The Reading / Listening - Vanishing Beaches - Level 6

Rising sea levels could see the demise of half of the world's beaches by the end of this century. Climate scientists predict that 50 per cent of sandy beaches along the world's coastlines could vanish over the next eight decades if climate change continues on its current path. The scientists are from the European Commission's Joint Research Centre. They warned that the shorelines of many highly-populated areas and tourist hot-spots are threatened by erosion from climate change and surging sea levels. Areas at risk of disappearing forever include well-known, popular beaches in Australia's Surfers' Paradise, the islands of Hawaii, Brazil's Copacabana Beach, and the Costa del Sol in Spain.

The scientists reported that countries like The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau in Africa are predicted to lose over 60% of their beaches. The country to be worst affected is Australia, where 12,000km of coastline could end up underwater forever. The researchers wrote that: "A substantial proportion of the world's sandy coastline is already eroding, a situation that could be exacerbated by climate change. [This]...could result in the near extinction of the world's sandy beaches by the end of the century." Research co-author Dr Michalis Vousdoukas said there were two important ways we could reduce this trend and save the beaches. He said we had to, "reduce emissions and manage our coastline in a more sustainable way".

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Vanishing Beaches - Level 4  or  Vanishing Beaches - Level 5

Sources
  • https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/11079158/half-of-worlds-beaches-lost-climate-change/
  • https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-8065697/Half-worlds-beaches-disappear-end-century-climate-change.html
  • https://time.com/5793668/sandy-beaches-climate-change/


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice, drag and drop activities, crosswords, hangman, flash cards, matching activities and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Warm-ups

1. BEACHES: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about beaches. Change partners often and share your findings.
2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, talk about these topics or words from the article. What will the article say about them? What can you say about these words and your life?
       sea / demise / beaches / the end of this century / coastlines / tourist / hot-spots /
       lose / worst / underwater / climate change / extinction / sandy / trend / emissions
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. SEA WALL: Students A strongly believe we should build sea walls to protect beaches; Students B strongly believe that's silly.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. NO BEACHES: What would life be like with no beaches? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

Effects

Good Things

Bad Things

Tourism

 

 

 

Local life

 

 

 

Coastline

 

 

 

Wildlife

 

 

 

Erosion

 

 

 

Other _____

 

 

 

MY e-BOOK
ESL resource book with copiable worksheets and handouts - 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers / English teachers
See a sample

5. TOURIST: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "tourist". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. CLIMATE CHANGE: Rank these with your partner. Put the best things to fight climate change at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • Cycling
  • No baths
  • Vegetarianism
  • Electric cars
  • More recycling
  • No flying
  • Drink tap water
  • Walk everywhere

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. demise a. The end or failure of something.
      2. century b. Popular places of activity or entertainment.
      3. vanish c. A period of one hundred years.
      4. path d. The gradual destruction or reduction in size of something.
      5. erosion e. Gradually cease to exist.
      6. hot-spots f. The course or direction in which a person or thing is moving.
      7. surging g. Increasing suddenly and powerfully, typically during a usually stable or quiet period.

    Paragraph 2

      8. predicted h. Made a problem, bad situation, or negative feeling worse.
      9. end up i. Of soil, rock, or land, etc. being gradually worn away naturally.
      10. substantial j. Said or estimated that a specified thing would happen in the future.
      11. eroding k. A general direction in which something is developing or changing.
      12. exacerbated l. Eventually reach or come to a specified place, state, or course of action.
      13. trend m. Able to be maintained at a certain rate or level.
      14. sustainable n. Of considerable importance, size, or worth.

 

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

  1. Climate scientists said 50% of our beaches could disappear by 2100.     T / F
  2. The scientists say climate change is threatening our beaches.     T / F
  3. The scientists say tourist hot-spots are safe from the beach erosion.     T / F
  4. Brazil's Copacabana Beach will not be affected by rising sea levels.     T / F
  5. Some countries in Africa will lose over 60% of their beaches.     T / F
  6. Australia will be the worst affected country in the world.     T / F
  7. Scientists say most of the world's sandy beaches will not disappear.     T / F
  8. Scientists said there were 10 things we can do to save our beaches.     T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

  1. demise
  2. predict
  3. path
  4. threatened
  5. surging
  6. affected
  7. substantial
  8. exacerbated
  9. trend
  10. way
  1. course
  2. method
  3. impacted
  4. increasing
  5. considerable
  6. forecast
  7. movement
  8. end
  9. worsened
  10. endangered

