UNIT 6

NATURAL
RESOURCES

122
 NATURE ELEMENTS

volcano waterfall forest/woods

stream river ocean/sea

national park jungle rain

mountain beach clouds

sun trees fauna

123
Pre-activity
Complete the words and find them in the puzzle.

124
While-activities
1. Look at the pictures and complete the phrases.

125
2. It’s Earth Day and Nature Lovers are advertising to sensitize others about
participating in cleaning the environment . Match the captions and the leaflets with
the appropriate pictures.

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

Throw rubbish Save water ! Switch off Recycle, reduce,

SAVE ENERGY ! in a dustbin save life ! the light ! reuse,respect !

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

1. ___ 2. ___ 3. ___ 4. ___ 5. ___

3. Greg is a nature lover. He has a blog and he is asking people about their plans
on Earth’s Day.
Read each answer complete the chart below.

Hi, Greg! For Earth Day, I don’t usually do anything because I didn’t know when it was! But, this
year I want to do something with my friends, because I know that ecological problems are important
and it’s an occasion to protect our planet! I think that we‘ll try to save energy and water. Maybe, we
must also recycle paper and bottles! Now, I‘ll try to do that everyday ! Thanks!
Andrea, 41 , Greece
Who Where When What Why

Hi everyone! For Earth Day, I asked my classmates to pick up rubbish in the playground and they
agreed! We’ll also do advertising to help people clean their city! I hope it will change a little bit.
Pauline, 13, France.

Who When Where What Why

Write your own answer.

126
4. Read the passage and answer the questions.

EARTH DAY

Today, the 22nd of April, all the children from my school have
celebrated Earth Day. In this day, we came to school on foot or
by bicycle, we turned off the lights we didn’t need, we only
turned on the water if we really need it and we recycled in order
to help our nice planet. Today we have also enjoyed the day having a picnic in a
park nearby. We went on foot and there we ate and when we finished, we took
everything and we have recycled it. We must remember the 3R rule, reuse (to use
something more), reduce (to reduce something is to use something less) and
recycle. I think a better planet could be possible if everybody does this everyday.

Ann, 10. London.

1. Who writes the letter and how old is he/she?

_________________________________________

2. Which day do we celebrate Earth Day?

_________________________________________

3. What have the children done today in order to help the planet?

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

4. Where did the children go to celebrate Earth Day?

_________________________________________

5. What does the 3R rule consist of?

_________________________________________

6. Does Ann think that we should recycle every day?

_________________________________________

127
5. Listen to the song “Love Song to the Earth” and do the exercises below.

LOVE SONG TO THE EARTH

Paul McCartney, Natasha Bedingfield, Jon Bon Jovi, Sean Paul, and others

This is an open _______________

From you and me _______________
money words years
Tomorrow's in our _______________ now
universe blue letter
Find the _______________ that matter
Say them out _______________ question world hands
And make it better somehow
together loud moon
Looking down from up on the _______________
It’s a tiny _______________ marble heaven fragile love
Who’d have thought the ground we stand on
Could be so _______________
This is a _______________ song to the Earth
You’re no ordinary _______________
A diamond in the _______________
_______________’s poetry to us
Keep it safe, keep it safe, keep it safe
cause it’s our world

It's not about possessions, _______________, or religion

How many _______________ we might live?
When the only real _______________ that matters is still
A matter of perspective

Looking down from up on the ……

This is a love song to the Earth…..
Bang Bang Bang
See Mama earth is in a crazy mess
It's time for us to do our best
From deep sea straight up to Everest
She under crazy stress
unless you wanna be motherless
Clean heart, green Heart
is the way, is stress
Speediness and too much greediness
Six billion people all want plentiness
Some people think this is harmless
( It's our world, It's our world)
But if we continue there'll
only be emptiness
This is a love song to the Earth…..
"Everybody keep it safe now" "keep it safe"
It’s our world, it’s our world it’s our world, it’s our world

128
Post-activity
For each of the following statements, in the space to the left, fill in the response
that best represents your understanding.

