Module 6 Animals in Danger.docVIP

Module 6 Animals in Danger IntroductionSay what you know about this animal.The Siberian tiger is one of the most beautiful animals in the world. It is also one of the rarest. Today only about 1,000 are left. Some of them are in the Hunchun Nature Reserve on the border between China and Russia. The Chinese and Russian governments have created the reserve to help save the tigers natural habitat.But the Siberian tiger is not the only endangered species. Another famous animal in danger is the giant panda, whose habitat is in China. The panda is the symbol of the World Wide Fund for Nature. Thanks to scientists hard work, the number of the pandas living in the wild has increased to about 1,590.Every year thousands of wild animals and plants become extinct. According to the Red List of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, more than 12,000 animal species are now in danger. The question is: What can we do to help them in their struggle for survival?Match the words in the box with their meanings.conservation; endangered; extinct; habitat; reserve; species; struggle; survival; wild; wildlife 1. a type of animal or plant: 2. the place where an animal lives naturally: 3. protection, especially of natural things: 4. in danger: 5. a fight which lasts a long time: 6. an area of land where animals are protected: 7. dead (for a species, not a single animal): 8. continuing to live: 9. living in a natural state, away from people: 10.wild animals: Look at the reasons why some animals are becoming extinct. Which is the most important? Discuss your ideas with other students.1. They are killed for body parts or food. 2. People want them for pets. 3. People have moved into their natural habitat. 4. They are killed by pollution. 5. They are killed by climate change.Reading and VocabularySaving the AntelopesOn a freezing cold day in January 1994, Jiesang Suonandajie found what he was looking for a group of poachers who were killing the endangered Tibetan antelope. Jiesang knew he had to move quickly. He shouted to the poachers to put down their guns. Although surprised, the poachers had an advantage there were more of them. In the battle which followed Jiesang was shot and killed. When his frozen body was found hours later, he was still holding his gun. He had given his life to save the Tibetan antelope.At the beginning of the twentieth century there were millions of antelopes on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. By the 1990s the number had fallen to about 50,000. The reason is simple: the wool of the Tibetan antelope is the most expensive in the world. It is soft, light, and warm the ideal coat for an animal which has to survive at high altitudes. A shawl made from the wool (known as shahtoosh, or king of wools in Persian) can sell for five thousand dollars. For poachers the profits can be huge.Often working at night, the poachers shoot whole herds of antelopes at a time, leaving only the babies, whose wool is not worth so much. The animals are skinned on the spot and the wool taken to India, where it is made into the shawls. From there, it is exported to rich countries in North America and Europe. The business is completely illegal there has been a ban on the trade since 1975. But in the 1990s the shawls came into fashion among rich people. A police raid on a shop in London found 138 shawls. About 1,000 antelopes or 2 percent of the worlds population had been killed to make them.In the 1990s the Chinese government began to take an active part in protecting the antelopes in the Hoh Xil Nature Reserve the huge national park on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, which is the main habitat of the antelopes. Over the next ten years about 3,000 poachers were caught and 300 vehicles confiscated. Sometimes there were gunfights, like the one in which Jiesang Suonandajie was killed.But today the government seems to be winning the battle. The number of poachers has fallen. The small group of officials who work in the reserve are helped by volunteers who come from all over the country, and who are ready for the difficult conditions of life at 5,000 metres. Meanwhile, in those countries where the shawls are sold, police are getting tough with the dealers. International co-operation seems to be working. Since 1997 the antelope population has slowly begun to grow again.Choose the best answers.1. How did Jiesang Suonandajie die?He froze to death.He had an accident in his jeep.He was killed by criminals.2. Why are Tibetan antelopes in danger?They have lost their natural habitat.They are killed for their wool.They cannot survive at high altitude.3. What has the Chinese government done to help the antelopes?It is protecting the antelope in a nature reserve.It has sent police to countries where shahtoosh is sold.It has closed the border with India.4. Whats happened to the trade in shahtoosh?It has grown quickly.It has become harder to sell shahtoosh.It has become legal.5. What will happen to the Tibetan antelope?Its number will continue to increase.It will soon become extinct.It may survive.Find the words in the passage which mean:1. high ground: 2. a piece of cloth people wear on their shoulders: 3. money you make by selling something: 4. a group of animals which live or move together: 5. to cut the skin off an animal: 6. an order not to