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Read the article below and complete the tasks for your assignment. The Dodo Bird 1 The Dodo (Raphus cucullatus) is an extinct, flightless bird that was endemic to the Mascarene island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, where it (0)lived undisturbed for so long that it lost its need and ability to (1)fly. It lived and nested on the ground and ate fruits that had fallen from trees. There were no mammals on the island and a high diversity of bird species lived in the dense forests.

The Dodo was about one meter tall, and may have weighed approximately 1018 kg in the wild. Its external appearance is now evidenced only by paintings and written accounts from the 17th 10 century. Because these vary considerably, and because only a few (2)sketches are known to have been drawn from specimens in the wild, its true physical appearance remains a mystery. Similarly, little about its habitat and behavior is known with certainty. It has been depicted with brownish-gray plumage, yellow feet, a tuft of 15 tail feathers, a gray-colored, naked head, and a black, yellow, and green beak. It used gizzard stones to (3)help digest its food, which is thought to have included fruits, and its main habitat is believed to have been the woods in the drier coastal areas of Mauritius. It is 20 presumed that the Dodo became flightless because of the ready availability of abundant food sources and a relative absence of predators on Mauritius. In 1505, the Portuguese became the first humans to set foot on Mauritius. The island quickly became a stopover for ships engaged in the (4)spice trade. After that time, the bird was preyed upon by hungry sailors, their domesticated animals, and other invasive species introduced during that time. Later, when the Dutch used the island as a penal colony, pigs and monkeys were brought to the island along with the (5)convicts. Many of the ships that came to Mauritius also had uninvited rats aboard, some of which escaped onto the island. Before humans and other mammals arrived the dodo bird had little to fear from predators. The rats, pigs and monkeys preyed upon vulnerable dodo bird eggs in the ground nests. The combination of human exploitation and (6)introduced species significantly reduced dodo bird populations. Within 100 years of the arrival of humans on Mauritius, the once abundant dodo bird became a rare bird. The last dodo bird was killed in 1681. Although the tale of the dodo bird's demise is (7)well documented, no complete specimens of the bird were preserved;
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there are only fragments and sketches. The dodo bird is just one of the bird species driven to extinction on Mauritius. Many others were lost in the 19th century when the dense Mauritian forests were converted into tea and sugar plantations. Of the 45 bird species originally found on Mauritius, only 21 have managed to survive. 7 Although the dodo bird became extinct in 1681, its story is not over. We are just beginning to understand the effects of its extinction on the ecosystem. 8 Recently a scientist noticed that a certain species of tree was becoming quite rare on Mauritius. In fact, he noticed that all 13 of the remaining trees of this species were about 300 years old. No new trees had germinated since the late 1600s. Since the average life (8)span of this tree was about 300 years, the last members of the species were extremely old. They would soon die, and the species would be extinct. Was it just a coincidence that the tree had stopped reproducing 300 years ago and that the dodo bird had become extinct 300 years ago? No. It turns out that the dodo bird ate the fruit of this tree, and it was only by (9)passing through the dodo's digestive system that the seeds became active and could grow. Now, more than 300 years after one species became extinct, another was to follow as a direct consequence. Will more follow? Luckily, some creative people discovered that domestic turkey gullets sufficiently (10)mimic the action of the dodo bird's digestive system. They have used turkeys to begin a new generation of the tree, which is now called the dodo tree. If these seedlings survive to produce their own seeds, the species will be saved.

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Adapted from: bagheera.com/inthewild/ext_dodobird.htm TASK 1: GRAMMAR (20%) Identify the class of the words given below (as given in the text) and another possible class for the words . Construct a sentence each to show the difference. You may change the form of the words. e.g.
NO WORDS WORD CLASS SENTENCES

lived (line1)

verb

She lives in Sungai Petani.

APPENDIX A live
NO WORDS

adjective
WORD CLASS

She loved to be surrounded by live animals

SENTENCES

1.

fly (line 4)

verb adjective

The bird has a broken wing and can't fly. I want to pass the exam with flying colours. A sculptor might model threedimensional sketches in clay or plasticine. He has sketched the plan of the bank for his next robbery This medicine should help your headache. You could use my help with this. He always spices his cooking with lots of chili powder. He likes to put extra spice in his cooking He was convicted of armed robbery and sent to prison. The police managed to arrest the escaped convict. This pamphlet will introduce you to the basic aims of our society. I have a good introduction for this course during the orientation week. He took it well when I told him he wasn't on the team. She is not well Young children have a short attention span. He managed to span in advertising company for only two months. It was only by passing through the next door that u could get access to the

