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This unit includes:
LANGUAGE
Pronunciation
Intonation in question tags
Vocabulary
Words and phrases related to ecosystems
Grammar
Compound nouns
SKILLS
Reading: Reading for main ideas and specific information in an article about a national park
Speaking: Talking about ways to protect local biodiversity and responding to situations that may harm the environment
Listening: Listening for specific information in a talk about the human impact on ecosystems, and making predictions
Writing: Writing an opinion essay about spending money on restoring local ecosystems
COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE/CLIL
Everyday English
Expressing likes and dislikes
CLIL
Protecting the ecosystem - Ideas from around the world
PROJECT
Making a poster about a local ecosystem and how to restore/protect it
I. GETTING STARTED
Ecosystems and humans
1. Listen and read.
Ms Hoa: Nam, you went to Cuc Phuong National Park last weekend, didn't you?
Nam: Yes, that's right. It was an amazing trip. This old forest is home to thousands of different kinds of plants, insects, and animals. I really liked the colourful butterflies and the thousand-year-old tree. Ms Hoa: Yes, Cuc Phuong National Park has a very rich ecosystem.
Mai: What's an ecosystem, Ms Hoa?
Ms Hoa: It's a community that has living things, like flora and fauna. Flora refers to plants and fauna refers to animals, including tiny organisms, like bacteria. Ecosystems also include non-living things, like sunlight, air, soil, and water.
Nam: How important are ecosystems to life on our planet, Ms Hoa?
Ms Hoa: Healthy ecosystems are essential for human health and survival because they provide us with goods such as food, energy, raw materials, clean water, and air.
Mai: So we should protect our ecosystems, shouldn't we?
Ms Hoa: That's right. Unfortunately, many ecosystems around the world are being lost, damaged, or destroyed because of climate change, pollution, and overuse of natural resources. It's very important to protect and restore them for future generations. We don't want our planet to lose even more biodiversity, do we?
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2. Read the conversation again and decide whether these statements are true (T) or false (F).
| T | F | |
| 1. Nam went to Cuc Phuong National Park two weeks ago. | ||
| 2. In an ecosystem, plants, animals, and other living and non-living things form a community. | ||
| 3. We are losing a large number of ecosystems around the world. |
3. Complete the diagram with words in 1.
Ecosystem:
• (1) _____ things
- Plants or (2) _____
- Animals or (3) _____
- Tiny organisms such as (4) _____
• (5) _____ things: Sunlight, soil, air, water, etc.
4. Use the words in the box to form compound nouns mentioned in 1. Match them with the meanings below.
| raw climate change resources park natural national materials |
1. a change in the earth's weather conditions _____
2. things that exist in nature and can be used by people _____
3. land protected by the government because of its natural beauty or special history _____
4. basic materials used to make products _____
