Transcript
Elusive, shy and an excellent predator… but the lynx was hunted to extinction in Britain over 1,000 years ago.
Now, a conservation group plans to reintroduce the species to the wild. They say they aren’t dangerous to humans, and claim that with an overpopulation of deer, the lynx will help rebalance the ecosystem.
But first, they’ll have to convince farmers who think the animal would pose a threat to livestock.
Vocabulary
elusive
difficult to find
predator
animal that hunts and eats other animals
ecosystem
all plants and animals in an area
pose a threat
could cause harm
livestock
farm animals
To do
Use one of the words or phrases below to complete each of these sentences from news reports. Note that you may have to change the form of a word to complete the sentence correctly.
elusive / predator / ecosystem / pose a threat / livestock
1. Lions are among the fiercest modern _________.
2. Prof Stephen Hawking, one of Britain’s pre-eminent scientists, has said that efforts to create thinking machines __________ to our very existence.
3. A new study suggests that the production of beef is around 10 times more damaging to the environment than any other form of _________.
4. The huts, and the luxury items inside, belong to Dairo Antonio Usuga David, better known as Otoniel, one of the most wanted men in Colombia.
Currently some 1,200 members of the security forces are chasing the _________ gang leader.
5. The Sundarbans mangrove forests along the coastline of India and Bangladesh – a delicately balanced _________ that protects the densely populated Bay of Bengal from the worst extremes of nature – is home to the endangered royal Bengal tiger.
Answers
1. Lions are among the fiercest modern predators.
2. Prof Stephen Hawking, one of Britain’s pre-eminent scientists, has said that efforts to create thinking machines pose a threat to our very existence.
3. A new study suggests that the production of beef is around 10 times more damaging to the environment than any other form of livestock.
4. The huts, and the luxury items inside, belong to Dairo Antonio Usuga David, better known as Otoniel, one of the most wanted men in Colombia.
Currently some 1,200 members of the security forces are chasing the elusive gang leader.
5. The Sundarbans mangrove forests along the coastline of India and Bangladesh – a delicately balanced ecosystem that protects the densely populated Bay of Bengal from the worst extremes of nature – is home to the endangered royal Bengal tiger.