BTN FEATURE STORY ACTIVITIES Published by Grabaword.com on 01/09/2015 Page 1 / 5 OCEAN RUBBISH (10:26-14:16) In this report we meet Boyan Slat, a young man from the Netherlands who has come up with a solution for dealing with the large amount of plastic that is finding its way into our oceans. Focus Questions Why does so much plastic waste end up in the ocean? Where does it come from? Why is it a problem? What are micro-plastics? What is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? How does it form? Why is it so hard to clean up? What can we do as individuals to prevent plastic from getting into the ocean? Boyan Slat designed a system of floating barriers that would sit in the path of ocean currents. They would be arranged in a v-shape to capture and funnel any floating plastic toward a giant tower which would suck it all up and store it for future transport. The following figures are in the report what do you think they refer to? Around 3 and a half million each day Hundreds of years Listening A Watch the report and check your responses
BTN FEATURE STORY ACTIVITIES Published by Grabaword.com on 01/09/2015 Page 2 / 5 Listening B Before watching the report again, try to answer the questions 1. Marine animals can be harmed when they get tangled up in the plastic or they... 2. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is an area of floating plastic larger than... 3. The system of floating barriers designed by Boyan Slat to clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch would be how long? Up to... 4. What did Boyan Slat say about his design? Instead of going after the plastic, you could simply wait for. 5. The technology is about to be trialled off the coast of... 6. Boyan Slat says his organisation, The Ocean Cleanup, can t solve the problem entirely. T / F
BTN FEATURE STORY ACTIVITIES Published by Grabaword.com on 01/09/2015 Page 3 / 5 Vocabulary A Match the words in Table 2 with the closest definition or synonym from Table 1 a long time another possibility or choice Table 1 become twisted or knotted together difficult to do or deal with, complicated extremely important and necessary obstruct, clog outside part or layer of something produce or discover, especially in dealing with a problem or challenge relating to the sea remove something unwanted separate into simpler chemical substances, decompose something that blocks movement sometimes but not often very small piece or amount A B C D E F G H I J K L M N Table 2 slowly choke (v) marine animal (adj) tangle (v) occasionally (adv) filter out (v) break down (v) speck (n) tricky (adj) alternative (n) barrier (n) surface (n) come up with an idea (v) essential (adj) ages (n)
BTN FEATURE STORY ACTIVITIES Published by Grabaword.com on 01/09/2015 Page 4 / 5 Vocabulary B Use words from the table to complete the sentences you may have to change the form of the word choke filter alternative essential marine break down barrier ages tangle speck surface occasionally tricky come up with 1. A bird got...up in an old fishing net which had washed up on the shore. Someone had to cut the net to free the bird. 2. After a number of shark attacks, the government decided to install a 120m nylon shark... around the city s most popular beaches to protect swimmers. 3. In the last decade, 20 people had died from shark attacks while swimming at the city s suburban beaches. The government was therefore under pressure to... a solution that protected swimmers but at the same time didn t harm sharks and other marine creatures. 4. In the morning peak hour, the main roads leading into the city were... with traffic. Sometimes it would take half an hour to travel just a few kilometres. 5. More than 70 percent of the Earth's...is covered by ocean. 6. The Great Barrier Reef... Park has many different habitats and plants and animals. It was the first coral reef ecosystem in the world to be World Heritage listed and is one of the most popular places for diving in the world. 7. The man normally went fishing on weekends. But if the weather was nice and the currents favourable for catching fish, he would...call in sick for work and go out in his boat. 8. The rain tank had a fine metal screen at the top to...out any leaves, dirt and other contaminants. 9. The two brothers had been living in different countries and hadn t seen each other for... When they finally got together, they both remarked that it seemed like only yesterday since they last saw each other. 10. The woman used a cloth to wipe away...of dust on the camera lens. 11. To meet the soaring demand for seafood, fish farming has been on the rise over the past few decades and offers an...to overfishing wild populations. 12. To prevent a catastrophic rise in global sea levels, large cuts to greenhouse gas emissions are... 13. Trying to prevent overfishing of some fish species is a... problem because often the fishing is conducted in international waters where there are no legal protections. 14. When it rains, cigarette butts lying in our streets and gutters are carried via stormwater directly into our oceans and rivers. They can take 12 months to... in fresh water and much longer in seawater.
BTN FEATURE STORY ACTIVITIES Published by Grabaword.com on 01/09/2015 Page 5 / 5 Answers Around 3 and a half million each day How many pieces of plastic wash into the sea Hundreds of years How long it can take for plastic to break down 1. mistake plastic for food 2. New South Wales 3. Up to 100 kilometres 4. the plastic to come to you 5. Japan 6. T Table 1 a long time another possibility or choice become twisted or knotted together difficult to do or deal with, complicated extremely important and necessary obstruct, clog outside part or layer of something produce or discover, especially in dealing with a problem or challenge relating to the sea remove something unwanted separate into simpler chemical substances, decompose something that blocks movement sometimes but not often very small piece or amount ages alternative tangle tricky essential choke surface come up with marine filter break down barrier occasionally speck 1. A bird got tangled up in an old fishing net which had washed up on the shore. Someone had to cut the net to free the bird. 2. After a number of shark attacks, the government decided to install a 120m nylon shark barrier around the city s most popular beaches to protect swimmers. 3. In the last decade, 20 people had died from shark attacks while swimming at the city s suburban beaches. The government was therefore under pressure to come up with a solution that protected swimmers but at the same time didn t harm sharks and other marine creatures. 4. In the morning peak hour, the main roads leading into the city were choked with traffic. Sometimes it would take half an hour to travel just a few kilometres. 5. More than 70 percent of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean. 6. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park has many different habitats and plants and animals. It was the first coral reef ecosystem in the world to be World Heritage listed and is one of the most popular places for diving in the world. 7. The man normally went fishing on weekends. But if the weather was nice and the currents favourable for catching fish, he would occasionally call in sick for work and go out in his boat. 8. The rain tank had a fine metal screen at the top to filter out any leaves, dirt and other contaminants. 9. The two brothers had been living in different countries and hadn t seen each other for ages. When they finally got together, they both remarked that it seemed like only yesterday since they last saw each other. 10. The woman used a cloth to wipe away specks of dust on the camera lens. 11. To meet the soaring demand for seafood, fish farming has been on the rise over the past few decades and offers an alternative to overfishing wild populations. 12. To prevent a catastrophic rise in global sea levels, large cuts to greenhouse gas emissions are essential. 13. Trying to prevent overfishing of some fish species is a tricky problem because often the fishing is conducted in international waters where there are no legal protections. 14. When it rains, cigarette butts lying in our streets and gutters are carried via stormwater directly into our oceans and rivers. They can take 12 months to break down in fresh water and much longer in seawater.