BIODIVERSITY

Fill in words that fit in the text:

It is essential that we do all we can to help protect ____________. Biodiversity is responsible for the ____________ of the air we breathe, and the water we ____________. We rely on biodiversity to provide us with ____________, both animal and vegetable, as many of the plants we eat require animals to ____________ them. We also have biodiversity to thank for fertile ____________ to plant our crops in, the regulation of ____________ on earth, and also as the source of many of our ____________ for healing. In short, biodiversity provides us with everything we need to ____________.

 

 

Solutions: biodiversity, purification, drink, food, pollinate,
soils,
climate,
medicines,
live.

Mountain Top Removals in West Virginia

Put the verbs in parentheses into the right form:


Last week, the state of West Virginia announced that it _________ (sue) both the Environmental Protection Agency and the the Army Corps of Engineers over mountain top removal mining regulations. It said they ___________ (be) "unlawful" and "based on inadequate science."

West Virginia's Gov. Joe Manchin accused the government that they purposefully__________ (delay) 23 pending mountain top removal mining permits and ___________ (harm) the state's economy in the process.

Manchin alleged that no specific law or government regulation __________ (keep) the permits from passing.

Solutions: would sue, were, delayed, harmed, had kept

Saving South African Leopards with Fake Fur

(adapted from www.care2.com)

Use the active or passive form of the verbs in parentheses:

 

This is one example of a major conservation blind spot in southern Africa right now: the widespread and rapid loss of leopard populations to an illegal yet culturally entrenched skin trade. The most frightening thing is not the rate at which these magnificent big cats ___________ (hunt), but just how little the public___________ (know) about the trade.

The major demand for skins ___________ (create) by the four million strong religious group known as the Shembe church. The Shembe ___________ (adopt) leopard skins into their ceremonial life from their traditional place in Zulu culture where for hundreds of years the skins ___________ (serve) as a sign of the royal family. Now, what was once the reserve of the elite ___________ (search) after by millions of people, and at a single gathering upward of 600 leopards skins can ___________ (see). In a country highly sensitive about race and culture, stopping a practice like this -- however illegal -- through the use of the law, is almost impossible. It is an accepted norm for too many people.

 

are being hunted, knows, is created, have adopted, served, is sought, be seen

Ocean Storm

Put connectors on the blanks:

(This is a modified passage from Rachel Carson's book "The Sense of Wonder")

One stormy autumn night ________ my nephew was about twenty months old I wrapped him in a blanket ________ carried him down to the beach in the rainy darkness. Out there, just at the edge of where-we-couldn't-see, big waves were thundering in, dimly seen white shapes _________ boomed ________ shouted _______ threw great handfuls of froth at us. Together we laughed for pure joy - he a baby meeting for the first time the wild tumult of Oceanus, I with the salt of half a lifetime of sea love in me. ____ I think we felt the same response to the vast, roaring ocean _______ the wild night around us.

Solutions: when, and, that, and,and, But, and.

A Bike Tour in North Toronto

Read the directions and trace the route on the map

 

Start from the Broadview subway station on the Danforth-Bloor line and ride north on Broadview Avenue. Turn left onto Pottery Road. Turn left on Bayview Avenue and ride to the Moore Park Ravine. Ride the path north through the maples and willows of the ravine to Moore Avenue.

At Moore Avenue you can ride into the Mount Pleasant Cemetery from dawn to dusk. Follow the marked route through the cemetery. Ride across the bridge over Yonge Street and the Davisville subway car yards. Follow the path through Forest Hill. Cross Oriole Parkway and Avenue Road. Go under the Eglinton West bridge and cross Bathurst Street. Ride to Allen Expressway, turn left and walk to Eglinton West subway station on the Spadina line.
MAP

To create your own map, you must have a Google account. If you don't, work with a friend who does, or your teacher. Open Google Maps, click on My Maps and watch the tutorial how to make your own map. Then trace the bike route as described in the text above. Print the map and compare with others in your class. You can also do a search about places that interest you on this route (e.g. restaurants, because you will get hungry after the ride).

Urban Forest

Put the verbs in parentheses either in an active or a passive form:

Toronto is a city of trees. More than three million trees ____________ (dominate) our ravines, ____________ (line) our boulevards and ____________ (beautify) our parks. Millions more trees____________ (locate) on private property.
Trees are the lifelines of our city. Trees____________ (beautify) neighbourhoods. The harsh texture of concrete buildings ____________ (soften) by trees. Trees ____________ (offer) privacy screens and ____________ (protect) people from the sun’s burning rays. Harmful gases and other pollutants____________ (absorb) by trees. Soils __________ (protect) from erosion. Trees ____________ (provide) a natural habitat for birds and wildlife, ____________ (cool) streets and homes in the summer, and ____________ (protect) us from winds in the winter.
Trees are the predominant contributor to Toronto’s image as a “green” and beautiful city.
Toronto’s trees along city streets, in parks, ravines and natural areas, in the front and back yards of homes, and in landscaped open spaces are collectively known as the city’s “urban forest”. It must ____________ (protect) and ____________ (grow) as a natural legacy for future generations to enjoy.

Green Heroes