Từ vựng theo chủ đề - Flora and fauna
1.1 How many plants and animals do you know? Can you name:
A five animals found in Africa?
B five different types of flower?
C five types of fruit?
D five animals found in Australia?
E five different types of tree?
F five types of vegetable?
1.2 Are these words associated with plants or animals? Put the words into the correct
column. Which word can go in both columns?
flora trunk fauna fur vegetation hide scales branch twig feathers
paw root coat predator claw thorn petal beak horn
Animals Plants
Which five words in the animal column are connected to their skin or covering?
1.3 COMPOUND NOUNS
Complete the sentences by adding one of these words animal, human, nature, natural.
1 It's human .......... to want to find a solution to our problems.
2 Vegans do not use or eat any.............. products.
3 I would rather be served by a..............being than by a computer.
4 I am constantly amazed by how beautiful and how destructive mother..............can be.
5 Man is said to be the most dangerous creature of all the.............. kingdom.
6 Animals are much happier living in their.............. habitat.
7 Manmade disasters such as chemical spills can destroy the.............. balance.
8 In some countries prisoners are denied basic.............. rights.
1.4 Listen to a description of an animal called a meerkat and complete the table.
Habitat Diet
• Found in South Africa in (1).............. • Meerkats mostly eat
areas. (5)..............,
• Avoids woodland and thick (2).............. (6).............. and
• It sleeps in (3).............. (7)...............
• If necessary, the meerkat will make a • They occasionally eat small rodents and the
(4).............. between rocks. (8)..............of certain plants.
2.1 Which is the odd one out? Circle the word which is different from the others and
say why.
1 rose tulip daisy week………………….
2 plant grow cultivate soil..............
3 crop plant shrub bush..............
4 organic natural chemical biological..............
5 tropical subtropical humid arid..............
6 arid desert semi-arid tropical..............
7 endemic native introduced local..............
2.2 Read the text and then decide if the statements below are true or false. Find words
in the text which mean the same or the opposite of the words in bold.
Introduced species
Since the birth of agriculture, farmers have tried to avoid using pesticides by employing
various biological methods to control nature. The first method involved introducing a predator
that would control pests by eating them. This was used successfully in 1925 to control the
prickly pear population in Australia. The prickly pear had originally been used as a divider
between paddocks. However, it eventually spread from a few farms to 4 million hectares of
farming land, rendering them unusable. The Cactoblastis mothlarvae was introduced to help
control the situation and within ten years, the prickly pear was virtually eradicated. Further
attempts at biological control weren't so successful. When farmers tried to eliminate the cane
beetle by introducing the South American cane toad, the results were catastrophic. The cane
toad did not eat the cane beetle and the toad population spread rapidly leading to the decline
of native species of mammals and reptiles.
1 Farmers do not like using chemicals to kill pests
2 The prickly pear was planted as a type of barrier between fields
3 The Cactoblastis moth killed off nearly all prickly pear
plants
4 The cane toad was a native species to Australia
5 Using the cane toad was very successful.
2.3 Now read the rest of the text and match the words in italics to the definitions below.
Other introduced species have proved similarly disastrous among native Australian animals.
Since the introduction of the cat, the fox and the rabbit from Europe, 19 species of native
animals have become extinct and a further 250 species are considered to be
either endangered or vulnerable. The modern-day approach to the biological control of pests
is through genetically modified crops.
It remains to be seen whether this controversial method will have any long-
term repercussions, particularly in regards to the ecological balance of the environment
where they are grown. Some fear that insects may become resistant to these new crops and
therefore become even more difficult to control.
1 at risk.............. .
2 negative effects.............. .
3 to stop being affected by something
4 at risk of dying out.............. .
s no longer existing.............. .
6 crops whose genes have been scientifically changed……………….
7 extremely bad or unsuccessful.............. .
8 the relationship between plants, animals, land, air, and water.............. .
2.4 WORD BUILDING
Complete the table. You do not need to write anything in the shaded areas.
Noun Adjective Adverb Verb
agriculture agricultural
ecology
evolve
extinct …………….extinct
nature
genetic
3. Improve the text by replacing the words in italics with a suitable word or phrase
from this unit.
Some farmers believe that growing 1 fruit and vegetables that have been 2 changed so that
their genes ore different is a good way to 3 totally stop pests and improve the quality of their
produce. However, this type of 4 farming has both advantages and disadvantages.
One of the advantages is that farmers can grow plants that produce a poison that is harmful
to 5 small animals like flies and caterpillars. This means that farmers will not have to
use 6 chemicals to kill these animals and so this should be better for the surrounding
environment and the 7 earth that plants grow in. As a result, it could help to protect
other 8 plants as well as the 9 living space of any animals in the area.
On the other hand, farmers usually only spray their fields once or twice per year but these new
plants would be toxic all year round. Furthermore, it is possible that over time the pests
may 10 stop being killed by the toxins and so the problem would be worse than ever. The toxins
may also be poisonous to other plants and animals and this would upset the 11 way plants and
animals live and grow together and may lead to more animals becoming 12 at risk of
extinction.