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

  1. see the demise of
  2. coastlines could vanish
  3. shorelines of many
  4. surging
  5. Areas at risk
  6. coastline could end
  7. a situation that could be
  8. result in the near extinction of
  9. two important ways we could
  10. manage our coastline in
  1. reduce this trend
  2. of disappearing forever
  3. exacerbated by climate change
  4. over the next eight decades
  5. the world's sandy beaches
  6. sea levels
  7. up underwater forever
  8. a more sustainable way
  9. half of the world's beaches
  10. highly-populated areas

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
surging
decades
demise
tourist
islands
century
forever
shorelines

Rising sea levels could see the (1) ____________ of half of the world's beaches by the end of this (2) ____________. Climate scientists predict that 50 per cent of sandy beaches along the world's coastlines could vanish over the next eight (3) ____________ if climate change continues on its current path. The scientists are from the European Commission's Joint Research Centre. They warned that the (4) ____________ of many highly-populated areas and (5) ____________ hot-spots are threatened by erosion from climate change and (6) ____________ sea levels. Areas at risk of disappearing (7) ____________ include well-known, popular beaches in Australia's Surfers' Paradise, the (8) ____________ of Hawaii, Brazil's Copacabana Beach, and the Costa del Sol in Spain.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
affected
near
coastline
sustainable
predicted
trend
end
exacerbated

The scientists reported that countries like The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau in Africa are (9) ____________ to lose over 60% of their beaches. The country to be worst (10) ____________ is Australia, where 12,000km of coastline could (11) ____________ up underwater forever. The researchers wrote that: "A substantial proportion of the world's sandy (12) ____________ is already eroding, a situation that could be (13) ____________ by climate change. [This]...could result in the (14) ____________ extinction of the world's sandy beaches by the end of the century." Research co-author Dr Michalis Vousdoukas said there were two important ways we could reduce this (15) ____________ and save the beaches. He said we had to, "reduce emissions and manage our coastline in a more (16) ____________ way".

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)  see the demise of half of the world's beaches by the end ______
     a.  off this century
     b.  of this centurion
     c.  of these century
     d.  of this century
2)  50 per cent of sandy beaches along the world's coastlines ______
     a.  could banish
     b.  could vanish
     c.  could burnish
     d.  could garnish
3)  over the next eight decades if climate change continues on ______
     a.  its current path
     b.  its current bath
     c.  its current pass
     d.  its current part
4) shorelines of many highly-populated areas and tourist hot-spots are ______
     a.  threatened by erosion
     b.  threaten it by erosion
     c.  threatened buyer erosion
     d.  threatened buy erosion
5)  from climate change and ______ levels
     a.  sir gin sea
     b.  scourging sea
     c.  surge in sea
     d.  surging sea

6)  The country to be worst ______ Australia
     a.  affect it is
     b.  affected is
     c.  effected is
     d.  effect it is
7)  A substantial proportion of the world's sandy coastline is ______
     a.  already heralding
     b.  already eroding
     c.  already erode in
     d.  already erode din
8)  a situation that could be ______ climate change
     a.  exactly baited by
     b.  exacerbate it by
     c.  ex-ass abated by
     d.  exacerbated by
9)  Dr Michalis Vousdoukas said there were two important ways we could ______
     a.  reduce these thread
     b.  reduce this trendy
     c.  reduce this tread
     d.  reduce this trend
10)  reduce emissions and manage our coastline in a more ______
     a.  sustainable way
     b.  sustainable weigh
     c.  sustain able way
     d.  sustain a ball way

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Rising sea levels could see the (1) ___________________ of the world's beaches by the end of this century. Climate scientists predict that 50 per cent of sandy beaches along the world's coastlines (2) ___________________ the next eight decades if climate change continues on (3) ___________________. The scientists are from the European Commission's Joint Research Centre. They warned that the shorelines of many highly-populated areas and tourist hot-spots are (4) ___________________ from climate change and surging sea levels. (5) ___________________ of disappearing forever include well-known, (6) ___________________ Australia's Surfers' Paradise, the islands of Hawaii, Brazil's Copacabana Beach, and the Costa del Sol in Spain.

The scientists reported that countries like The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau in Africa are (7) ___________________ over 60% of their beaches. The country to be worst affected is Australia, where 12,000km of (8) ___________________ up underwater forever. The researchers wrote that: "A substantial proportion of the world's sandy coastline (9) ___________________, a situation that could be exacerbated by climate change. [This]...could result in the (10) ___________________ the world's sandy beaches by the end of the century." Research co-author Dr Michalis Vousdoukas said there were two important ways we could (11) ___________________ and save the beaches. He said we had to, "reduce emissions and manage our coastline in a (12) ___________________ ".