1=strongly disagree 2=somewhat disagree 3=somewhat agree 4=strongly agree

____ Harm to the environment is justified if it brings an economic benefit.

____ It is important to preserve the environment for future generations.
____ There is nothing we can do to change environmental conditions.
____ Nature is fragile and we should be careful not to harm or disrupt it.
____ Technology will be able to make up for environmental harm.
____ Nature is divine, and should be treated respectfully.
____ People should lead simpler lives with less reliance on technology and less harm to the
environment.
____ It is all right to sacrifice other species in order to satisfy human needs.
____ We can trust the government to protect the environment.
____ Small communities better protect the environment than large cities.
____ Non-industrialized nations are not harming the environment.
____ People affected by environmental harms should be allowed to immigrate to rich countries.

129
 Pollution

Pre-activities
1. Work in groups. Make a Word Web with words related to pollution. Share your
work with the class.

POLLUTION

2. Discuss the questions with your partners.

 What comes to mind when you hear the word ‘pollution’?

 What different forms of pollution do you know of?

 What harm does pollution do to the environment?

 How bad is pollution in your town?

 Is there a lot of pollution in Costa Rica?

 What do you think the most polluted cities in the world are?

130
While-activities
1. Match the causes of water pollution with the corresponding pictures.

131
2. Match the causes of land pollution with the corresponding pictures.

132
3. A park ranger is describing past environmental problems at Hanauma Bay Nature
Preserve in Hawaii. Check the reasons for each problem.
Let’s talk 2 CD 2 Track 15-16

Problem Reasons
1. Too few fish ___ people catching fish ___ people eating fish
___ disease ___ water pollution
2. Too many fish ___ people catching fish ___ people overfeeding fish
___ too few predators ___ too many plants
3. Too many visitors ___ beautiful preserve ___ great swimming
___ free fish ___ good restaurants

Listen again. How did they solve the problems? Complete the sentences with the
words in the box.

fishing feeding parking lot

Problem 1: A law was passed to stop ________________ that also stopped the people
from taking away shell, rocks, and coral.
Problem 2: Another law was passed to stop people from ________________ the fish.
Problem 3: New visitors cannot enter if the ________________ is full.

4. Listen to the conversation. Fill in the missing information. Use the words in the
box. New Interchange 3 CD 2 Track 4

publicity law management companies factory chemicals

rive Greener stop story industries uncle

Andy: You know, there’s a _______________ outside town that’s pumping _______________ into the
_______________ .
Carla: How can they do that? Isn’t that against the _______________?
Andy: Yes, it is. But a lot of _______________ ignore those laws.
Carla: That’s terrible! What can _______________ do?
Andy: Well, one thing to do about it is to talk to the _______________ .
Carla: What if that doesn’t work?
Andy: Well, then another way to _______________ them is to get a TV station to run a
_______________ on it.
Carla: Yes! Companies hate bad _______________ . By the way, what’s the name of this company?
Andy: It’s called Apex _______________ .
Carla: Oh no! My _______________ is one of their top executives!

Listen to the rest of the conversation.

What do Andy and Carla decide to do?

133
5. Read the text and answer the questions.

Pollution

There are lots of environmental problems nowadays, mainly because of pollution. It is the
contamination of air, water and soil by different materials that interfere with human health and
quality of life.
The emissions form industries and engines, including cars, are big causes of air pollution and
simple things that we do at home, like using aerosols, have bad effects on the ozone layer,
which protects life on Earth from ultraviolet radiation.

Water is also suffering from pollution by domestic, municipal and also industrial waste. It is up
to us to stop damaging the environment. We all should be environment friendly!

1. What is affecting the environment the most?

2. What are the causes of air pollution?

3. What’s wrong with aerosols?

4. What is the function of the Ozone Layer?

5. Why is water suffering from pollution?

6. Why do you think we should all be environment friendly?

Post-activity
Finish these sentences with your own ideas. Then share your ideas with the class.

Air pollution ____________________________________________________

Traffic fumes ___________________________________________________

All people _______________________________________________________

Garbage ___________________________________________________

The government __________________________________________________

Eco-organizations ________________________________________________

The weather ____________________________________________________

The Earth ______________________________________________________

134
How green are you?
Pre-activity
1. How concerned are you about the environment? Answer the questions. Number
each item from 0 to 4. Then interview a partner, and mark the answers.
0= never 1= hardly ever 2= sometimes 3= often 4= always

You Your
Do you…? partner
recycle paper, glass, cans, and plastic
reuse products such as plastic bags and paper
repair items instead of throwing them away
avoid buying over-packaged products
pick up other people’s litter
use public transportation for long distances
walk or use a bike for short distances
turn off the lights you leave a room
use low-energy lightbulbs
avoid using the fan or the air conditioning
avoid using more water than you need

Add up your scores. Analyze them based on the chart below.

