The Reading / Listening - Polar Bear - Level 4

A video of a starving polar bear has gone viral. The bear is looking for food as it slowly walks across land with no snow. The bear is nothing but skin and bones. It is too weak to stand up properly. The photographer stated that the polar bear's condition was a clear sign of the terrible impact of climate change. He said filming the animal was amazingly sad. His team were, "pushing through their tears and emotions while documenting this dying polar bear".

The photographer's team was filming a documentary on conservation. He said: "This is what starvation looks like….It's a slow, painful death." He said the bear's condition was because of global warming. He said: "As temperatures rise and sea ice melts, polar bears lose access to the main [part] of their diets - seals." Climate change is threatening the world’s 26,000 polar bears. They are starving. They have to go into towns to look for food.

Try the same news story at these levels:

    Polar Bear - Level 5 or  Polar Bear - Level 6

Sources
  • https://www.theguardian.com
  • /environment/2017/dec/08/starving-polar-bear-arctic-climate-change-video
  • http://montrealgazette.com
  • /news/national/viral-video-of-starving-polar-bear-likely-the-product-of-climate-change-expert
  • http://montreal.ctvnews.ca
  • /viral-video-of-starving-polar-bear-spurs-calls-for-climate-change-action-1.3714570


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice, drag and drop activities, crosswords, hangman, flash cards, matching activities and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Phrase Matching

Paragraph 1

  1. A video of a starving polar bear has
  2. The bear is
  3. it slowly walks across land
  4. nothing but skin
  5. It is too weak to stand
  6. the terrible impact of
  7. amazingly
  8. pushing through their tears
  1. with no snow
  2. and emotions
  3. up properly
  4. looking for food
  5. sad
  6. gone viral
  7. and bones
  8. climate change

Paragraph 2

  1. filming a documentary
  2. This is what starvation
  3. It's a slow,
  4. because of global
  5. temperatures rise and sea
  6. the main part of their diets -
  7. threatening the world’s 26,000
  8. They have to go into towns
  1. seals
  2. painful death
  3. to look for food
  4. looks like
  5. polar bears
  6. warming
  7. on conservation
  8. ice melts

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

A video of a starving polar bear (1) ___________________. The bear is looking for food as it slowly walks (2) ___________________ no snow. The bear is nothing but (3) ___________________. It is too weak to stand up properly. The photographer stated that the polar bear's condition was a clear (4) ___________________ terrible impact of climate change. He said filming the animal (5) ___________________. His team were, "pushing through their (6) ___________________ while documenting this dying polar bear".

The photographer's team (7) ___________________ documentary on conservation. He said: "(8) ___________________ starvation looks like….It's a slow, painful death." He said the bear's condition (9) ___________________ global warming. He said: "As temperatures rise and sea ice melts, polar bears (10) ___________________ the main [part] (11) ___________________ - seals." Climate change is threatening the world’s 26,000 polar bears. They are starving. They have to go into towns to (12) ___________________.

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

Avideoofastarvingpolarbearhasgoneviral.Thebearislookingforfooda
sitslowlywalksacrosslandwithnosnow.Thebearisnothingbutskinand
bones.Itistooweaktostandupproperly.Thephotographerstatedthatt
hepolarbear'sconditionwasaclearsignoftheterribleimpactofclimatec
hange.Hesaidfilmingtheanimalwasamazinglysad.Histeamwere,"pu
shingthroughtheirtearsandemotionswhiledocumentingthisdyingpol
arbear".Thephotographer'steamwasfilmingadocumentaryonconser
vation.Hesaid:"Thisiswhatstarvationlookslike….It'saslow,painfulde
ath."Hesaidthebear'sconditionwasbecauseofglobalwarming.Hesaid
:"Astemperaturesriseandseaicemelts,polarbearsloseaccesstothem
ain[part]oftheirdiets-seals."Climatechangeisthreateningtheworl
d’s26,000polarbears.Theyarestarving.Theyhavetogointotownstolo
okforfood.

Student survey

Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

(Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

Discussion — Write your own questions

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

(a) ________________

(b) ________________

(c) ________________

(d) ________________

(e) ________________

(f) ________________

(g) ________________

(h) ________________

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

(i) ________________

(j) ________________

(k) ________________

(l) ________________

(m) ________________

(n) ________________

(o) ________________

(p) ________________

Free writing

Write about this topic for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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Answers

(Please check your answers against the article above.

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