Comprehension questions

  1. Who predicted that half of the world's beaches could disappear?
  2. What did the scientists say might continue along its current path?
  3. What organisation is the Joint Research Centre part of?
  4. How long did the scientists say the beaches could disappear for?
  5. Which island's beaches did the article say were at threat?
  6. Which African country was mentioned besides Guinea-Bissau?
  7. How much of Australia's beaches could end up under water?
  8. What did scientists say is exacerbating the problem?
  9. Who is Michalis Vousdoukas?
  10. How many ways did scientists give for helping to save our beaches?

Multiple choice quiz

1)  Who predicted that half of the world's beaches could disappear?
a) the WHO
b) climate scientists
c) NASA
d) accuweather.com
2) What did the scientists say might continue along its current path?
a) a beach trail
b) temperatures
c) research
d) climate change
3) What organisation is the Joint Research Centre part of?
a) Oxford University
b) the IPCC
c) the European Commission
d) the United Nations
4) How long did the scientists say the beaches could disappear for?
a) forever
b) generations
c) hundreds of years
d) a millennium of two
5) Which island's beaches did the article say were at threat?
a) Maldives
b) Hawaii
c) Vanuatu
d) Iceland

6) Which African country was mentioned besides Guinea-Bissau?
a) The Gambia
b) Sierra Leone
c) Tanzania
d) Madagascar
7) How much of Australia's beaches could end up under water?
a) about 1,000km
b) all of them
c) 12,000km
d) about a third
8) What did scientists say is exacerbating the problem?
a) climate change
b) corruption
c) too much rain
d) illegal logging
9) Who is Michalis Vousdoukas?
a) a climate change denier
b) the leader of Guinea-Bissau
c) head of the World Bank
d) a scientist

10) How many ways did scientists give for helping to save our beaches?
a) ten
b) eight
c) two
d) five

Role play

Role  A – Cycling
You think cycling is the best thing to fight climate change. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their ways. Also, tell the others which is the least effective of these (and why): showers, not baths, vegetarianism or electric cars.

Role  B – Showers, Not Baths
You think showers, not baths is the best thing to fight climate change. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their ways. Also, tell the others which is the least effective of these (and why): cycling, vegetarianism or electric cars.

Role  C – Vegetarianism
You think vegetarianism is the best thing to fight climate change. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their ways. Also, tell the others which is the least effective of these (and why): showers, not baths, cycling or electric cars.

Role  D – Electric Cars
You think having only electric cars is the best thing to fight climate change. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their ways. Also, tell the others which is the least effective of these (and why): showers, not baths, vegetarianism or cycling.

After reading / listening

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words...

'half'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • and 'beach'.

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • • Share your findings with your partners.

    • Make questions using the words you found.

    • Ask your partner / group your questions.

    2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

    •Share your questions with other classmates / groups. •Ask your partner / group your questions.

    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 how they were used in the text:

    • sea
    • eight
    • European
    • tourist
    • popular
    • islands
    • lose
    • worst
    • end
    • situation
    • ways
    • manage

    Student survey

    Write five GOOD questions about this topic 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.

    (Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

    Discussion - Vanishing Beaches

    STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

    1. What did you think when you read the headline?
    2. What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'sand'?
    3. What do you think of beaches?
    4. How important are beaches?
    5. How bad would it be if half the world's beaches disappeared?
    6. What is your favourite beach?
    7. Why do people like beaches so much?
    8. What are the bad things about beaches?
    9. How much is climate change responsible for beaches disappearing?
    10. How would the loss of beaches affect you?

    STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

    1. Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
    2. What do you think of when you hear the word 'beach'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. What purpose do beaches serve?
    5. What impact would the loss of beaches have on a country?
    6. Are beaches better than countryside?
    7. How would the extinction of beaches affect the society of a country?
    8. What different kinds of beaches are there?
    9. How can we reduce emissions?
    10. What questions would you like to ask the researchers?

