listen this way 3 unit 2

Unit 2 Let Birds FlyA. The following words will appear in this unit. Listen carefully and study the definitions.1. habitat:2. species:3. bludgeon:4. census:5. logistics:6. degrade:7. adversely:8. refuge:9. aquatic:10. mussel:B Listen to some abbreviations and acronyms of some organizations and some information about them. Fill in the blanks.1. IUCN —International Union for the Conservation of Nature, is the organization established by the United Nations to promote the conservation of wildlife and habitats as part of the national policies of member states.2. CITES —Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, is an international agreement under the auspices of the IUCN with the aim of regulating trade in endangered species of animals and plants. The agreement came into force 1975 and by 1991 had been signed by 110 states. It prohibits any trade in a category of 8 000 highly endangered species and controls trade in a further 30 000 species.3. UNEP — United Nations Environmental Program, aims to provide leadership and encourage partnerships in caring for the environment by inspiring information and enabling nations and people to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.4. WWF —World Wide Fund for Nature (formerly World Wildlife Fund), is aninternational organization established 1961 to raise funds for conservation by public appeal. Projects include conservation of particular species, for example, the tiger and giant panda. In 1990, it had 3.7 million members in 28 countries and an annual income of over 100 million. Its headquarters are in Gland, Switzerland.C Listen to the conversation. Match column A, which is a list of the names of some endangered animals, with column B, which gives the information about those endangered animals. Then answer the questions.A: Hello, I'm calling on behalf of the World Wildlife Fund.B: The what?A: The World Wildlife Fund. If you've got a few minutes I'd like to tell you what that means.B: Oh, all right.A: We work to conserve natural areas that contain endangered wildlife. The seas, for example, have become polluted by the industrialized world; whales are being hunted to extinction; turtles are rolled off their eggs when they come asho re to breed or are slaughtered for their meat and oil …B: Oh.A: Crocodiles are killed to make handbags and shoes; walruses are huntedfor their ivory.B: I see.A: Seals are bludgeoned to death to provide fur coats and the threat of extinction hangs over several species of whale, dolphin and porpoise.B: Really.A: We are now campaigning to provide sea sanctuaries for some of these endangered species.B: V ery interesting.A: Aided by our campaign, protected nesting sites for turtles have already been set up. As you can see, this is very valuable work and I wonder therefore if you'd like to make a donation?Part ⅡChristmas bird countsA Listen to a news report. While listening for the first time, add more key words in the notes column according to the following cues. While listening for the second time, supply the information.John James Audubon was an American artist in the early 1800s, who illustrated birds in their natural habitats. The Society named after him was founded in the late 1800s by conservationists concerned with the decline of birds, which were being killed so their feathers could be used in the manufacture of women's hats.Sponsored by the National Audubon Society, more than 40 000 volunteers will be outside counting birds from today until January 3rd. V olunteers from all 50 states of the United States, every Canadian province, parts of Central and South America, Bermuda, the West Indies and Pacific islands have begun to count and record every individual bird and bird species observed during the two and one half week period of the count.Jeffrey LeBaron is the National Audubon Society's Christmas Bird Count editor. He says the count is the longest-running bird census in ornithology.This year, according to Mr. LeBaron, more than 1 600 separate bird counts have been scheduled. Some would have as few as 10 people taking part, others with hundreds. The logistics of the Christmas bird count, he adds, are simple."Each individual count is in a circle. It's a 15 mile diameter circle, um, around the exact center point. And it's always the exactly same area that's done every year, usually, even on the same weekend during the count period. And what the ideal would be, which is virtually impossible, is this census: every single individual bird within that circle on the count day."Mr. LeBaron says experienced bird counters can get a good idea of the total bird populations within the count circle based on the number of birds they actually see. The editor points out, however, that the counts are not only for experienced bird watchers."Anybody that is interested or concerned can become involved. Beginners will go out in a party with experienced individuals who know both the area and the birds in the area, in the field where more eyes and ears are better. And then anybody can point out a bird, and someone in the field will always be able to identify the bird."topB Now try this: listen to a more authentic version of the report. Complete the summary of this year's Christmas bird counts.Christmas bird counts will start from Christmas to January 3rd.,sponsored by the National Audubon Society. This year more than 40 000volunteers from the U.S., Canada, parts of Central and South America,Bermuda, the West Indies and Pacific islands will be outside countingbirds The counts are not only for experienced bird watchers but anyone thatis interested or concerned as well.This year more than 1 600 separate bird counts have been scheduled. Somewould have a few as 10 people taking part, others with hundreds. Everyindividual count is in a 15 mile diameter circle around the exact centerpoint. Bird counters can get a good idea of the total bird populationswithin the count circle based on the number of birds they actually see.The traditional Christmas bird count is the longest-running bird census in ornithology.Part ⅢDolphin captivityA The following words and phrase are used in the news interview. Listen to the words first. Study the definitions carefully.A: A planned aquatic park in Denver is