Every mountain top is

within reach if you

just keep climbing.
～Barry Finlay

The Natural World: Ielts C Lesson 8

Animal species Mammals Places to see animal Insects Endangered species

Speaking Q. Part 1:
1. Do you like animals?
2. What’s your favorite animal, why?
3. Are people in your country fond of animals?
4. What kinds of animals do people in your country keep as pets?
5. Are cities suitable places for keeping pets?
6. Do children in your country like animals?
7. What animal species are indigenous to Taiwan?
8. Have you ever seen an endangered animal before?

Phrases to start Part 3 with today:

From my point of view, … In my opinion, …
Personally, I believe… My own opinion on the matter is that…
From what I know to be true, … As far as I am concerned, …
To my knowledge, .... As far as I know, ...
Some people say that… I know some people think that…
As for the argument that… I’m not quite convinced that …(opposite view point)
I was told that …. I honestly don’t know much about this subject, but .
If I had to guess, then I would say ….
That is a complex and difficult question, …
Well, my best guess would be that …

Part 3: Topic discussion p.124 (Remember there are no right or wrong answers) Abstract
You are being tested on your language, not knowledge
1. In what ways are humans different from other animals?
2. What are the main roles of animals in your country?
3. Why is it important to conserve the world’s animal and plant species?
4. Which species are endangered in your country?
5. Do you think modern farming methods are cruel to animals?
6. Why do many people refuse to eat meat?
7. What are the arguments for and against keeping animals in zoos?
8. Why is it okay to eat some types of animals but inappropriate to eat others?
a. Is there anything that you wouldn't eat? why?

http://www.endangeredearth.com/
 Every mountain top is
within reach if you
just keep climbing.
～Barry Finlay

The Natural World: Ielts C Lesson 8

The Jaguar – an Endangered Species

THE PLIGHT OF ENDANGERED SPECIES:
There are now 41,415 species on the IUCN Red List, and 16,306 of them are endangered species threatened with extinction. This
is up from 16,118 last year. This includes both endangered animals and endangered plants.
The species endangered include one in four mammals, one in eight birds, one third of all amphibians and 70% of the world’s
assessed plants on the 2007 IUCN Red List are in jeopardy of extinction. The total number of extinct species has reached 785 and
a further 65 are only found in captivity or in cultivation. In the last 500 years, human activity has forced over 800 species into
extinction.
The current rate of extinction appears to be hundreds, or perhaps even thousands, of times higher than the background rate. It is
difficult to be precise because most of the endangered species which are becoming disappearing species have never been
identified by scientists.
Extinctions are a natural part of evolutionary processes, but through most of the history of life on Earth, biological diversity has
been increasing.
Periodically, however, major changes in the conditions on Earth have caused the collapse of living systems, and large percentages
of species have become extinct. These species will never return. It takes millions of years for life forms to diversify again.
The current extinction crisis is unique, in that the loss of biodiversity is occurring very rapidly, and the causes of the crisis are the
activities of a single species: human beings. Some scientists believe the current crisis began when humans and their domestic
animals first began to colonize various parts of the globe.
Others believe it began around 1600, when human population growth exploded, and the level of per capita resource consumption
began to rise dramatically in some parts of the world.
Of the species that are best known, the so-called “higher animals,” more than one percent have become extinct in the last 400
years and the overwhelming majority of these extinctions are anthropogenic. Many more species are becoming endangered species
and therefore in danger of becoming extinct if we do not act quickly to conserve all of them.