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Level A Reading

The document discusses how frogs are declining rapidly all over the world with biologists unable to explain why. While some areas have been developed, frog disappearances are also happening in untouched areas. Changes in climate and UV radiation from ozone depletion could be factors in their decline.

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Zeynep Eriş
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24 views

Level A Reading

The document discusses how frogs are declining rapidly all over the world with biologists unable to explain why. While some areas have been developed, frog disappearances are also happening in untouched areas. Changes in climate and UV radiation from ozone depletion could be factors in their decline.

Uploaded by

Zeynep Eriş
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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READING

When was the last time you saw a frog? Chances are, if you live in a
Paragraph 1

city, you have not seen one for some time. Even in wet areas once teeming
with frogs and toads, it is becoming less and less easy to find those slimy,
hopping and sometimes poisonous members of the animal kingdom. All over
the world, even in remote jungles on the far side of the globe, frogs are losing the ecological battle
for survival, and biologists are at a loss to explain their disappearing. Are amphibians simply over-
sensitive to change in ecosystem? Could their rapid decline in numbers be signaling some coming
environmental disaster for us all?

This frightening scenario is in part the consequence of a dramatic increase over the last quarter
Paragraph 2

century in the development of once natural areas of wet marshland; home not only to frogs but to all
manner of wildlife. Yet, there are no obvious reasons why certain frog species are disappearing from
rainforests in Southern Hemisphere, which are barely touched by human hand. The mystery is
unsettling to say the least, for it is known that amphibian species are extremely sensitive to
environmental variations in temperature and moisture levels. The danger is that planet Earth might
not only lose a vital link in the ecological food chain (frogs keep populations of otherwise pestilent
insects at manageable levels), but we might be increasing our output of air pollutants to levels that
may have already become irreversible. Frogs could be inadvertently warning us of a catastrophe.

An example of a bizarre occurrence regarding a species of frog dates from the summer of
Paragraph 3

1995, when ‘an explosion’ of multi-coloured frogs of the species Rana klepton esculenta occurred in
the Netherlands. Normally these frogs are brown and greenish-brown, but some unknown
contributory factor is turning these frogs yellow and/or orange. Nonetheless, so far, the unusual bi-
and tri-coloured frogs are functioning similarly to their normal-skinned contemporaries. It is thought
that frogs with lighter coloured skins might be more likely to survive in an increasingly warm climate
due to global warming.

One theory put forward to explain extinct amphibian species that seems to fit the facts
Paragraph 4

concerns the depletion of the ozone layer, a well-documented phenomenon which has led to a sharp
increase in ultraviolet radiation levels. The ozone layer is meant to shield the Earth from UV rays, but
increased radiation may be having a greater effect upon frog populations than previously believed.
Another theory is that worldwide temperature increases are upsetting the breeding cycles of frogs.
A. Read the text and choose the best heading for each paragraph. (There are TWO EXTRA
headings.)

Paragraph 1_____ a. The mystery of amphibian decline

Paragraph 2_____ b. Frogs making changes to the ecosystem

Paragraph 3_____ c. Multi-coloured frog species cause problems

Paragraph 4_____ d. Frogs declining in number

e. Theories concerning the demise of frogs

f. Possible adaptation of frogs to the environment

B. Circle T(True), F(False) or DS(Doesn’t say) according to the text.

1. Frogs are disappearing only from city areas. T F DS


2. Frogs and toads are always poisonous. T F DS
3. Biologists are unable to explain why frogs are dying. T F DS
4. People have tried hard to protect the frogs in rainforests in Southern T F DS
Hemisphere.
5. Frogs are important in the ecosystem because they control pests. T F DS
6. It is not known why the Netherlands frogs are changing colour. T F DS
7. Biologists have conducted detailed studies on highly-coloured frogs. T F DS
8. A warmer climate may have a negative effect on the survival of light T F DS
coloured frogs.
9. There is convincing evidence that the ozone layer is being depleted. T F DS
10. It has been proved that frogs’ breeding cycles are upset by worldwide T F DS
increases in temperature.
KEY
C. Read the text and choose the best heading for each paragraph. (There are TWO EXTRA
headings.)

Paragraph 1 D a. The mystery of amphibian decline

Paragraph 2 A b. Frogs making changes to the ecosystem

Paragraph 3 F c. Multi-coloured frog species cause problems

Paragraph 4 E d. Frogs declining in number

e. Theories concerning the demise of frogs

f. Possible adaptation of frogs to the environment

D. Circle T(True), F(False) or DS(Doesn’t say) according to the text.

11. Frogs are disappearing only from city areas. T F DS

12. Frogs and toads are always poisonous. T F DS

13. Biologists are unable to explain why frogs are dying. T F DS

14. People have tried hard to protect the frogs in rainforests in Southern T F DS
Hemisphere.
15. Frogs are important in the ecosystem because they control pests. T F DS

16. It is not known why the Netherlands frogs are changing colour. T F DS

17. Biologists have conducted detailed studies on highly-coloured frogs. T F DS


18. A warmer climate may have a negative effect on the survival of light T F DS
coloured frogs.
19. There is convincing evidence that the ozone layer is being depleted. T F DS

20. It has been proved that frogs’ breeding cycles are upset by worldwide T F DS
increases in temperature.

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