    Discussion — Write your own questions

    STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

    (a) ________________

    (b) ________________

    (c) ________________

    (d) ________________

    (e) ________________

    STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

    (f) ________________

    (g) ________________

    (h) ________________

    (i) ________________

    (j) ________________

    Language — Cloze (Gap-fill)

    Rising sea levels could see the (1) ____ of half of the world's beaches by the end of this century. Climate scientists predict that 50 per cent of sandy beaches along the world's coastlines could (2) ____ over the next eight decades if climate change continues on its current (3) ____. The scientists are from the European Commission's Joint Research Centre. They warned that the shorelines of many highly-populated areas and tourist hot-spots are threatened (4) ____ erosion from climate change and (5) ____ sea levels. Areas at risk of disappearing forever (6) ____ well-known, popular beaches in Australia's Surfers' Paradise, the islands of Hawaii, Brazil's Copacabana Beach, and the Costa del Sol in Spain.

    The scientists reported that countries (7) ____ The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau in Africa are predicted to lose over 60% of their beaches. The country to be (8) ____ affected is Australia, where 12,000km of coastline could end up underwater forever. The researchers wrote that: "A (9) ____ proportion of the world's sandy coastline is already eroding, a situation that could be exacerbated by climate change. [This]...could result (10) ____ the near extinction of the world's sandy beaches by the end of the century." Research co-author Dr Michalis Vousdoukas said there were two important ways we could reduce this (11) ____ and save the beaches. He said we had to, "reduce emissions and manage our coastline in a (12) ____ sustainable way".

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     surmise     (b)     premise     (c)     demi     (d)     demise    
    2. (a)     voracious     (b)     burnish     (c)     banish     (d)     vanish    
    3. (a)     avenue     (b)     path     (c)     trail     (d)     alley    
    4. (a)     at     (b)     in     (c)     by     (d)     on    
    5. (a)     surfing     (b)     usurping     (c)     surging     (d)     slurping    
    6. (a)     include     (b)     inclusive     (c)     inclusivity     (d)     including    
    7. (a)     likes     (b)     like     (c)     likely     (d)     liken    
    8. (a)     worst     (b)     worth     (c)     verse     (d)     waste    
    9. (a)     release     (b)     substantial     (c)     induced     (d)     spreadable    
    10. (a)     on     (b)     at     (c)     in     (d)     of    
    11. (a)     amend     (b)     wend     (c)     trend     (d)     fend    
    12. (a)     such     (b)     more     (c)     heighten     (d)     longevity

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. the semedi of half of the world's beaches
    2. the world's coastlines could hsnvai
    3. over the next eight cddesea
    4. seenhoilsr of many highly-populated areas
    5. threatened by nooiesr from climate change
    6. iggsurn sea levels

    Paragraph 2

    1. tidrdecpe to lose over 60%
    2. A substantial iprroonpot
    3. that could be aaeedxrebtc by climate change
    4. the near ntxiitneoc of the world's sandy beaches
    5. reduce oesisinsm
    6. in a more stlaeuanibs way

    Put the text back together

    (...)  up underwater forever. The researchers wrote that: "A substantial proportion of the world's sandy coastline is
    (...)  already eroding, a situation that could be exacerbated by climate change. [This]...could result in the near
    (...)  The scientists reported that countries like The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau in Africa are predicted to
    (...)  beaches in Australia's Surfers' Paradise, the islands of Hawaii, Brazil's Copacabana Beach, and the Costa del Sol in Spain.
    (...)  extinction of the world's sandy beaches by the end of the century." Research co-
    (...)  and surging sea levels. Areas at risk of disappearing forever include well-known, popular
    (...)  eight decades if climate change continues on its current path. The scientists are from the
    1  ) Rising sea levels could see the demise of half of the world's beaches by the end of this century. Climate scientists
    (...)  author Dr Michalis Vousdoukas said there were two important ways we could reduce this trend
    (...)  populated areas and tourist hot-spots are threatened by erosion from climate change
    (...)  lose over 60% of their beaches. The country to be worst affected is Australia, where 12,000km of coastline could end
    (...)  and save the beaches. He said we had to, "reduce emissions and manage our coastline in a more sustainable way".
    (...)  predict that 50 per cent of sandy beaches along the world's coastlines could vanish over the next
    (...)  European Commission's Joint Research Centre. They warned that the shorelines of many highly-

    Put the words in the right order

    1. The   beaches   .   of   demise   the   half   world's   of
    2. world's   the   beaches   along   could   coastlines   Sandy   vanish   .
    3. on   continues   change   its   path   .   climate   If   current
    4. of   highly   and   Shorelines   tourist   areas   populated   hot-spots   .
    5. of   Areas   forever   beaches   .   at   disappearing   include   risk
    6. country   affected   be   is   worst   Australia   .   to   The
    7. is   The   already   coastline   sandy   eroding   .   world's
    8. the   of   extinction   beaches   .   world's   sandy   near   The
    9. reduce   this   could   trend   .   important   Two   ways   we
    10. our   Manage   in   a   way   .   coastline   sustainable   more