36-48 You’re so concerned about the environment, it’s unbelievable!

Are there even more things you do to protect the environment?
24-35 You’re very environmentally aware. You care about and respect
the world around you.
12-23 You do some things to protect the environment, but there’s
always room for improvement.
0-11 You’re not concerned about the environment at all. Be aware of
the things you can do. Everything you do will help.

135
While-activities
1. Match the pollution consequences with the corresponding pictures.

136
2. Listen to the conversation. Fill in the missing information. Use the words in the
box. Then practice with a partner.
New Interchange 3 CD 2 Track 1

fish school Greener ocean working industrial overfishing member

Andy: Excuse me. Would you like to make a contribution to ____________ World?
Carla: Sure. What are you ____________ on right now?
Andy: Well, we’re developing educational programs for ____________. We want to show
children how the ____________ are being polluted by ____________ waste. And we want to
tell them about how ____________supplies have been depleted through ____________.
Carla: I think what you’re doing is terrific. I wish I could do more to help.
Andy: So, have you ever thought about becoming a ____________ of Greener World?
Carla: No, but tell me a little more about it.

Listen to the rest of the conversation.

What else has Greener World accomplished in their city?

3. Today we’re going to write a report on pollution. Can you help us to finish the
passage? Look at the pictures and the words given in the box.

dangerous fresh air late noise air

water smoke safe serious

The pollution in Hong Kong is a ________________ problem.

We have __________________ pollution which makes the rivers and

the sea very dirty. Some seafood is no longer __________________ to
eat now. We have _______________ pollution because of the
_________________ made by cars and factories.
__________________ pollution is also getting worse because of the
traffic in our streets.
If we allow this to go on, Hong Kong will become a ________________
place to live in. Therefore we must do something before it is
too ________________.
If we don’t stop making a lot of smoke, we won’t have
__________________ to breathe.

137
4. Listen to the passage. Choose the option that answers each question.
Teenagers 11 Track 34

1. How much of the Earth’s tropical rain forest has been cut down in the last fifty
years? Almost _______________ % of it.

( ) 15 ( ) 25 ( ) 50 ( ) 60

2. One reason the tropical rain forest is cut down is _______________.

( ) mining. ( ) hunting. ( ) coffee growing. ( ) housing.

3. Two main environmental problems cities are facing are _______________.

( ) garbage and traffic jams. ( ) garbage and air pollution.

( ) deforestation and air pollution. ( ) air and water pollution.

4. What can you do if there is not a recycle program in your city?

You can _______________.

( ) burn your garbage.

( ) keep your garbage at home.
( ) take your garbage to another city.
( ) write a letter about the issue to the city mayor.

5. What can you do to help to protect the environment?

You can _______________.

( ) ride your bike. ( ) ride a motorcycle.

( ) travel by your Dad’s car. ( ) travel by your friends’ car.

6. To help to protect the environment you can encourage your parents to

_______________.

( ) walk to work. ( ) work at home.

( ) ride a bike to work. ( ) buy a more economical car.

138
5. Some students cleaned up the park. They wrote a report and made a graph of
the work done. Read the graph and answer the questions.

8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
Number Paper Plastic Cans Bottles Old food Smoke Dirty water

There are four types of pollution: they are: Water Pollution,

Air Pollution, Land Pollution and Noise Pollution. We need to be
responsible and take care of the earth!

1. How many cans were found in the park? __________________

2. How many bottles were found in the park? _________________

3. Is there more plastic than cans?

________________

4. How many sheets of paper were found?

________________

5. Which item has the most? ________________

6. Was there any smoke? __________________

7. Which two items have the same amount? ___________________

8. Name the four types of pollution: ___________________________________

______________________________________________________________

139
6. Listen to the passage. Answer the questions.
Teenagers 11 Track 35

1. What place did the Science class clean up?

_______________________________________

2. When did they clean it up?

_______________________________________

3. What were the problems in that place?

_______________________________________
_______________________________________

4. How many bags were filled with garbage?

_______________________________________

5. What did they do with the dead branches?

_______________________________________

6. Why did they do and put up signs?

_______________________________________

Post-activity
Work in groups of three. Can you think of environmental problems where you live?
What solutions can you suggest? Complete the chart and then share your ideas with
the class.

