Text # 7 “750 million genetically modified mosquitoes to be released”

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Scientists in Florida will release 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes into the wild. The aim is to reduce the number of existing mosquitoes that have diseases like Zika virus, yellow fever and dengue fever. The plan is to release the mosquitoes next year in the Florida Keys. This is a long chain of tropical islands stretching 170km south of the southern tip of Florida. The modified mosquitoes are all male. They carry a protein that will kill off any female offspring before they reach biting age. It is only female mosquitoes that feed on blood and bite humans. Males only feed on nectar from flowers. Over time, scientists hope the disease-carrying population of mosquitoes in the area will fall.

 

Environmental groups are not happy with the plan to release the genetically modified mosquitoes. One group called it a "Jurassic Park experiment". It said Florida was "a testing ground for mutant bugs". Many environmentalists warn that the project could cause damage to local ecosystems that could never be reversed. They say the experiment could even create a new super-species of mosquito that is resistant to insecticides. The environmental group Friends of the Earth said: "The release of genetically engineered mosquitoes will needlessly put Floridians, the environment and endangered species at risk in the midst of a pandemic." The company releasing the mosquitoes said there was no risk.

 


TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

  1. The government will release millions of genetically-modified mosquitoes. T / F
  2. The mosquitoes will be released all over the state of Florida. T / F
  3. The genetically-modified mosquitoes are male. T / F
  4. Only female mosquitoes bite us. T / F
  5. An environmental group was happy with this project. T / F
  6. Hollywood will base the next Jurassic Park movie on this project. T / F
  7. Environmentalists say a new super-mosquito could be created. T / F
  8. The company releasing the mosquitoes said there was a little risk. T / F

 

Text # 8 “Insect Apocalypse”

Scientists say that global warming isn't the only serious threat to humans. Another major threat is the falling numbers of insects and the extinction of many species. Scientists say that half of all insects worldwide have been declining since the 1970s. A new warning is that over 40 per cent of insect species could die out in our lifetime. Researchers said the number of insects is decreasing by 2.5 per cent every year. The scientists are calling it an "insect apocalypse". Many species of butterflies, bees and other bugs are now extinct. In the U.K. researchers say 23 bee and wasp species have gone extinct in the past century. Scientists say the apocalypse could trigger, "a catastrophic collapse of Earth's ecosystems".

Lead researcher Professor Dave Goulson said a lot of insects are being killed by pesticides used for farming and gardening. He said fewer numbers of insects might mean we cannot feed people. He told reporters: "Three quarters of our crops depend on insect pollinators. Crops will begin to fail. We won't have things like strawberries. We can't feed 7.5 billion people without insects." He said one of the most worrying trends is the decline of honeybees. In the USA, the number of honeybee colonies dropped from six million in 1947 to just 2.5 million in 2014. Professor Goulson warned people that: "We can't wait another 25 years before we do anything because it will be too late."

TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

  1. Scientists said insect extinction is a bigger threat than global warming. T / F
  2. A third of insects around the world have died since the 1970s. T / F
  3. The number of insects is decreasing at a rate of 2.5 per cent a year. T / F
  4. The article says there are only 23 species of bee left in the UK. T / F
  5. A professor said pesticides used on farms and gardens are killing insects. T / F
  6. The article said 75% of our crops depend on insect pollinators. T / F
  7. There are only 2.5 million honeybee colonies in the USA today. T / F
  8. A professor said it is too late to wait another 25 years to act. T / F

Text # 9 “Coal Addiction”

The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has told world leaders to end their addiction to coal. He said the fossil fuel was a "major threat" to climate change and warned that the coal addiction "must be overcome". Mr Guterres was in Thailand for the ASEAN Summit. He said that many countries in danger from climate change are in Asia. He told the world leaders that: "Countries in these areas are countries that are in one of the most vulnerable areas to climate change." He added that: "Unless we are able to...defeat climate change, in 2050, the research has forecasted that 300 million people in the world will be flooded by sea water."

Mr Guterres said climate change was, "the biggest threat to the planet at the present moment". He said using coal was a big problem. "We have to put a price on carbon. We need to stop subsidies for fossil fuels." He urged, "stopping the construction of coal-power electricity plants in order to be able to defeat climate change." The UN chief was speaking on a day that saw "unbearable" and "hazardous" levels of air pollution in India's capital of Delhi. An Indian health ministry official, Varun Jhaveri, said pollution monitors did not have enough digits to accurately record the pollution. He tweeted: "I think we are heading towards Delhi recording the most polluted day in the history of the world!! This is a disaster!"

TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

  1. The UN asked energy company CEOs to end their addiction to coal. T / F
  2. The UN said world leaders were a major threat to fossil fuels. T / F
  3. The UN chief was speaking at a summit in Bangkok. T / F
  4. The UN said 300 million people could be flooded by 2050. T / F
  5. The UN chief said climate change was the world's second biggest threat. T / F
  6. The UN chief said there should be more subsidies for fossil fuels. T / F
  7. Air pollution in Delhi was so high it could not be recorded. T / F
  8. A health official said it could be the most polluted day in history. T / F

Text # 10 “Mission Jurassic”

This year will see one of the world's biggest ever dinosaur digs. Paleontologists from across the globe will go to a special site in the U.S. state of Wyoming to join the dig. A paleontologist is someone who studies fossils. The dig is called Mission Jurassic. Researchers from the USA, England and Holland will join the Mission Jurassic team. They will try to find bones from dinosaurs that lived in the area 150 million years ago, in the Jurassic Era. The site of the dig is known as the Jurassic Mile. It is roughly 2.6 square kilometers in size. Scientists have already uncovered many interesting things over the past two years. These include dinosaur footprints, plant fossils and the bones of a 30-metre-long Diplodocus.

The bones found at the dig will go on display in Indianapolis - at the world's largest children's museum. Professor Paul Barrett, a researcher at the museum and a co-leader of the dig, said: "This is an area that hasn't been...extensively studied....The hope is to find new material of previously described species and, if we're lucky, new species of dinosaurs and the animals and plants that lived around them." Another museum professor, Richard Herrington, said: "This site offers a rare opportunity to build a picture of what the real Jurassic ecosystem would have looked like 150 million years ago." He hopes to find fossils, "from plants and invertebrates to ancient crocodiles, mammals, lizards and marine life"

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TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

  1. The world's biggest ever dinosaur dig will take place this year. T / F
  2. A paleontologist is someone who studies chickens and ducks. T / F
  3. The Jurassic Era was 150,000,000 years ago. T / F
  4. Scientists found a 30-metre-long Diplodocus bone. T / F
  5. The bones found at the dig will go in London's Natural History Museum. T / F
  6. The area of the dig has not been really studied so much. T / F
  7. Researchers hope to find a new species of dinosaur. T / F
  8. Researchers hope to find ancient crocodiles. T / F