Which species can we least afford to lose?

Level 3 l Advanced
1 Key words
Fill the gaps in the sentences using these key words from the text.
stunning

grim

vertebrate

perilous

nutrient

restock

plight

biodiversity

shift

extinction

1. ___________________ is the situation when an animal, plant or language no longer exists.

2. A ___________________ situation is one that is very dangerous.
3. ___________________ is a sad, serious or difficult situation.
4. ___________________ is the variety of different types of animal and plant life.
5. If a situation is described as ___________________, it is extremely worrying.
6. A ___________________ is an animal with a backbone.
7. If something is described as ___________________, it is very impressive or beautiful.
8. A ___________________ is a substance in food that plants, animals and people need in order to live
and grow.
9. A ___________________ is a change in someones ideas or opinions.
10. To ___________________ means to provide a place with a new supply of something.

2 What do you think?

The article is about the possible extinction of different types of animals. Which four of these do you
think our planet can least afford to lose?

tigers

ladybirds

pandas

bats

worms

orangutans

bees

NEWS LESSONS / Which species can we least afford to lose? / Advanced

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2014

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Now, check your answers in the text.

Which species can we least afford to lose?

Level 3 l Advanced

2 Climate change, declining numbers of animals,

rising numbers of humans and the rapid rate
of species extinction mean a growing number
of scientists now declare us to be in the
Anthropocene the geological age of extinction
when humans finally dominate the ecosystems.
3 WWFs Living Planet Index (LPI) 2014 seemed
to confirm that grim picture, with statistics on
the worlds wildlife population that showed a
dramatic reduction in numbers across countless
species. The LPI showed the number of
vertebrates had declined by 52% over four
decades. Biodiversity loss has now reached
critical levels. Some populations of mammals,
birds, reptiles and amphibians have suffered
even bigger losses, with freshwater species
declining by 76% over the same period. But
its the creatures that provide the most natural
capital or ecosystem services that are getting
many scientists really worried. Three quarters of
the worlds food production is thought to depend
on bees and other pollinators such as hoverflies.
Never mind how cute a panda is or how
stunning a tiger its worms that are grinding
up our waste and taking it deep into the soil to
turn into nutrients, and bats that are catching
mosquitoes and keeping malaria rates down. A
study in North America has valued the loss of
pest control from ongoing bat declines at more
than $22bn in lost agricultural productivity.

5 He pointed to the fact that between 23 and

36% of all birds, mammals and amphibians
used for food or medicine are now threatened
with extinction. In many parts of the world, wildanimal food sources are a critical part of the
diet, particularly for the poor.
6 The blame, most agree, sits with unsustainable
human consumption damaging ecosystems,
creating climate change and destroying
habitats at a far faster rate than previously
thought. But, this time, its not just the big,
cuddly mammals we have to worry about
losing but the smaller, less visible creatures
upon which we depend insects, creepycrawlies and even worms. They might not be
facing immediate extinction but a decline in
their numbers will affect us all. We are going
to feel the impact of those losses. With the UK
species, the pattern is much the same with
invertebrates as it is with vertebrates. Its not
as simplistic as fish die and people starve
its more complex, said Isaac.
7 Humans, said TV naturalist Sir David
Attenborough in 2013, are a plague on earth,
but WWF claims there is still time to stop the
rot. Its UK Chief Executive, David Nussbaum,
said: The scale of the destruction highlighted
in this report should act as a wake-up call
for us all. We all politicians, business and
people have an interest, and a responsibility,
to act to ensure we protect what we all value: a
healthy future for people and nature.

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2014

NEWS LESSONS / Which species can we least afford to lose? / Advanced

1 The threatened extinction of the tiger in India,

the perilous existence of the orangutan in
Indonesia, the plight of the panda: these are
wildlife emergencies with which we have
become familiar. They are well-loved animals
that no one wants to see disappear. But, now,
scientists fear the real impact of declining
wildlife could be closer to home, with the threat
to creatures such as ladybirds posing the
gravest danger to biodiversity.

