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Date: Jun 16, 2007
THE ARTICLEUN agrees to ban on ivory tradeThe UN has agreed to approve a landmark nine-year ban on trading in ivory to stem a surge in poaching that is killing as many as 20,000 elephants annually. The agreement will go into effect after a one-off sale of stockpiles of ivory to Japan. Four southern African nations will sell their government-held stock of elephant tusks, although the exact amount is unknown. Willem Wijnstekers, the Secretary General of the 171-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), reckoned as much as 200 tonnes of ivory might be heading to Japan. It will be made into personal stamps that are used in place of written signatures. However, CITES was positive about the new deal. It said: "This African solution to an African problem marks a great step forward for wildlife conservation.…It is good news for the elephants and the people who live alongside them." The agreement ends an 18-year deadlock on the ivory trade and elephant poaching. The future of the world’s largest land mammal was at stake. There are only half a million of the majestic beasts left in the world and this number was falling due to sharp increases in hunting since the turn of the century. Conservationists say elephant numbers are decreasing every year to satisfy illicit markets in China and Japan. African governments hope the one-off sale to Japan will reduce demand and the money raised will go into conservation programmes. However, China is up in arms over the agreement as it is excluded from the sale. CITES refused a request by Beijing last week, saying: "We do not agree that they meet the criteria.” Customs officials will now be watching carefully to see if the trafficking of ivory reaches China. WARM-UPS1. IVORY: Walk around the class and talk to other students about ivory. What do you know about it? Change partners often. After you finish, sit with your original partner(s) and share what you found out. 2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are most interesting and which are most boring.
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently. 3. PRODUCTS: In pairs / groups, talk about what you think of the following examples of trade in animals:
4. ANIMAL TRADING: In pairs / groups, talk about how far you agree with these opinions on trading in animals and animal products:
5. I’M AN ELEPHANT: Imagine you are an African elephant. Hunters want to kill you and your friends to cut off your tusks and sell them to China and Japan Walk around the class and talk to the other “elephants” about your life and the threat from poachers. Do you have any friends in captivity? 6. ELEPHANT: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word “elephant”. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories. 7. QUICK DEBATE: Students A think poachers and traders in exotic species should receive life in prison. Students B think poachers and traders in exotic species should receive heavy fines. Change partners often. Share your findings. BEFORE READING / LISTENING1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):
2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:
3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):
WHILE READING / LISTENINGGAP FILL: Put the words into the gaps in the text. UN agrees to ban on ivory trade
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The UN has agreed to ________ a landmark nine-year ban on trading in ivory to stem a surge in poaching that is killing as many as 20,000 elephants annually. The agreement will go into ________ after a one-off sale of ________ of ivory to Japan. Four southern African nations will sell their government-held stock of elephant tusks, although the ________ amount is unknown. Willem Wijnstekers, the Secretary General of the 171-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), ________ as much as 200 tonnes of ivory might be heading to Japan. It will be made into personal ________ that are used in place of written signatures. However, CITES was positive about the new ________. It said: "This African solution to an African problem ________ a great step forward for wildlife conservation.…It is good news for the elephants and the people who live alongside them." |
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exact |
The agreement ends an 18-year ________ on the ivory trade and elephant poaching. The future of the world’s largest land mammal was at ________. There are only half a million of the majestic ________ left in the world and this number was falling due to sharp increases in hunting since the ________ of the century. Conservationists say elephant numbers are decreasing every year to satisfy illicit markets in China and Japan. African governments hope the one-off sale to Japan will reduce demand and the money raised will go ________ conservation programmes. However, China is up in ________ over the agreement as it is excluded from the sale. CITES refused a request by Beijing last week, saying: "We do not agree that they meet the ________.” Customs officials will now be watching carefully to see if the ________ of ivory reaches China. |
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criteria |
Listen and fill in the spaces.
The UN has ______________________ landmark nine-year ban on trading in ivory to _______________ poaching that is killing as many as 20,000 elephants annually. The agreement will ______________________ one-off sale of stockpiles of ivory to Japan. Four southern African nations will sell their government-held stock of elephant tusks, ______________________ is unknown. Willem Wijnstekers, the Secretary General of the 171-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), reckoned ______________________ ivory might be heading to Japan. It will be made into personal stamps that are used in place of written signatures. However, CITES was positive about the new deal. It said: "This African solution to an African problem ______________________ forward for wildlife conservation.…It is good news for the elephants and the people who live alongside them."
