14 Changes Caused by Climate Change

Unit

Environment & Science

An ecologist is a scientist that studies the interaction between creatures, their natural habitats and the environment as a whole. Recently, there has been a report released by university ecologists that has created a buzz in the science world. It deals with insects and global warming. The report has stated that in Central Europe, the average temperature has increased by 1.5 degrees Celsius. Nearly fifty species of insects like moths and butterflies have altered their procreative habits during this time. The difference in temperature may seem insignificant, but it has created changes. Because the temperature has increased, the season to mate has started early and insects have more time to procreate. This causes the natural process of things to occur earlier and faster nowadays.

Insects, just as much as humans, are feeling the effects of climate change. The evolution of butterflies and moths has altered over the course of years and will not stop. The ecologists’ report concluded that the winged insects are now more adjusted and responsive to the changes in their habitats. They think that the future generations of butterflies will speed up the evolution process to help them get through even better against climate change. The ecologists also suggested that more scientists pay attention and get involved in studies to recognize the effects of global warming. By studying the patterns of insect populations and the outcomes of the climate change, it would help to stop the possible problems for future animal species.

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01

Intro

{ 생태학자들의 연구에 따르면 기후 변화에 따라 수십 종의 나방, 나비의 번식 주기가 변하고 있다고 한다. 곤충들

도 인간만큼이나 기후 변화의 영향을 받고 있는 것이다. 앞으로 곤충들의 진화 속도가 점차 빨라질 것으로 보인

다고. 이와 같은 기후 변화의 영향을 체감하고 있는가? 자신의 경험을 이야기해보자.

* procreative habits : 번식습성이란 의미로, 생물의 개체 또는 개체군의 수가 늘어나는 것을 뜻하는데 번식의 방법과 시기는 생물의 종

류에 다르다.

Vocabulary in the Article

Article Read the article below to better understand today’s topic, which allows you to appropriately answer the questions your tutor is asking. If you are unable to read the complete article in advance, you may want to refer to the summary written in Korean instead.

073 U n i t 1 4 C h a n g e s C a u s e d b y C l i m a t e C h a n g e /

Key Expressions The below are some useful expressions from the article. Some are easy but some are tricky.

Whether it’s easy or not, please make sure that you freely use them in any way you want.

Reading aloud the sample sentences using the MP3 files can be a big help in mastering them.

as a whole 전체적으로, 총체적으로

In order to achieve a common goal, we all need to work together as a whole.

over the course of ~동안

He lost weight over the course of four months.

responsive to ~에 빠른 반응을 보이는

Parents should be responsive to their children's emotional needs and feelings.

speed up 속도를 높이다

Please let me know if there is anything I can do to speed up the process.

get involved 연관되다, 연루되다

She needs to get more involved at her work.

066.

067.

068.

069.

070.

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14 C h a n g e s C a u s e d b y C l i m a t e C h a n g e Unit

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Short Questions

02 Practice Talk about today's topic with your tutor based on the different types of questions below. Make sure to look over the questions before class and think about your own answer. You may refer to the model answers. (In a 10 minute class, you will only talk about the first questions from each section.)

1-1 Are you afraid of bugs?

Yes, I am. But not all bugs frighten me. I have an allergy to some bugs, so I need to be careful just in case.

Model Answer

1-2 What are the insects that are easily found in Korea?

We have butterflies, houseflies, bees, spiders, some beetles, and of course, cockroaches… well, the usual creatures. We don’t have poisonous insects really.

Model Answer

Talk about Your Experiences

2-1 Has a butterfly ever landed on you?

No. Butterflies never land on me. I think they are scared of people. They always fly away. Dragonflies sometimes land on my shoulder and my back. I think they are either rather stupid or friendly.

Model Answer

2-2 Is Korea facing any changes from climate change?

We are experiencing climatic changes. I can see it happening. Spring’s become shorter, winter starts earlier, less snow, more rain, more floods, etc. And there are some strange insects I didn’t see when I was a kid. I think these are what climate change gives us.

Model Answer

075 U n i t 1 4 C h a n g e s C a u s e d b y C l i m a t e C h a n g e /

Giving Specific Information

Pros & Cons Questions

4-1 Do you agree that everything is happening sooner and faster?

No, I don’t think so. I know there have been changes in the weather and ecosystem, but I don’t find the pace that rapid. It definitely started a long time ago, but people just realized that things are changing. What I think is fast is what humans are doing to, they say, ‘improve’ the environment. I mean, humans have been committing this crime over a couple of centuries since the Industrial Revolution and they are now trying to make things better ever so quickly. They are so selfish that they just don’t want to be responsible because it tastes so bitter.

Model Answer

3-1 Do you think humans experience more changes from global warming than insects?

No, I don’t think so. We are facing changes from global warming, but humans have the ability to change the changes, I suppose. So, people will do something about it, for better or worse. But insects are different. They are feeble and vulnerable creatures. They must be having a very hard time.

Model Answer

3-2 Do you think global warming is a natural process? Why or why not?

Yes, but it depends on how you look at it. If you think we, humans, have done a lot of terrible things to the environment and we’re facing the consequences, it’s a man-made disaster. Whereas, if you think there was an avenue that humans were supposed to go down and global warming was the by-product, it’d be a natural thing. We changed the environment and it is trying to put everything back to normal. I think it’s about time we left it to the environment.

Model Answer

4-2 Do you agree that this could speed up the evolution process for insects?

Yes. I don’t know how fast it is, but it has already affected them. That’s for sure. And I don’t want people to make such a fuss about the insects unless they’re causing floods and fires that could wipe out the entire human race. It’s sort of a natural process. If we’re having climate change already, we live with it. As I said, it’s what we asked for, so we have to have a careful approach to it. We have to have enough time for this. We shouldn’t be panicking and doing things that would add fuel to this gigantic fire. We are so arrogant that we believe we can stop this and we can change things again. No more changing. That’s where we’re wrong.

Model Answer

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