Lesson 6

My Promise with Mother Nature

Listen and Speak 1

Listen [page 122]

1 W You know what? The oceans could contain more plastic waste than fish by 2050.

Script Text

M That’s unbelievable. Where did you hear that?

W Yesterday, I happened to watch a documentary about plastic waste in the ocean.

M What did it say?

W According to marine scientists, about eight million tons of plastic ends up in the oceans every year.

M Eight million tons is a lot, but the oceans are huge.

W Well, imagine five grocery bags full of plastic waste on every 30 centimeters of coastline around the earth.

M I had no idea so much plastic ended up in the oceans. That’s a pity!

W Me, neither. We need to do something about this immediately.

2 W Today, I’m going to talk about endangered animals on the Galapagos Islands. Have you heard about the Pinta giant tortoise? It’s a giant tortoise which used to live on Pinta Island in the Galapagos. Once, about 300,000 giant tortoises lived on the island, but their population dropped to nearly zero due to overhunting by humans, and they were thought to be extinct for a while. To our surprise, however, one male Pinta giant tortoise was found in 1971 and was named “Lonesome George” because he was found alone. Scientists did their best to save the species, but on June 24th, 2012, he died, marking the complete extinction of the species. That’s a pity, isn’t it?

Listen and Speak 2

Listen [page 123]

1 W I really enjoyed the food. Thank you for inviting me.

Script Text

M You’re welcome. I’m glad you liked it.

W By the way, what’s that box for? I mean the one beside the sink.

M It’s a food waste disposal box. I keep earthworms in it, and food waste from the table goes there.

W How interesting! So the earthworms eat the same things you do?

M Sure. They eat almost anything.

W Awesome! Do you know how to take care of earthworms?

M It’s very simple. If you’re interested, I can give you some of mine and show you how to take care of them.

W That’d be wonderful.

2 M It’s pouring outside. Do you have an umbrella with you?

W No. It’d be great if we had a huge umbrella over the entire city, wouldn’t it? That way, we wouldn’t have to get wet.

M Yeah, and we could solve the water shortage, too.

W How would we do that?

M Most rainwater is wasted. If we could collect it in a container, we could use it later.

W Do you know how to collect rainwater?

M If you build an underground storage tank and connect it to the roof, all the rainwater can be collected in it.

W Then the water can be used later for many purposes, right?

M Sure. That’s exactly what modern rainwater harvesting systems do.

W Really? So the technology already exists, huh? Amazing!

In Real Life

Listen [page 124]

M Good evening and welcome to KBA news. Our first report tonight deals with the enormous problem of rising sea levels, which is due to global warming. As the earth’s climate continues to warm, the sea levels are expected to rise more and more rapidly, putting coastal areas such as Venice and Florida at greater risk of flooding. Scientists claim that if the seas rise more than one meter above current levels, low-lying countries such as Bangladesh will have millions of climate refugees. What’s more, dams in the Netherlands may collapse. That’s a real pity! Reporter Linda Park has more.

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Wrap-up Test  [page 140]

1 W Folks, I did some research on the Galapagos Islands for my homework assignment. I chose this topic because Darwin’s theory of evolution was born there. The Galapagos Islands are home to a wealth of rare plants and animals found nowhere else, so the Islands are a living laboratory for scientists. However, concerns grow as the Islands’ ecosystem is threatened these days. Those threats include illegal fishing, the introduction of non-native species, and the growing demands of more than 160,000 tourists per year. All these factors make the lives of the Islands’ native animals harder than ever, too. That’s a pity, isn’t it? It is no doubt that the Islands should be protected.

Script Text

2 M Hey, what are you doing with that clock?

W The batteries are dead, and I’m replacing them with new ones.

M You’re not using rechargeable batteries? You can save money and energy if you use them.

W Yeah, I was thinking about switching from traditional batteries.

M Good idea.

W By the way, do you know how to recycle rechargeable batteries when they’re dead?

M I heard that there are many collection sites all over the city. Visit the city homepage and it will tell you where the closest site is.

W All right. I’ll pick up some rechargeable batteries soon. Thanks.