The agreement ___________________ on the ivory trade and elephant poaching. The future of the world’s __________________ stake. There are only half a million of the majestic beasts left in the world and this number was falling due to sharp increases in ___________________. Conservationists say elephant numbers are decreasing every year to satisfy illicit markets in China and Japan. African governments __________________ to Japan will reduce demand and the money raised will go into conservation programmes. However, China is up in arms over the agreement ______________________ the sale. CITES refused a request by Beijing last week, saying: "We do not agree that they meet the criteria.” Customs officials will now be watching carefully to see if the ______________________ China.
1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionaries / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words ‘stem’ and ‘surge’.
stem |
surge
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2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.
3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?
4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.
5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall exactly how these were used in the text:
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Write five GOOD questions about ELEPHANT POACHING in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper.
When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.
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STUDENT 1 _____________ |
STUDENT 2 _____________ |
STUDENT 3 _____________ |
Q.1. |
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Q.2. |
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Q.3. |
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Q.4. |
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Q.5. |
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STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)
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STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)
AFTER DISCUSSION: Join another partner / group and tell them what you talked about.
ROLE PLAY:
This role play is to discuss whether or not animals should be commercially farmed to cut out the black markets in animals and products and thus protect animals in the wild. Team up with classmates who have been assigned the same role as you. Develop your roles and discuss ideas and “strategies” before the role play begins. Introduce yourself to the other role players before you begin.
Role A ELEPHANT FARMER You can breed thousands of elephants. You know you can reduce the price of ivory and other elephant products. You believe China and Japan have a right to continue their traditions. You are a conservationist and want elephants to survive in the wild. You can clone elephants for commercial purposes. THINK OF MORE REASONS WHY ELEPHANT FARMING IS GOOD. |
Role B CONSUMER You think endangered animal farming is the best solution to animal conservation. You feel sorry for the millions of animals who die while being illegally smuggled across borders. You like animal products but have never bought any because of conservation concerns. Animal farming means you can now buy a tiger skin coat and a polar bear rug. THINK OF MORE REASONS WHY ANIMAL FARMING IS GOOD. |
Role C CONSERVATIONIST You think animal farming is a terrible idea. It sends people the wrong message that commercialism is more important than animals’ lives and conservation. Animals have rights. You think legalizing animal farming will increase poaching. You think cloning will destroy all wildlife. THINK OF MORE REASONS WHY ANIMAL FARMING IS TERRIBLE. |
Role D ENDANGERED ELEPHANT You have had enough of worrying about whether or not you or your family will be caught by poachers. You cannot sleep at night. Dozens of your relatives and friends have been killed. You have heard many bad things about animal farms. Animals should be left alone in the wild. THINK OF MORE REASONS WHY ANY USE OF ANIMALS IS NOT FAIR. |
Change roles and repeat the role play. Comment in groups about the differences between the two role plays.
In pairs / groups, discuss whether you really believe in what you said while you were in your roles.
CORRECT WORD: Put the correct words from ad below in the article.
The UN has agreed to (1) ____ a landmark nine-year ban on trading in ivory to (2) ____ a surge in poaching that is killing as many as 20,000 elephants annually. The agreement will go into effect after a (3) ____ sale of stockpiles of ivory to Japan. Four southern African nations will sell their government-held stock of elephant tusks, although the exact amount is unknown. Willem Wijnstekers, the Secretary General of the 171-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), reckoned as much as 200 tonnes of ivory might be heading to Japan. It will be made into personal stamps that are used in (4) ____ of written signatures. However, CITES was positive about the new deal. It said: "This African solution to an African problem (5) ____ a great step forward for wildlife conservation.…It is good news for the elephants and the people who live (6) ____ them."
The agreement ends an 18-year (7) ____ on the ivory trade and elephant poaching. The future of the world’s largest land mammal was at (8) ____. There are only half a million of the majestic beasts left in the world and this number was falling due to sharp increases in hunting since the (9) ____ of the century. Conservationists say elephant numbers are decreasing every year to (10) ____ illicit markets in China and Japan. African governments hope the one-off sale to Japan will reduce demand and the money raised will go into conservation programmes. However, China is up in (11) ____ over the agreement as it is excluded from the sale. CITES refused a request by Beijing last week, saying: "We do not agree that they meet the (12) ____.” Customs officials will now be watching carefully to see if the trafficking of ivory reaches China.