raising the ire of animal rights activists who object to a proposal to include a captive dolphin display. Although officials for Colorado's Ocean Journeys say they have yet to make a final decision on the issue, local and national activists have already instigated a "No Dolphins in Denver' campaign. As Colorado Public Radio's Peter Jones reports, the battle lines have been clearly drawn.P: Rick Troud, a former navy dolphin trainer based in Florida, is taking an active rolein the "No Dolphins" campaign.R: Average age in the wild ranges anywhere in some of the studies between 30 and 40 years of age. In captivity, you can expect a dolphin to live maybe 5.13 years, and every 7 years in captivity, the dolphin population is dead.P: According to Troud, there are many reasons why dolphins can't live full lives in captivity.R: If you take a look at where the real dolphin is in the real ocean, you find the dolphin who swims 40 miles a day, is very family-oriented. These animals are separated from their mothers; that's a stress. Y ou put them in a concrete tank where their sonar bounces off of walls, they can't swim in the same amount of time and direction that they can in the wild.P: Environmentalist and ocean explorer, Jean Michel Cousteau:J: There are some animals which reject captivity right away, and they're ve ry suicidal. I've had one of those in my own arms for many days. The next morning when I came to take care of him, he was dead. And what he'd done was to swim as fast as he could from one end of the pool on ... to the other side and destroyed his head by hitting the wall. They have a very sophisticated brain. I don't think we have any rights to play with the lives of these animals.P: Cousteau's anti-captivity position is challenged by Dr. Deborah Duffield, a biology professor at Portland State College in Oregon. Her 1990 study compared captive dolphins to the wild population of Sarasota Bay, Florida. Among other findings, the study showed little if any difference in the average age of death. And Duffield says life is generally getting better for captive dolphins.D: The census data say that every time I do a census, I've got older and older animals in it as well as this normal age distribution that we've been looking at. So my feeling is that the trend in captivity has been that the group of animals that we're following are getting older, and if they continue to do that over the next five years, they will then indeed be older than the wild population.P: There is also a debate over the educational benefits of keeping marine mammals in captivity. According to Duffield, captive dolphins play an important role in our basic understanding of the animals.D: I firmly believe that we cannot learn anything about organisms that we share this world with if we do not understand how they live in an environment, and what they do, and that watching them go by in the wild will not do it. I cannot tell what an animal needs, unless I know how it operates, how it breeds, what it needs metabolically, and I can't learn that from animals in the wild.P: But Troud says the dolphin displays are anti-educational because the animals' natural behavior patterns are altered by captivity.R: In the wild, you don't have dolphins who beat each other to death. There are no dolphins that I've ever seen stranded on the beach, who are suffering from fractured skulls, fractured ribs or fractured jaws, as is the case in captivity.P: The Ocean Journey board will take all factors into consideration before making a final decision on whether to include dolphins in the park. For Colorado Public Radio, I'm Peter Jones.Part ⅣMore about the topic: Birds-A Source of WealthA Listen to what Mr. LeBaron says about the information concerning birds. Complete the outline.Mr. LeBaron says there are about 9 300 different known species of birds. Larger numbers of them live in the warmer climates. For example, more than 300 differentspecies have been counted in Panama, while far fewer species are native to colder climates. Aside from their esthetic value, Mr. LeBaron says birds are important to the environment because they can signal changes in it."Birds are one of the best indicators that we have of the quality of the environment within the given area. Whether it is a relatively local area, or even primarily on the worldwide bases, they are one of the first things to be altered. They are quite sensitive to a habitat alteration or to other threats. And often times when birds are disappearing out of the area, it just means there is a degradation of the quality of the habitat within that area which will adversely affect everything in there including humans."National Audubon Society editor Jeffrey LeBaron calls the world's bird populations a source of wealth that humans must protect."People get so much pleasure out of looking at birds and listening to birds. And if they start disappearing just the er, the quality of life, um, may be not physically, but the mental quality of life can be degraded quickly."Jeffrey LeBaron says that while the National Audubon Society's annual Christmas bird counts show a decline in some species, many types of birds are actually increasing their populations.Part ⅤDo you know...?Listen to some facts about endangered species. Pay special attention to the numbers.• Scientists have cataloged more than one and one-half million of the species that exist on Earth today. By some recent estimates, at least 20 times that many species inhabit the planet.• Up to 100 species become extinct every day. Scientists estimate that the total number of species lost each year may climb to 40 000 by the year 2000, a rate far exceeding any in the last 65 million years.• Around the world more than 3 500 protected areas exist in the form of parks, wildlife refuges and other reserves. These areas cover a total of about 2 million square miles (5 million square km, or 3% of our total land area).• Today, more than 200 animal species in the United States are classified as endangered. More than 1 000 animal species are endangered worldwide.• Little-noticed aquatic animals are in big trouble. In North America, a third of our fish species, two-thirds of our crayfish species and nearly three-quarters of the mussel species are in trouble.。