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    Rising sea levels could see the demure / demise of half of the world's beaches by the end of this century. Climate scientists prediction / predict that 50 per cent of sandy beaches along the world's coastlines could varnish / vanish over the next eight decades if climate changed / change continues on its current path / alley. The scientists are from the European Commission's Joint Research Centre. They warned that the shorelines to / of many highly-populated areas and tourist hot-spots are threat / threatened by erosion from climate change and surging / splurging sea levels. Areas at risk of disappearing forever including / include well-known, popular beaches in Australia's Surfers' Paradise, the islands of Hawaii, Brazil's Copacabana Beach, and the Costa del Sol in / on Spain.

    The scientists reported that countries like / liken The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau in Africa are predicted to vanish / lose over 60% of their beaches. The country to be worst effected / affected is Australia, where 12,000km of coastline could end up underwater forever / moreover. The researchers wrote that: "A substantial proposition / proportion of the world's sandy coastline is already eroding / erosion, a situation that could be exacerbated by climate change. [This]...could result in the near / nearly extinction of the world's sandy beaches by the end of the country / century." Research co-author Dr Michalis Vousdoukas said there were two important ways we could reduce this trend / trendy and save the beaches. He said we had to, "reduce emissions and manage our coastline in a more sustainable / sustains way".

    Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct.

    Insert the vowels (a, e, i, o, u)

    R_s_n g s__ l_v_l s c__ l d s__ t h_ d_m_s_ _f h_l f _f t h_ w_r l d ' s b__ c h_s b y t h_ _n d _f t h_s c_n t_r y . C l_m_t_ s c__ n t_s t s p r_d_c t t h_t 5 0 p_r c_n t _f s_n d y b__ c h_s _l_n g t h_ w_r l d ' s c__ s t l_n_s c__ l d v_n_s h _v_r t h_ n_x t __ g h t d_c_d_s _f c l_m_t_ c h_n g_ c_n t_n__ s _n _t s c_r r_n t p_t h . T h_ s c__ n t_s t s _r_ f r_m t h_ E_r_p__ n C_m m_s s__ n ' s J__ n t R_s__ r c h C_n t r_. T h_y w_r n_d t h_t t h_ s h_r_l_n_s _f m_n y h_g h l y - p_p_l_t_d _r__ s _n d t__ r_s t h_t - s p_t s _r_ t h r__ t_n_d b y _r_s__ n f r_m c l_m_t_ c h_n g_ _n d s_r g_n g s__ l_v_l s . A r__ s _t r_s k _f d_s_p p__ r_n g f_r_v_r _n c l_d_ w_l l - k n_w n , p_p_l_r b__ c h_s _n A_s t r_l__ ' s S_r f_r s ' P_r_d_s_, t h_ _s l_n d s _f H_w___, B r_z_l ' s C_p_c_b_n_ B__ c h , _n d t h_ C_s t_ d_l S_l _n S p__ n .

    T h_ s c__ n t_s t s r_p_r t_d t h_t c__ n t r__ s l_k_ T h_ G_m b__ _n d G__ n__ - B_s s__ _n A f r_c_ _r_ p r_d_c t_d t_ l_s_ _v_r 6 0 % _f t h__ r b__ c h_s . T h_ c__ n t r y t_ b_ w_r s t _f f_c t_d _s A_s t r_l__ , w h_r_ 1 2 , 0 0 0 k m _f c__ s t l_n_ c__ l d _n d _p _n d_r w_t_r f_r_v_r . T h_ r_s__ r c h_r s w r_t_ t h_t : " A s_b s t_n t__ l p r_p_r t__ n _f t h_ w_r l d ' s s_n d y c__ s t l_n_ _s _l r__ d y _r_d_n g , _ s_t__ t__ n t h_t c__ l d b_ _x_c_r b_t_d b y c l_m_t_ c h_n g_. [ T h_s ] . . . c__ l d r_s_l t _n t h_ n__ r _x t_n c t__ n _f t h_ w_r l d ' s s_n d y b__ c h_s b y t h_ _n d _f t h_ c_n t_r y . " R_s__ r c h c_-__ t h_r D r M_c h_l_s V__ s d__ k_s s__ d t h_r_ w_r_ t w_ _m p_r t_n t w_y s w_ c__ l d r_d_c_ t h_s t r_n d _n d s_v_ t h_ b__ c h_s . H_ s__ d w_ h_d t_, " r_d_c_ _m_s s__ n s _n d m_n_g_ __ r c__ s t l_n_ _n _ m_r_ s_s t__ n_b l_ w_y " .

