018 | Living World
By Emily Luce

You are on a hike through an expanse of old-growth forest in the Pacific Northwest. As you admire
the ancient green canopy overhead, your heart beats in tune with the life that exists here. Suddenly,
you stumble upon a rotting log covered in a foreign-looking growth: orange-tinged, wrinkled, and
porous. A feeling of disgust replaces the sense of connection you felt just a moment before. The
irony? You are actually more closely related to this fungus than you are to the trees and other
plants. The life form that you flinch away from is the very type from which you descended.

We are fungal bodies estranged from our roots, and a necessary reunion is slowly but surely
underway.

1.3 billion years ago, the North American soil we currently occupy belonged to the massive
Rodinian supercontinent. The land was barren and rocky, as land plants had not yet evolved. A
singular, massive ocean that surrounded Rodinia teemed with the earliest forms of microbial life:
cyanobacteria, green algae, and fungi. A symbiotic relationship between these life forms,
discovered only in the past few decades, was ultimately responsible for our current atmospheric
conditions and all life that has evolved — including ourselves.

Fast-forward, if you will, to 500 million years ago and the Cambrian Explosion — the eruption of
terrestrial life. It was roughly during this time that we split from fungi. Fungi became multicellular
and went underground, while creaturely life hit the beach from the oceans. As subterranean life
evolved, a tremendous species diversification occurred, resulting in 5 million known species of
fungi today.

While outer appearances obviously differ, animals and fungi share more than half their DNA.
Mushrooms, like us, inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide. The two kingdoms belong to the
same trophic level. Unlike plants, neither fungi nor animals are producers; instead each uses an
external source for food energy. Some of today’s most successful antibiotics (such as penicillin,
which was derived from the Penicillium fungus) were made possible due to our shared pathogens,
as fungi don’t rot from bacteria. More wonderful still, the basic reproductive structure of a fungus,
the mycelium, involves a paradigm that can be observed throughout the universe. Its network-like
design mirrors that of dark matter, neural connections in the brain, and even the human-created
Internet. As deep as fungi spiral into our planet’s past, so too do they offer exciting pathways
to a more earthy, sustainable future.

Fungi reproduce by means of spores. When germinated, the spores produce a mass of thread-like,
single-cell-wide structures called hyphae — collectively known as mycelium. Often referred to as
the web of life, mycelial networks transport and deliver nutrients to other plants in need. Though
usually invisible to the human eye, mycelium is virtually omnipresent. It permeates nearly all land
masses on Earth: a single cubic inch of soil can contain more than 8 miles of mycelial cells. And it
knows you are there. With each step you take on your hike through the forest (or back yard), the

© 2020 The TEFL Academy. All rights reserved. 3

sentient underground mycelial mats spring to attention. Your small footstep evokes a breakdown of
wood and other organic material; the power source for the mycelium. The sensitive membranes
respond immediately in an attempt to collect nutritional debris.

This system is so intelligent that a single North American fungus has achieved the title
of largest living organism in the world. In Eastern Oregon lies a 2,200-acre honey mushroom
mycelial mat that is almost 2,500 years old. More neural connections exist in a 1,000-acre
mycelial mass than we have in our brains. The network-like design of mycelium allows it to
respond to catastrophe; the cell density and sensitivity allows it to regulate new substances that it
comes into contact with. Mycelium is in constant communication with its surrounding ecosystem
and thus is able to prevent predators from consuming it. Clearly, the implications of common fungi
don’t warrant the “mycophobia” characteristic of current social attitudes.

Mycologist Paul Stamets has devoted his career to promoting a sustainable, mutually-
beneficial future between humans and their fungal ancestors. And as the Earth’s
environmental miseries mount, people are beginning to listen.

Stamets calls mycelium the “Earth’s Natural Internet.”

“I believe the invention of the computer Internet is an inevitable consequence of a previously
proven biologically successful model. The Earth invented the computer internet for its own benefit,
and we, now, being the top organism on this planet, (are) trying to allocate resources in order to
protect the biosphere,” Stamets declared in a much-watched TED Talk titled Six Ways Mushrooms
Can Save The World. For Stamets, we need to engage our fungal allies in order to prevent a loss of
biodiversity.
Increasing numbers of independent studies are being carried out by Stamets and others who are able
to see an integrated future between humans and fungi. The results have been astounding, in regard
to both environmental bioremediation and pharmacological research.

One such experiment conducted by Stamets, in cooperation with Battelle Memorial Institute
Laboratories, demonstrates the remedial powers of mycelium. Four piles of organic material were
saturated with diesel and petroleum wastes. One acted as the control pile and went untreated; one
was treated with enzymes; another was treated with bacteria; and the final was inoculated with
mycelium. After six weeks, the pile of waste treated with mycelium was the only one containing
living oyster mushrooms. According to Stamets, the other piles were “dark and stinky.” The
spores of the newly grown mushrooms attracted insects, which then laid eggs and attracted larvae as
well as birds.
What started as a pile of oily waste became an oasis of life after its treatment with mycelium.
Hydrocarbon levels went from 10,000 parts per million to less than 200 ppm. By contrast, the
other three piles remained toxic and lifeless. These results open up fungi’s extraordinary potential
to naturally revitalize our increasingly polluted world.

© 2020 The TEFL Academy. All rights reserved. 4