2
Exercise 1
Read
the following
opposite page.
articde about the Great Bamier Reef, and then
The Great Barrier Reef
Austrelia's Great Barrier Reef is one af
the world's most outstanding natural
wonders. The main part of the Bamier
Reef lies some 60 kilometres off the
easterm coast of Australie, and it takes 90
minutes by speed boat to reach it.
tour that brings you toa coral island
The open sea
Many cruise companies offer trips to the
Reef, and the cost generally includes
meals and talks from marine
experts as well as snorkelling
and scuba diving equipment
For an extra charge,
larger tour operators
also offer small
glass-bottom boats, which
provide you with a magnificent
glimpse of underwater life without
heving to get your feet wet.
You can easily learn the basic skills of
snorkelling. especially if you are
accompanied on a "snorkelling safari" by
experts in marine biology. They will give
you fascinating insights into coral ife.
Coral needs plenty of sunlight and grows
near the surface, so you may just be
satisfied with snorkelling on, or just below,
the surface, if you don't want to
scube-dive
But scuba-diving is an exciting experience
and well worth the effort. Once you are
underwater, you can see around 400
varieties of coral as well as thousands of
fish species, and larger creatures such as
answer the questions
turtdes or dolphins. Reef sharks are also a
common sight they are the size of a
human but relatively harmless.
Shallow waters
f you are not a strong swimmer, take a
rather than the open sea. There you can
fioat on the sparkling blue sea and look
down on orange and white striped
clownfish that swim slowly over the top o
the coral.
On land
Most of the islands that form the Barrier
Reef are covered in rainforest, and many
are now nationel parks. Here you will find
colourful butterflies and lizards. Heron
Island is particularty welknown for its
migrating green turtles, which arrive
between November and March and lay
their eggs in the sand.
They are quite
happy to do this
even though the
beach is very close to
human habitation.
Finally, 26 of the islands offer
accommodation and provide a good
aternative to staying on the mainland. It
means that you are closer to the Reef
itself (although it is still a boat journey
away), and the islands offer a full renge of
activities for those wanting to be
entertained on land as well as under
water.
 3

(a) Where exacty is the Great Barrier Reef?

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(b) Apart from equipment for water sports, what is included in the price of a trip to the
Reef? Give two details.

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c) How can you watch underwater life and still remain dry?

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(d) What is essential for the growth of coral?

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() Why might people prefer to visit a coral lsland rather than the open sea?

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( What is an advantage of staying on one of the islands?

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Total: 61
 A

Exercise 2

Read the following article about how human activity is threatening the natural world, and the
the questions on the opposite page.

MAKE ROOM FOR ALL SPECIES

Humans have more than doubled in number in half a century and that is why there is
less room for other species. People are taking other species' living space to grow their
food and taking other species' food to feed themselves. People are exploiting nature
trading in It and squeezing it to the edge of existence and beyond. Often the choice
is hard: should money be spent on saving species or on feeding people?
Recently the World Conservation Union said that more than 12.000 species faced the
risk of extinction. This includes one bird in eight, 13% of the wold's lowering plants and
25% of all mammals.
Trees help humans by absorbing carbon dioxide: this is the main greenhouse gas
given off by human activity. Many other species help keep humans alive. They purify
water, fix nitrogen, recyce nutrienis and waste, and pollinate crops. Plants andd
bacteria camy out photosynthesis, which produces the oxygen we breathe.
Number ofl endangered species
1000
800
600
400
200
0
AustIndonesi
U S
ralla a Mexico
u t n c i n
PhilippinJapan
india
a
es
Tropical cone snaills contain toxins which may well be able to treat some forms of
cancer and heart problems. One toxin may be a thousand times more powerful for pain
rellef than the drug morphine. But milions of cone snais are now killed annually for thelr
shels and their habitats are under threat. Most conservation effort aims at protecting
birds and mammals, creatures like the panda. yet it could be said that litle species are
just as important, lke soil mictobes. for example. They're the least known species of all.
Nature has its own design and human beings should respect this. In the Amazon
Rainforest, for example, brazil nuts grow extremely well but an experiment to produce
them in plantatio aled because the trees only produce a good crop in the forest
Take them out of the forest and they will not produce nuts. Even worse, people are not
just removing individual species from the region, Ihey are destroying the entire forest.
Researchers estimate that by 2020 less than 5% of it will remain untouched. By the
same date it is thought that about 20% of central Africa's forests will have gone, and
the forests of Indonesia are also disappearing fast.
Some species are not dsappearing. In 1953 there were about 2.5 billion human
beings, now there are more than 6 billon. However, humans must realise that
ensuring other species keep their living space is essential: it is the only way
that we too will ensure survival.
 (a) What is the main reason why other species are under threat of extinction?

(b) What could money be spent on? Give two options.

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(11

(c) What do plants and trees do that is essential to human life? Give two details.

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(d) Why might it be impossible to use cone snails to treat cancer patients? Give two
reasons.

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(e) According to the diagram, in which country are there 400 endangered species$?

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(0Why were no brazil nuts produced on plantations?

() How much of the Amazon Rainforest will stil be unaffected by human activity in 2020?

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(h) What evidence is there that at present humans are not facing extünction?

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Total: 10]