The Reading / Listening - Biodiversity Loss - Level 2

Australia is home to some amazing creatures and plant life. It's famous for them. However, scientists have reported a "shocking" loss of biodiversity. The government released a depressing report about the environment. It reveals a big decrease in biodiversity, an increase in habitat loss, and higher levels of pollution. It says Australia's environment is "poor and deteriorating". Australia has had drought, fires and floods recently. These have killed many animals. They have caused the loss of natural habitat. Climate change is also damaging Australia's ecosystems.

Australia publishes its environment report every five years. Each report is sadder than the one before. An Australian conservation group said the environment is suffering because the government is not taking action. It said: "This is the fourth…report and every time it tells us that the environment is getting worse and worse and worse because we're not taking…action." Australia has lost more mammal species than any other continent. More than 100 species are now extinct. An environmentalist said the report was, "a wake-up call to the damage humans are doing to the world around us".

Try the same news story at these levels:

    Biodiversity Loss - Level 0 Biodiversity Loss - Level 1   or  Biodiversity Loss - Level 3

Sources
  • https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/19/australia-reveals-shocking-decline-in-its-unique-environment
  • https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/australian-environmental-report-tallies-lost-land-species-87049325
  • https://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/australia-more-willing-to-catalogue-destruction-of-natural-heritage-than-to-preserve-it-20220718-p5b2id.html


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Phrase Matching

Paragraph 1

  1. home to some amazing
  2. It's famous
  3. a shocking loss
  4. The government released a
  5. It reveals a big decrease
  6. higher levels
  7. drought, fires
  8. the loss of natural
  1. depressing report
  2. of pollution
  3. for them
  4. habitat
  5. creatures
  6. and floods
  7. of biodiversity
  8. in biodiversity

Paragraph 2

  1. Each report is sadder
  2. the environment is
  3. the government is not
  4. the environment is getting
  5. mammal
  6. a wake-
  7. the damage humans
  8. the world
  1. suffering
  2. worse
  3. around us
  4. species
  5. are doing
  6. than the one before
  7. taking action
  8. up call

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Australia is home (1) ___________________ creatures and plant life. It's famous for them. However, scientists have reported a (2) ___________________ biodiversity. The government released a depressing report about the environment. It (3) ___________________ decrease in biodiversity, an increase in habitat loss, and higher (4) ___________________. It says Australia's environment is "poor and deteriorating". Australia has had drought, fires (5) ___________________. These have killed many animals. They have caused the loss of natural habitat. Climate change (6) ___________________ Australia's ecosystems.

Australia publishes its environment report (7) ___________________. Each report is sadder than the one before. An Australian conservation group said the environment is suffering because the government is (8) ___________________. It said: "This is the fourth...report and every time it tells us that the environment is getting (9) ___________________ and worse because we're not taking...action." Australia has (10) ___________________ species than any other continent. More than 100 species (11) ___________________. An environmentalist said the report was, "a wake-up call to the damage humans are doing to the (12) ___________________".

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

Australiaishometosomeamazingcreaturesandplantlife.It'sfamousfo
rthem.However,scientistshavereporteda"shocking"lossofbiodiversi
ty.Thegovernmentreleasedadepressingreportabouttheenvironmen
t.Itrevealsabigdecreaseinbiodiversity,anincreaseinhabitatloss,and
higherlevelsofpollution.ItsaysAustralia'senvironmentis"pooranddet
eriorating".Australiahashaddrought,firesandfloodsrecently.Theseh
avekilledmanyanimals.Theyhavecausedthelossofnaturalhabitat.Cli
matechangeisalsodamagingAustralia'secosystems.Australiapublish
esitsenvironmentreporteveryfiveyears.Eachreportissadderthanthe
onebefore.AnAustralianconservationgroupsaidtheenvironmentissuf
feringbecausethegovernmentisnottakingaction.Itsaid:"Thisisthefo
urth...reportandeverytimeittellsusthattheenvironmentisgetting
worseandworseandworsebecausewe'renottaking...action."Australi
ahaslostmoremammalspeciesthananyothercontinent.Morethan100
speciesarenowextinct.Anenvironmentalistsaidthereportwas,"awak
e-upcalltothedamagehumansaredoingtotheworldaroundus".

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 — Write your own questions

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

(a) ________________

(b) ________________

(c) ________________

(d) ________________

(e) ________________

(f) ________________

(g) ________________

(h) ________________

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

(i) ________________

(j) ________________

(k) ________________

(l) ________________

(m) ________________

(n) ________________

(o) ________________

(p) ________________

Free writing

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

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

Answers

(Please check your answers against the article above.

Help Support This Web Site

  • Please consider helping Breaking News English.com

Sean Banville's Book

Thank You