Air pollution is a big problem in City Park. Maybe they can pass a law. They should
One reason is there are too many cars. allow cars…..

One reason is there are too many cars.

PROBLEMS SOLUTIONS

140
 FAUNA
Pre-activity
Listen to the sounds. Can you identify the animals? Where do they live?
Santillana 7 Track 18

While-activities
1. Listen to the descriptions. Number the animals in the order the speaker
describes them. Two animals are not described.
Santillana 7 Track 17

2. How much do you know about the koala bear? Read each statement and write T
(True) or F (False) on the blank.

______ This animal lives in Africa. ___________________________________

______ It spends most of the day sleeping. _____________________________
______ It eats fish. ______________________________________________
______ It drinks a lot of water. _____________________________________
______ It lives in the forest. ______________________________________

141
3. Listen to the description. Check your answers in the exercise below. Rewrite
the false sentences according to what you hear.
Santillana 9 Track 12

4. Listen again. Complete the information.

This animal is called _______________________________________

It lives in _______________________________________
It uses a bag to _______________________________________
It spends most of the day _______________________________________
Its favorite food is _______________________________________
It measures about _______________________________________ when it is an adult.
The female has _______________________________________ every two years.
It is not a bear, it is a _______________________________________

5. Write a description of your favorite wild animal. Mention some characteristics

(size, color, where it lives, what food it eats, etc).

____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________

6. Read your description without mentioning the name of the animal. Your
partners should try to guess which animal you are describing.

Post-activity
The class will be divided in three teams. Each team will take turns to read the
descriptions of animals provided by the teacher. The other teams should guess the
name of each animal. The team with more points will be the winner.

142
 ENDANGERED SPECIES
Pre-activity
Label the pictures using the vocabulary in the box.
eating horn blue whale leopard dam
drilling energy petroleum offshore rig
China oil spill sea turtle bamboo panda
hunting rhinoceros Africa climb mountains
ocean condor snow leopard deforestation

1 2 3

4 5 6

7 8 9

10

143
While-activities
1. Read and comment on the information with your partners.

Do you know that…

... one animal species becomes extinct every half hour?

… Costa Rica covers less than 0.03 percent of the earth’s surface, yet it is home to 875
registered species of birds (one-tenth of the world’s bird species)?
… the eggs of the ostrich are the largest in the world and can weigh about 1.5 kilograms
each?
… the blue whale is the largest living animal? The largest measured was 33.58 m long
and weighed over 160 tons?
… a captive Andean condor lived for 72 years?
… the ocean sunfish is the champion egg-layer, producing about 300 million eggs at one
time?
… a large tortoise survived on one banana per month?
… Costa Rica has more than 1000 varieties of butterflies?

Like African leopards, I, the puma, I’m the cheetah, the fastest
can jump 5.5 meters up into a tree! mammal. I run at 110 km/hr over
What about you? shot distances. Not bad, eh?

144
2. Read the dialogue, talk about it, and answer the questions below.