Climate change and human intervention are

accelerating the planets loss of biodiversity. So
should we try to preserve useful bees before
cuddly tigers?
Tracy McVeigh
5 October, 2014

4 Its the loss of the common species that

will impact on people, not so much the
rarer creatures because, by the very nature
of their rarity, were not reliant on them in
such an obvious way, said Dr Nick Isaac,
a macroecologist at the Centre for Ecology
& Hydrology in Oxfordshire. He says that
recent work he and colleagues have been
doing suggests that Britains insects and other
invertebrates are declining just as fast as
vertebrates, with serious consequences for
humanity. The really interesting thing about
this work is that we are learning that its not just
about the numbers of species going extinct,
but the actual numbers in a population; thats
the beginning of a fundamental shift in our
understanding, he says.

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In the age of extinction, which

species can we least afford to lose?

Which species can we least afford to lose?

Level 3 l Advanced
8 Humans are cutting down trees more quickly
than they can regrow, harvesting more fish than
the oceans can restock, pumping water from
our rivers and aquifers faster than rainfall can

replenish them and emitting more carbon than

the oceans and forests can absorb, he said.
Guardian News and Media 2014
First published in The Observer, 05/10/14

3 Comprehension check
Choose the best answer according to the text.
1. What benefit do bats bring to humans?

a. They are a critical part of the human diet, especially for the poor.

b. They catch mosquitoes and help to keep malaria rates down.

c. They turn waste into nutrients.

2 Why will the loss of rarer species have less impact on people?

a. because the fact that they are rare means that people are not so reliant on them

b. because people do not often eat rare species

c. because they do not contribute to biodiversity

3. What is the Anthropocene age?

a. the age of climate change

b. the age of animal extinction

c. the age of carbon emissions

4. What is the situation with water?

a. Deforestation means that there is less rain than before.

b. People are using water faster than rainfall can replace it.

c. The oceans and forests cannot absorb all the carbon humans produce.

4 Find the word

Find the following words and phrases in the text.
1. a two-word phrasal verb meaning break something into very small pieces by crushing it between two hard surfaces
(para 3)
2. a two-word adjectival phrase meaning depending on someone or something (para 4)
3. an adjective meaning damaging the environment because it uses up more energy, wood, coal etc than can be
replaced naturally (para 6)
4. a two-word noun phrase meaning insect (para 6)
5. a three-word phrase meaning prevent a bad situation getting worse (para 7)
6. a three-word noun phrase meaning a bad experience that warns someone to change something, usually the way
that they behave (para 7)
7. a noun meaning a layer of earth or rock that contains water (para 8)

NEWS LESSONS / Which species can we least afford to lose? / Advanced

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2014

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8. a verb meaning make something full again (para 8)

Which species can we least afford to lose?

Level 3 l Advanced
5 Verb + noun collocations
Match the verbs in the left-hand column with the nouns and noun phrases in the right-hand column.
1. face

a. losses

2. feel

b. ecosystems

3. emit

c. extinction

4. stop

d. carbon

5. suffer

e. the rot

6. damage

f.

the impact

6 Word-building
Fill the gaps in the sentences using the correct form of the word in brackets at the end of each sentence.
1. Falling numbers of bats have cost more than $22bn in lost agricultural _____________________. [PRODUCE]
2. We are not so reliant on rare creatures precisely because of their _____________________. [RARE]
3. The scale of the _____________________ highlighted in the report is a wake-up call for us all. [DESTROY]
4. _____________________ species are in decline. [COUNT]
5. The decline in the numbers of insects and other invertebrates could have serious consequences for
_____________________. [HUMAN]
6. Unsustainable human _____________________ is to blame. [CONSUME]

7 Discussion

NEWS LESSONS / Which species can we least afford to lose? / Advanced

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2014

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Do you agree with the statement that humans are a plague on earth? Why? Why not?

Which species can we least afford to lose?

Level 3 l Advanced
KEY
1 Key words

4 Find the word

1. extinction
2. perilous
3. plight
4. biodiversity
5. grim
6. vertebrate
7. stunning
8. nutrient
9. shift
10. restock

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

2 What do you think?

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

b
a
b
b

6 Word-building
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2014

NEWS LESSONS / Which species can we least afford to lose? / Advanced

productivity
rarity
destruction
countless
humanity
consumption

1.
2.
3.
4.

c
f
d
e
a
b

3 Comprehension check

5 Verb + noun collocations

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ladybirds, bats, worms, bees

grind up
reliant on
unsustainable
creepy-crawly
stop the rot
wake-up call
aquifer
replenish