The Reading / Listening - Polar Bear - Level 5

A video of a starving polar bear collapsing in Canada's wilderness has gone viral on the Internet. The bear is in search of food. It looks in rusty waste containers as it wanders across land with no snow. The bear is nothing but skin and bones. It is too weak to support its own body weight and has difficulty standing. A 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 heart-wrenching. His team were, "pushing through their tears and emotions while documenting this dying polar bear".

The photographer's team was in Canada to shoot a documentary on conservation. The bear they filmed was not old. It probably died within hours. He said: "This is what starvation looks like….It's a slow, painful death." He blamed the bear's sad condition on global warming. He said: "As temperatures rise and sea ice melts, polar bears lose access to the main staple of their diets - seals." Climate change is the biggest threat to the world’s 26,000 polar bears. Bears are starving, and running out of energy. They have to go into areas where humans live to look for food.

Try the same news story at these levels:

    Polar Bear - Level 4 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. gone viral
  2. it wanders across land
  3. The bear is nothing but skin
  4. It is too weak to support its
  5. a clear
  6. the terrible impact of
  7. filming the animal was
  8. their tears
  1. climate change
  2. and bones
  3. and emotions
  4. on the Internet
  5. heart-wrenching
  6. with no snow
  7. sign
  8. own body weight

Paragraph 2

  1. shoot a documentary
  2. It probably died
  3. This is what starvation looks
  4. As temperatures rise and sea
  5. the main staple of their diets -
  6. the biggest threat to the world’s
  7. go into areas where
  8. look
  1. like
  2. seals
  3. humans live
  4. within hours
  5. ice melts
  6. for food
  7. on conservation
  8. 26,000 polar bears

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

A video of a starving polar bear collapsing in Canada's wilderness (1) ___________________ on the Internet. The bear is in search of food. It looks in rusty waste containers (2) ___________________ across land with no snow. The bear is nothing but (3) ___________________. It is too weak to support its own body weight and has difficulty standing. A photographer stated that the polar bear's condition was a (4) ___________________ the terrible impact of climate change. He said filming the animal was heart-wrenching. His team were, "pushing through (5) ___________________ emotions while documenting (6) ___________________ bear".

The photographer's team was in Canada (7) ___________________ documentary on conservation. The bear they filmed was not old. It probably (8) ___________________. He said: "This is what starvation looks like….It's a slow, painful death." (9) ___________________ bear's sad condition on global warming. He said: "As temperatures (10) ___________________ ice melts, polar bears (11) ___________________ the main staple of their diets - seals." Climate change is the biggest threat to the world’s 26,000 polar bears. Bears are starving, and running (12) ___________________. They have to go into areas where humans live to look for food.

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

AvideoofastarvingpolarbearcollapsinginCanada'swildernesshasgon
eviralontheInternet.Thebearisinsearchoffood.Itlooksinrustywastec
ontainersasitwandersacrosslandwithnosnow.Thebearisnothingbuts
kinandbones.Itistooweaktosupportitsownbodyweightandhasdifficul
tystanding.Aphotographerstatedthatthepolarbear'sconditionwasacl
earsignoftheterribleimpactofclimatechange.Hesaidfilmingtheanima
lwasheart-wrenching.Histeamwere,"pushingthroughtheirtearsan
demotionswhiledocumentingthisdyingpolarbear".Thephotographer'
steamwasinCanadatoshootadocumentaryonconservation.Thebeart
heyfilmedwasnotold.Itprobablydiedwithinhours.Hesaid:"Thisiswha
tstarvationlookslike….It'saslow,painfuldeath."Heblamedthebear'ss
adconditiononglobalwarming.Hesaid:"Astemperaturesriseandseaic
emelts,polarbearsloseaccesstothemainstapleoftheirdiets-seals."C
limatechangeisthebiggestthreattotheworld’s26,000polarbears.Bea
rsarestarving,andrunningoutofenergy.Theyhavetogointoareaswher
ehumanslivetolookforfood.

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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