2. sketches (line 12)

noun

verb 3. verb noun 4. spice (line 25) verb noun 5. verb noun 6. verb noun 7. adverb adjective 8. span (line 55) noun verb 9. passing (line 61) verb

help (line 17)

convicts(line 30)

introduced (line 35)

well (line 40)

APPENDIX A vault. adjective

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I stopped a passing car and asked for help. She always mimics the teachers. She makes a funny mimic on the stage

mimic (line 66)

verb noun

TASK 2: READING (30%) Read the text in Appendix A and answer the questions that follow.
1. Why do you think the Dodo bird lost its need and ability to fly? Provide

two reasons. (4 marks)

Dodo bird has lost its need and ability to fly is because of they have lived undisturbed for so long. They have lived for so long without using their flying ability; therefore as time passed by this ability will fade from generations to generations. I also believed that Dodo bird have lost its need to fly due to the fact that It lived and nested on the ground and ate fruits that had fallen from trees. Its lives in a condition where it does not have to fly to find food or home; therefore there is no need for the Dodo bird to fly.

2. Give five features of the Dodo bird. (10 marks)

Dodo bird is an extinct, flightless bird that was endemic to the Mascarene island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, where it lived undisturbed for so long that it lost its need and ability to fly. It lived and nested on the ground and ate fruits that had fallen from trees. The Dodo was about one meter tall, and may have weighed approximately 1018 kg in the wild. Moreover, it has been depicted with brownishgray plumage, yellow feet, a tuft of tail feathers, a gray-colored, naked head, and a black, yellow, and green beak. It used gizzard stones to help digest its food, which is thought to have included fruits, and its main habitat is believed to have been the woods in the drier coastal areas of Mauritius. Besides, Dodo became flightless because of the ready availability of abundant food sources and a relative absence of predators on Mauritius.

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3. Who were responsible for the extinction of the Dodo bird? Give your

reasons. (6 marks)

Humans are responsible for the extinction of the Dodo bird. This is due to the fact that the combination of human exploitation and introduced species significantly reduced dodo bird populations. Humans are also responsible because within 100 years of the arrival of humans on Mauritius, the once abundant dodo bird became a rare bird. The arrival of humans in its habitat has increases the terror to the dodo birds which they have not face before.

4. Does the extinction of the bird have any effect? Briefly explain the

effects. (8 marks)

The extinction of Dodo birds brings several effects to the ecosystem. It affects an extinction of certain species of tree. Recently a scientist noticed that a certain species of tree was becoming quite rare on Mauritius. It turns out that the dodo bird ate the fruit of this tree, and it was only by passing through the dodo's digestive system that the seeds became active and could grow. Therefore, the extinction of Dodo birds could lead to the extinction of this rare species of tree. Luckily, some creative people discovered that domestic turkey gullets sufficiently mimic the action of the dodo bird's digestive system. They have used turkeys to begin a new generation of the tree, which is now called the dodo tree.

5. What is the topic sentence for paragraph 8? (2 marks)

The tree had stopped reproducing 300 years ago and that the dodo bird had become extinct 300 years ago.

TASK 3: WRITING (50%)

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Read the article and write an essay by giving your opinion on the issue of extinction. Provide a title for your essay.

Task 3 : Massive extinctions have occurred five times during the earth's history, the last one was the extinction of the dinosaurs, 65 million years ago. Scientists are calling what is occurring now, the sixth mass extinction. The loss of species is about losing the very web of life on Earth. People trying to save critical habitat have been dismissed or ridiculed as sentimental treehuggers who want to save the spotted owls, even if it costs jobs. Most Americans have little idea of the magnitude of the problem. Although they are uncertain of the numbers, most scientists believe the rate of loss is greater now than at any time in the history of the Earth. Within the next 30 years as many as half of the species on the earth could die in one of the fastest mass extinctions in the planet's 4.5 billion years history. Dr Leakey, author of "The Sixth Extinction," believes that 50% of the earth's species will vanish within 100 years and that such a dramatic and overwhelming mass extinction threatens the entire, complex fabric of life, including Homo sapiens, the species responsible for the crisis. The problem is not just the loss of species. There is also the loss of the genetic diversity within species, as well as the loss of diversity of different types of ecosystems, which can contribute to or hasten whole species extinction. Preserving the wider gene pool diversity in subdivisions of species, such as subspecies and populations, offers the raw material for the evolution of new species in the future.