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    rising sea levels could see the demise of half of the worlds beaches by the end of this century climate scientists predict that 50 per cent of sandy beaches along the worlds coastlines could vanish over the next eight decades if climate change continues on its current path the scientists are from the european commissions joint research centre they warned that the shorelines of many highly populated areas and tourist hotspots are threatened by erosion from climate change and surging sea levels areas at risk of disappearing forever include wellknown popular beaches in australias surfers paradise the islands of hawaii brazils copacabana beach and the costa del sol in spain

    the scientists reported that countries like the gambia and guineabissau in africa are predicted to lose over 60 of their beaches the country to be worst affected is australia where 12000km of coastline could end up underwater forever the researchers wrote that a substantial proportion of the worlds sandy coastline is already eroding a situation that could be exacerbated by climate change this could result in the near extinction of the worlds sandy beaches by the end of the century research coauthor dr michalis vousdoukas said there were two important ways we could reduce this trend and save the beaches he said we had to reduce emissions and manage our coastline in a more sustainable way

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    Risingsealevelscouldseethedemiseofhalfoftheworld'sbeachesbythe
    endofthiscentury.Climatescientistspredictthat50percentofsandybe
    achesalongtheworld'scoastlinescouldvanishoverthenexteightdecad
    esifclimatechangecontinuesonitscurrentpath.Thescientistsarefromt
    heEuropeanCommission'sJointResearchCentre.Theywarnedthatthe
    shorelinesofmanyhighly-populatedareasandtouristhot-spotsareth
    reatenedbyerosionfromclimatechangeandsurgingsealevels.Areasat
    riskofdisappearingforeverincludewell-known,popularbeachesinAus
    tralia'sSurfers'Paradise,theislandsofHawaii,Brazil'sCopacabanaBea
    ch,andtheCostadelSolinSpain.Thescientistsreportedthatcountriesli
    keTheGambiaandGuinea-BissauinAfricaarepredictedtoloseover60
    %oftheirbeaches.ThecountrytobeworstaffectedisAustralia,where12
    ,000kmofcoastlinecouldendupunderwaterforever.Theresearchersw
    rotethat:"Asubstantialproportionoftheworld'ssandycoastlineisalrea
    dyeroding,asituationthatcouldbeexacerbatedbyclimatechange.[Thi
    s]...couldresultinthenearextinctionoftheworld'ssandybeachesbythe
    endofthecentury."Researchco-authorDrMichalisVousdoukassaidth
    ereweretwoimportantwayswecouldreducethistrendandsavethebeac
    hes.Hesaidwehadto,"reduceemissionsandmanageourcoastlineinam
    oresustainableway".

    Free writing

    Write about beaches for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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    Academic writing

    There is no way to reverse climate change and save our beaches. Discuss.

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    Homework

    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 out more about this news story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
    3. BEACHES: Make a poster about beaches. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. SEA WALLS: Write a magazine article about governments building walls in the sea to protect our beaches. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against this.
    Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).
    5. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.
    6. LETTER: Write a letter to an expert on beaches. Ask him/her three questions about them. Give him/her three of your ideas on how we can save our beaches. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

    A Few Additional Activities for Students

    Ask your students what they have read, seen or heard about this news in their own language. Students are likely to / may have have encountered this news in their L1 and therefore bring a background knowledge to the classroom.

    Get students to role play different characters from this news story.

    Ask students to keep track of this news and revisit it to discuss in your next class.

    Ask students to male predictions of how this news might develop in the next few days or weeks, and then revisit and discuss in a future class.

    Ask students to write a follow-up story to this news.

    Students role play a journalist and someone who witnessed or was a part of this news. Perhaps they could make a video of the interview.

    Ask students to keep a news journal in English and add this story to their thoughts.

    Also...

    Buy my 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers eBook. It has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for:

    • News
    • Warm ups
    • Pre-reading / Post-reading
    • Using headlines
    • Working with words
    • While-reading / While-listening
    • Moving from text to speech
    • Post-reading / Post-listening
    • Discussions
    • Using opinions
    • Plans
    • Language
    • Using lists
    • Using quotes
    • Task-based activities
    • Role plays
    • Using the central characters in the article
    • Using themes from the news
    • Homework

    Buy my book

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    Answers

    (Please look at page 26 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

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