1. |
(a) |
approved |
(b) |
approving |
(c) |
approval |
(d) |
approve |
2. |
(a) |
stem |
(b) |
stamp |
(c) |
trunk |
(d) |
storm |
3. |
(a) |
on-off |
(b) |
one-two |
(c) |
one-off |
(d) |
one-up |
4. |
(a) |
plate |
(b) |
place |
(c) |
plaque |
(d) |
places |
5. |
(a) |
marks |
(b) |
makes |
(c) |
markets |
(d) |
markers |
6. |
(a) |
outside |
(b) |
alongside |
(c) |
onside |
(d) |
offside |
7. |
(a) |
dead duck |
(b) |
deadweight |
(c) |
dreadlock |
(d) |
deadlock |
8. |
(a) |
heart |
(b) |
steak |
(c) |
stake |
(d) |
beef |
9. |
(a) |
turn-ups |
(b) |
turnover |
(c) |
turn |
(d) |
turn-on |
10. |
(a) |
satisfy |
(b) |
satisfaction |
(c) |
satisfactory |
(d) |
satisfying |
11. |
(a) |
arm’s-length |
(b) |
armpits |
(c) |
arm-twisting |
(d) |
arms |
12. |
(a) |
criticism |
(b) |
criteria |
(c) |
critters |
(d) |
critiques |
Write about elephants and ivory for 10 minutes. Correct your partner’s paper.
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1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.
2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find more information about the new ban on ivory trade. Talk about what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
3. ENDANGERED SPECIES: Make a poster on one of the world’s endangered species. Include information on the animal’s lifestyle and habitat, the dangers it faces and the products made from it. Show your posters to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all find out about similar animals or things?
4. MAGAZINE ARTICLE: Write a magazine article about the death of the world’s last elephant. Discuss who is most to blame.
Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Which article was best and why?
5. LETTER: Write a letter to the head of CITES. Ask them three questions about the survival of the elephant. Give them three suggestions about what they should do to stop poachers. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.
TRUE / FALSE:
a. F |
b. T |
c. T |
d. F |
e. T |
f. T |
g. T |
h. T |
SYNONYM MATCH:
a. |
landmark |
milestone |
b. |
stem |
halt |
c. |
surge |
increase |
d. |
endangered |
threatened |
e. |
marks |
signals |
f. |
deadlock |
stalemate |
g. |
majestic |
magnificent |
h. |
illicit |
illegal |
i. |
up in arms |
angry |
j. |
trafficking |
smuggling |
PHRASE MATCH:
a. |
approve a landmark |
nine-year ban |
b. |
stem a |
surge in poaching |
c. |
a one-off sale |
of stockpiles of ivory |
d. |
personal stamps that are used in place |
of written signatures |
e. |
good news for the elephants and the |
people who live alongside them |
f. |
The agreement ends |
an 18-year deadlock |
g. |
There are only half a million of the |
majestic beasts left |
h. |
increases in hunting since the turn of |
the century |
i. |
China is up in |
arms over the agreement |
j. |
see if the trafficking of |
GAP FILL:
The UN has agreed to approve a landmark nine-year ban on trading in ivory to stem a surge in poaching that is killing as many as 20,000 elephants annually. The agreement will go into effect after a one-off sale of stockpiles of ivory to Japan. Four southern African nations will sell their government-held stock of elephant tusks, although the exact amount is unknown. Willem Wijnstekers, the Secretary General of the 171-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), reckoned as much as 200 tonnes of ivory might be heading to Japan. It will be made into personal stamps that are used in place of written signatures. However, CITES was positive about the new deal. It said: "This African solution to an African problem marks a great step forward for wildlife conservation.…It is good news for the elephants and the people who live alongside them."
The agreement ends an 18-year deadlock on the ivory trade and elephant poaching. The future of the world’s largest land mammal was at stake. There are only half a million of the majestic beasts left in the world and this number was falling due to sharp increases in hunting since the turn of the century. Conservationists say elephant numbers are decreasing every year to satisfy illicit markets in China and Japan. African governments hope the one-off sale to Japan will reduce demand and the money raised will go into conservation programmes. However, China is up in arms over the agreement as it is excluded from the sale. CITES refused a request by Beijing last week, saying: "We do not agree that they meet the criteria.” Customs officials will now be watching carefully to see if the trafficking of ivory reaches China.
LANGUAGE WORK
1 - d |
2 - a |
3 - c |
4 -b |
5 - a |
6 -b |
7 - d |
8 -c |
9 -c |
10 -a |
11 -d |
12 - b |
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