Unlocking Word Meanings
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. shrink (v.) [shringk] –to become smaller, or
cause something to become smaller
Example: My pair of jeans suddenly shrank after I
washed it.
2. terrestrial (adj.) [tuh-res-tree-uhl] –living or
growing on land rather than sea or air
Example: Terrestrial animals starved after the
ice age period.
3. invertebrates (n.) [in-vur-tuh-brits, -breyts] –an animal that
does not have a backbone, e.g. an insect or worm
Example: Ants are invertebrates.
4. ecosystem (n.) [ek-oh-sis-tuhm, ee-koh-] –a group of
interdependent organisms together with the environment that they inhabit and
depend on
Example: Pollution affects the balance of the ecosystem.
5. sufficiency (n.) [suh-fish-uhn-see] –an amount of something that is enough for
somebody or something
Example: Food sufficiency is the main concern in poor
countries.
Article
Read the text below.
Read the text below.
Many plants and animals are shrinking because of climate
change. Experts fear this may negatively affect food resources in the future.
Scientists from the National University of Singapore found from
fossil records and studies on climate change over the last 100 years that
increasing temperature and unstable rainfall are affecting the size of many
aquatic and terrestrial
species in the ecosystem.
According to David Bickford, co-author of the study,
cold-blooded animals relying
on the environment for heat—such as fish,
amphibians and reptiles—have decreased in size as temperature rose to
1.5 degrees Celsius within a 22-year period.
Moreover,
the study revealed that invertebrates shrank by up to 75% due to warming periods. Marine species like corals,
scallops, oysters and phytoplankton also became smaller due to high acid
content in water resulting from an increased temperature in the atmosphere.
Fossil records also showed that even more complex animals like rodents
have decreased in size.
Scientists
predict this phenomenon to seriously affect food sufficiency in many
countries since almost one billion people rely on fish as their main protein
source. In addition, variable rain can also make
crop farming difficult.
Bickford
suggested that more experiments should be done to keep the ecological balance
and further protect different organisms in different places.
Viewpoint Discussion
Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.
Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.
Discussion A
·
Are you convinced by the evidence
proving climate change? Why or why not?
·
If climate change were true, what
can you do to help stop it?
Discussion B
·
What food has the highest consumption
rate in your country (e.g., kind of meat or vegetable)?
·
What other food sources do you have
in your country, besides fish and meat?