Dana: Wow! I’m surprised at all the flora and fauna that exists in your country!
Ethan: So am I. Costa Rica is a country that protects the environment.
Fanny: Well, I think we’re trying to protect what we have. The Ministry of Environment and
Energy (MINAE) is the official agency that protects the environment and existing species. It’s
a hard job.
Dana: And what are some of the interesting animals that live in this country?
Max: Well, here in Costa Rica you can find all kinds of monkeys, like the spider monkey, the
howler and the capuchin.
Dana: last time we went to Bolivar Park in San Jose and we saw the capuchins. They’re so funny!
Fanny: Yes, they’re cute, aren’t they? Another impressive animal you can find in our country is
the jaguar, the largest of the cat family.
Unfortunately, today this magnificent beast is endangered, but some can still be found in Santa
Rosa, Corcovado National Park or in the lowest levels of the Talamanca mountain range.
Ethan: It’s a shame to hear this animal is becoming extinct! I’d really like to see one. I’ve heard
that a mature jaguar can be more than two meters long and weigh around 90 kilograms!
Dana: Wow, that’s amazing. It’s a very big animal. What about those tiny frogs?
Max: Oh, those are great, too! You can find them in all of Central and South America. They’re
called poison-dart frogs because the aborigines extracted their poison and put it on their darts.
Fanny: You can find them in Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, especially from April to May,
when they reproduce.
Max: But let me tell you about another animal I also find interesting, the manatees. You can
find them along the Central American coast.
Ethan: I’ve never seen one! Where can you find them here in Costa Rica?
Max: Unfortunately, there’s only a small population in Tortuguero. This marine animal is also an
endangered species because for many years people hunted it for its flesh, and its skin was used
to make machine belts and high-pressure hoses.
Dana: It’s a shame to hear that.
Fanny: It sure is! The good thing is that these days, the government has created a lot of
reserves and national parks where these and other animals are safe from hunters and
environmental problems that can put them at risk.
Ethan: Thanks a lot for all the information, kids. We’re going to visit a lot of places in Costa
Rica to see some of the animals we talked about.
Fanny: sure, have a nice time!

145
1. What animals are mentioned in the conversation?
____________________ ____________________ ____________________

____________________ ____________________ ____________________

2. What is the official agency in charge of protecting the environment in Costa Rica?
___________________________________________________________________

3. Where can the jaguar be found in Costa Rica?

_________________________________________________________________

4. Why is a species of frogs called poison-dart frogs?

___________________________________________________________________

5. Where can poison-dart frogs be found in Costa Rica?

___________________________________________________________________

6. What was the manatees’ skin used to for many years?

___________________________________________________________________

7. What has the government done to protect endangered species?

___________________________________________________________________

3. Listen to the conversation. Answer the questions below.

Teenagers 9 Track 22

1. What is the name of the program?

___________________________________________________________________
2. What is the objective of Jack Crusoe’s ecological campaign?
___________________________________________________________________
3. What species is the campaign interested in protecting the most?
___________________________________________________________________

4. What do traders deal from the bears?

___________________________________________________________________

5. What is made of bear’s fur?

___________________________________________________________________

6. What is Crusoe’s campaign doing to protect the bear?

___________________________________________________________________

146
4. Read the letter a group of students wrote to the editor of a newspaper. Then
put a check (√) by the correct statements.

Dear editor,

For our Science class we have to find out why some species of animals become extinct. Yesterday we read an
advertisement in your newspaper about a prestigious store that will present a fashion show next Saturday in
our national auditorium. Famous models will participate in it. And the focus is… leather and fur clothes and
shoes.

We disagree completely with this show, especially because, ironically, last week we read an interesting article
in your newspaper about “Endangered Species”.

We need to protect nature. Many animals are endangered, and others are already extinct. We should do
something immediately. Do you think your newspaper could help us with this effort?

We ought to find some solutions. For example, the government must prohibit factories from making clothes
with animal fur. We need to convince models not to wear these kinds of clothes. And you should refuse to
carry these kinds of ads.

We are counting on you. Thank you!

Sincerely yours,

Mary Allen, Daniel Boyd, Therese Hamilton

1. ____ Mary and Therese are students.

2. ____ Woolen clothes are the focus of the show.
3. ____ The Science teacher works for the newspaper.
4. ____ The students investigate endangered animals.
5. ____ A model wrote the letter.
6. ____ The students are against the fashion show.
7. ____ The newspaper organizes the show.
8. ____ The show takes place at school.

147
5. Work in groups of three. Complete the chart. Follow the example. Share the
information with your classmates.

Animals in danger of extinction

Endangered Habitat Region How to protect them Drawing
animals
Warm tropical Caribbean, Don’t hunt them. Don’t take
Manatees waters Mexico, boats where they swim. Don’t
Central & pollute the waters. Don’t
South destroy their natural habitat.
America, Treat and rehabilitate sick and
injured manatees.

Post-activity
Discuss the questions below with your partners.

 Why are some animals extinct or in danger of extinction?

 Would breeding in captivity be a solution? Give pros and cons and other
solutions.
 What do you think about hunting or killing animals? Is it okay? When is it
not okay?
 Why would anyone possibly want to kill a harmless animal? Give reasons.
 What can you do to protect endangered animals?

148