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Scientists have identified the key causes of the crisis. In particular, the loss of species is caused by as the growing size of human populations, and the rate at which humans consume resources and cause changing climate.

Global Warming and the Loss of Species At the end of the Permian period, 251 million years ago, global warming caused the worst mass extinction in the history of the planet. That time a six-degree C. increase in the global temperature was enough to kill up to 95 per cent of the species that were alive on Earth. This extinction is called the "Great Dying."Gigantic volcanic eruptions caused this warming by triggering a "runaway greenhouse effect" that nearly put an end to life on Earth. Conditions in what geologists have termed a "post-apocalyptic greenhouse" were so severe that only one large land animal was left alive, and fewer than one in 10 species survived. Global warming is already affecting species: migration is accelerating, the timing of the seasons is changing, and animals are migrating, hatching eggs, and bearing young on average five days earlier than they did at the start of the 20th century. In addition, some butterflies have shifted northward in Europe by thirty to sixty miles or more, species ranges are shifting toward the poles at some four miles a decade, amphibians were spawning earlier, and plants are flowering earlier. If were already seeing such dramatic changes among species, its really pretty frightening to think what we might. Habitat Loss as a Cause of the Loss of Species Other than global warming, the greatest threat to biodiversity is habitat loss and fragmentation by deforestation and urbanization. Urbanization has dramatically increased the rate of habitat loss and change. Sprawling development is consuming land at a rate of five or more times the rate of population growth, destroying wildlife habitat and degrading
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water quality. Dredging, draining, bulldozing, and paving the land for housing developments, malls, business parks, and new roads, all destroy habitat. For example, in Maryland, 10 years ago every new person added to the state accounted for the loss of 1/3 acre of land; now, every new person causes the loss of 2/3 acre.

Biological resources are degraded and lost through development activities like large-scale clearing and burning of forests, over-harvesting of plants and animals, use of pesticides, draining and filling of wetlands, destructive fishing practices, air pollution, and the conversion of wild lands to agricultural and urban uses. Humans create all of these causes. Humans have altered

nearly half of Earths land mass over the past 150 years and the amount could rise to 70 percent within 30 years, according to the United Nation. These alterations include farming, logging and urban development. Deforestation is also one of the leading causes of habitat loss. For centuries, humans have altered landscapes, through deforestation, fire and over-use. Already, around half of the world's original forests have disappeared, and they are still being removed at a rate 10 times higher than any possible level of re-growth. As tropical forests contain at least half the Earth's species, the clearance of some 17 million hectares each year is causing a dramatic loss of biodiversity. Pollution Leads to a Loss of Species Pollution is found everywhere in the world--chemicals have been found in animals even in the Arctic and Antarctic. Chemicals can cause mutations and fertility problems, already seen in the reproductive organs of fish, alligators, and polar bears. The city and industry sewage treatment plants that lack advanced technology, dump nutrients and pathogens in the water. A recent report noted that nearly 40 percent of the nation's rivers,
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lakes, and estuaries are too polluted for safe fishing and swimming. Fifty percent of freshwater species populations, from fish and frogs to river dolphins, are declining from pollution by pesticides, fertilizers and other agricultural chemicals. Everything that happens on land affects the waterways; storm water picks up contaminants from roads, vehicles, lawns, and construction sites and then dumps it in the nearest stream.

By catch Causes the Loss of Species By catch is unwanted species, juveniles, and other marine wildlife, that fishers catch unintentionally. Commercial fishing is grossly wasteful: in the process of harvesting 85 million tons of fish each year, fishers routinely discard at least 20 million tons of by catch, unwanted fish and marine specs that are usually killed. According to a new study submitted, nearly 1,000 whales, dolphins, and porpoises drown every day when they become entangled in fishing gear,. Scientists believe that death in fishing gear is the leading threat to the survival of the worlds 80-plus species of whales, dolphins and porpoises. By catch is also the greatest threat to seabirds and sea turtles. Illegal Wildlife Trade causes the loss of species Trade in some animal and plant species is high, and is capable of heavily depleting their populations and even bringing some species close to extinction. Live animals are taken for the pet trade, or their parts exported for medicines or food. Thousands of species including African and Asian elephants, Tibetan antelopes, rhinos, birds of paradise, parrots, and orchids are part of the illegal international wildlife trade. This trade is worth billions of dollars annually and has caused massive declines in the numbers of many species of animals and plants. The scale of over-exploitation for trade is a major threat to the survival of species. In 1973, to try to stop this trade, an international treaty (CITES, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) was created that subjected international trade in specimens of selected species to certain controls.
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