Monday, September 27, 2010

AIR

Fill in these adjectives on the blanks:
invisible, diffuse, controllable, ecological, understood, shared, mysterious

Respiration is an ______________ act. We inhale a pint of atmosphere with every breath. And yet, of all the component aspects of our environment, air remains ______________.
Air is the element most ________________, most __________, most _____________, least _____________, least _______________.

This passage is from Sandra Steingraber's book "Living Downstream" (Da Capo Press 2010)

SOLUTIONS: ecological, mysterious, diffuse, shared, invisible, controllable, understood.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

The Last Trapper, a movie

“The Last Trapper” (2005 NFB, available at Blockbuster), by Nicolas Vanier
A feature movie about Norman Winther, played by himself
Here are some while-watching and post-watching tasks by the scene:

SCENE 1

{from the beginning to the kayak on a cascade}

Questions:
1. Find words that best describe the landscape.
2. Give your opinion on what a man’s life in this wilderness looks like.
3. Write down names of 5 animals that have been shown.
4. What makes Norman attracted to this way of living?
5. What is Norman’s fear? How do human activities in the area impact wild life?


SCENE 2

{grizzly bear, horses}

Questions:
1. What is a trap line? When is the trapping season? What does Norman do?
2. Describe the scene when Norman comes across a grizzly bear.
3. How does Norman interact with the animals he depends on?
4. How does he relate with the environment. Discuss different scenes you’ve seen in the movie.


SCENE 3

{cabin building, town, dog’s death}

Questions:
1. Describe the process of building a cabin.
2. What does Norman need from the city? What makes him return to his lifestyle?



SCENE 4

{Apache, hunting a moose)

Questions:
1. Norman and Nebraska call their new dog _____________.
2. According to Norman, man’s role is ___________________________________.
3. He is _____________ for killing an animal.
4. Nebraska goes back with a ___________ to get the meat.

SCENE 5

{trapping, sinking in ice}

Questions:
1. How would you describe sleighing dogs?
2. What is a role of a trapper, according to Norman?


SCENE 6

How does Norman relate to his dogs? What is their interdependence?


SCENE 7

{Alex and Norman, accident on a rock, wolves, Northern lights}

Questions:
1. In which way do Norman and Alex agree, and what are the differences between them?


SCENE 8

Questions:
1. What could be possible answers to Nebraska’s last question?
2. Consider life in that area 50 years from now.
3. Complete the sentences:
a) Norman Winther is ______________________________.
b) He lives _______________________________________
c) He loves ______________________________________
d) He thinks ___________________________________
e) He would like _________________________________
f) He says __________________________________
g) He fears _________________________________

4. Learn more about World Wildlife Fund (WWF)

UN Secretary General Introduction for the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity

UN Secretary General Welcome Message for the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity from CBD on Vimeo.

Listen to the speech and fill in the blanks:

Our lives depend on biological ____________. Species and eco systems are disappearing at an unsustainable ____________. We humans are the ____________. We start to lose a wider variety of ____________ goods and services that we take for granted. The consequences for economies and people will be ____________, especially for the world poorest people.

In 2002 world leaders agreed to substantially ____________ the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010.

We know already that the biodiversity ____________ will not be met.

We need a new vision and new efforts. To be as usual is not an ____________.

For this year of biodiversity I call on every country and each ____________ on our planet to join together in the global alliance to protect life on Earth.

Biodiversity is life. Biodiversity is ____________ life.


Solutions: diversity, rate, cause, environmental, profound, reduce, target, option, citizen, our.