do something: 7. a surprise visit (especially by police): 8. taken away officially: 9. hard: 10. working together: Cultural Corner WWFThe WWF is the worlds largest organisation for nature conservation. It was founded in the UK in 1961 and opened an international office in Switzerland in the same year. Its aim was to protect the natural habitats of wild animals in danger of extinction. One of the founders, the painter and naturalist Peter Scott, designed the famous panda logo. The initials, WWF, stand for World Wide Fund for Nature. Originally the name was World Wildlife Fund. Today the organisation has branches in 90 countries in all five continents. It has thousands of volunteers and more than five million supporters who help by giving money. Since 1985 it has spent more than $1,000 million on 11,000 projects in 130 countries.The focus of attention has changed, too. In the 1980s the WWF became interested in all activities which have an effect on the environment, such as pollution and the way we use energy. The WWF believes that our world has a future only if people learn to conserve nature and not waste energy. As a result, it started working with governments to introduce environmental education into schools.The WWF has worked with the Chinese government since 1980, when Dr George Shaller arrived to work with Chinese scientists on the panda project. For fifteen years WWF China staff had been based in Switzerland but came to China to monitor the project. Then, in 1995, the organisation set up an office in Beijing. Today there are more than thirty staff working on twenty projects all over the country. They include work in forests, energy, and in environmental education for Chinas primary and secondary schools as well as saving the panda, of course.Grammar Look at the underlined clauses and answer the questions.The sentences:1. It is soft, light, and warm the ideal coat for an animal which has to survive at high altitudes. 2. The poachers leave only the babies, whose wool is not worth much. 3. The wool is taken to India, where it is made into the shawls. 4. Sometimes there were gunfights, like the one in which Jiesang Suonandajie was killed. 5. Officials who work in the reserve are helped by volunteers who come from all over the country.The questions:a. Which one refers to people? b. Which one refers to a place? c. Which one refers to a situation? d. Which one refers to an animal? e. Which one refers to the relationship between a thing and its owner?Complete the sentences with who, which, or whose.1. The World Wide Fund for Nature is an organisation aim is to protect wildlife. 2. A volunteer is someone works without being paid. 3. Animals live on the Tibetan plain have to survive in a hard climate. 4. The Tibetan antelope is an animal wool is worth a lot of money. 5. The shawls were found in London had just arrived from India. 6. Jiesang Suonandajie was the nature reserve official gave his life for the antelopes.Complete the sentences with when, where or why.1. The reason the antelopes are in danger is clear. 2. A reserve is a place animals are protected. 3. Spring is the time the antelopes move. 4. The day the killing stops will be a happy day. 5. I want to go to a place I can see a lot of wildlife.Complete the sentences with of whom, to whom, for which or in which.1. The region the antelopes live is very cold. 2. The volunteer I spoke said conditions were difficult. 3. Jiesang is a hero we should be proud. 4. There are several animals special laws have been introduced.Complete the passage with relative pronouns and adverbs.Police who raided the London shop more than 100 shahtoosh shawls were found came from the Wildlife Crime Unit. This is a special group job is to find products which are made from protected animal species and are sold illegally in London.The Tibetan antelope is not the only animal body parts are worth a lot of money. The skins of reptiles, are used for bags and shoes, and fur from many endangered species, is used to make coats, are just two more examples. But the trade also involves live animals. There are many people want to have an unusual pet, and are ready to pay high prices for an animal has been imported illegally. Since 1995, it was created, the Wildlife Crime Unit has tried to explain to Londoners especially shopkeepers the reasons animals must be protected.Vocabulary and ListeningComplete the meanings with the words in the box.bird; insect; mammal; reptile 1. A(n) is a small animal with six legs. Some have wings. 2. A(n) is an animal which drinks its mothers milk when it is young. 3. A(n) has cold blood and lays eggs. 4. A(n) has warm blood and lays eggs.Match the descriptions with the photos.Red Wolf Broadheaded Snake Checkerspot Butterfly Bald Eagle 1. This bird is the symbol of the United States of America, and appears on every dollar note. A few years ago it was an endangered species, but now the population is on the increase. 2. One of the wonders of the insect world. This variety is found in the southwest United States, and is easily caught because it is a slow flyer. In recent years forest fires have greatly reduced their numbers. 3. Australia is home to many different reptiles, but the habitats of some of them are being lost to urban development like this one, which lives in the southeast of the country. 4. There are only about three hundred of these