Chapter 7 Environment and wildlife:
Answers to Student Book questions
7.1 Our carbon footprint
2 Greenhouse effect and greenhouse gases:
a) Infrared radiation
b) With the natural greenhouse effect, more heat
escapes into space than with human-enhanced
greenhouse effect.
c) Less heat escapes into space because the
greenhouse gases trap more heat within the Earth’s
atmosphere.
3 Bar chart of carbon emissions by country in 2010 and
2013:
a) GHG stands for ‘global greenhouse gas’.
b) The unit used to measure GHGs is million tonnes
CO2 equivalent.
c) China had the highest GHG emissions in 2010 and
2013. In 2010 it emitted of 8600 million tonnes of
CO2 equivalent and in 2013 it had 10 250 million
tonnes.
d) Three countries that had the lowest GHG emissions
in 2013 were Mexico, the UK and Saudi Arabia, all
with about 500 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
e) The second highest country for GHG emission was
the United States. Its levels were half as high as
China.
f) The international shipping industry had higher
emissions than the aviation industry at about 600
million tonnes compared with 500 million tonnes
of CO2 equivalent.
g) China, India, Russian Federation, Japan, Korea,
Brazil, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Mexico all
raised their levels of GHG emissions between 2010
and 2013.
4 The statement that best describes the writer’s attitude
at the start of the article is: He usually recycles things but
does so out of habit, not because he really understands why.
5 The phrase I shrugged my shoulders suggests that the
writer couldn’t really be bothered with serious
recycling and did not think that newspapers had
anything to do with global warming or environmental
issues.
The single word ‘deforestation’ caught the writer’s
attention and began to change his attitude to recycling
paper.
© HarperCollinsPublishers 2017
7.2 Water – the most precious resource
1 Mike Gould poem:
a) Difficult words:
• liquid silver = the precious metal when it has
been melted down and is flowing
• dazzling = used to describe something so bright
that it almost hurts the eyes
• sultan = a sovereign of a Muslim country
• tread = set one’s foot on something
• dust = small dry particles of earth, sand or dirt
b) The message or point of the poem is to describe the
stunning beauty of water in its natural forms and
to indicate how precious it is, much more than
jewels or precious stones. Finally, the poet is
pointing out that although many people think that
there is a lot of water on our planet, very few
realise that most of it cannot be drunk.
c) In Line 1, water is compared to liquid silver. The
poet uses this image to show that water resembles
the colour and shine of flowing silver but also that
it as precious and beautiful as silver.
d) The poet uses comparisons like ‘more precious
than a king’s palaces’ and ‘more dazzling than a
sultan’s jewels,’ to show that water is far more
precious than other material riches such as jewels
and palaces that are usually more highly prized.
Without water we cannot enjoy anything else.
‘Thousands tread dust’ shows the hardship of
those who have to walk many miles to collect fresh
water for their needs in very arid conditions.
e) Example answers: while brushing teeth, in the
kitchen/shower, leftovers in bottles of mineral
water, dripping taps/pipes, leaving water running
while I dash off to do something else.
f) The senses that Gould uses in the poem are:
• sight/visual senses – ‘liquid water’, ‘sultan’s
jewels’
• touch – ‘tread dust’ (the feel of dust)
• taste – ‘Try to drink it’ (implies taste of salty
water as opposed to fresh water)
This makes this poem highly effective and thought
provoking.
Environment and wildlife
Chapter 7
1
 7.3 Pollution – slow poison?
3 Three facts recently learnt in science or geography are
likely to be in the simple present tense, e.g. Water
boils at 100 degrees Celsius. All living things need water
to survive. The Himalayan mountain range runs across
the north and north east of the Indian sub-continent.
Rivers often form ox-bow lakes when they meander
across the flood plain.
4 Three facts that are happening as we speak in the room
are likely to be in the present continuous tense. For
example, Ms K is reviewing tenses with Jeff. The clock
is ticking on the wall. Mary and Joe are reading quietly.
The class next door is playing a game and the students
are clapping their hands.
5 Factory smoke contains harmful gases like carbon
dioxide and sulphur dioxide.
Factories are releasing smoke into the air.
Smoke rises into the air.
Factory smoke causes air pollution.
Rain water mixed with sulphur dioxide creates
acid rain.
It is raining.
Acid rain can then pollute our ground water.
Acid rain is harmful to trees, buildings and human
beings.
Wind contains the smoke. (Students might come up
with blows or spreads.)
7.4 Where has all our wildlife gone?
3 a) What is the problem that the World Wide Fund
organisation is concerned about?
The numbers of birds, animals, marine and fresh
water creatures have declined by one third.
b) In what year did countries in Europe make a
promise to prevent the extinction of certain
animals?
European countries made a promise in 2002 to
prevent the extinction of certain animals.
c) What is the reason wildlife organisations fear that
the situation might get even worse in years to
come?
The situation is likely to get worse in the years to
come as climate change is now affecting the
destruction of various species of animals.
4 a) The animals on the Red List are animals that are in
great danger of extinction and disappearing from
the earth forever.
b) There are now 82,845 species on the Red List.
c) One in ten birds are in danger of disappearing
forever.
d) Fifty-three per cent of the world’s assessed
Environment and wildlife
Chapter 7
(recognised) plants are in danger of becoming
extinct.
e) Over the last 500 years, human activity has forced
about 1,000 species into extinction.
2 © HarperCollinsPublishers 2017
5
Key word Meaning/definition
conservationist a person who promotes the saving
and careful use of natural resources
activist an active and vigorous promoter of a
social, political or environmental
cause
legal to do with the laws of the land
dedicated completely committed to an idea,
cause or goal
remote far away from civilisation or difficult
to get to
carnivores animals that eat the meat of other
animals
predators organisms that prey on, kill and eat
other animals; part of the food chain
poachers illegal hunters of animals that are
endangered or protected
habitats the natural environments of
organisms or animals; places that are
essential for the healthy life and
growth of those organisms or species
encroachment intruding slowly and deliberately on
another’s territory
destruction destroying, spoiling or making
useless
6 a) Prerna Bindra grew up in a large bungalow with a
huge backyard in India. It was visited by a large
number of birds and animals.
b) A pea-hen (female of the peacock species) had laid
eggs in her backyard.
c) The Gir National Park is the only home of the
Asiatic Lion.
d) A love of animals and a love of books and writing.
e) Prerna became a journalist for wildlife as a result of
these two great interests.
7 i) India is: (C) the world’s second most densely
populated country.
ii) Village people might kill tigers because:
(A) the tigers have killed the villagers’ cattle.
iii) In the past, people: (A) thought that tigers were
signs of good luck and fertility.
iv) Many years ago, elephants: (C) were loved by
people and even worshipped as a god.
v) The speaker, Prerna, believes that people and wild
animals like tigers: (C) can live happily side-by-
side but not in the same space.
vi) The speaker, Prerna, thinks young people:
(C) could take up a career in wildlife conservation
if they enjoy a challenge.
vii)The speaker, Prerna, is: (A) enthusiastic.
viii) Prerna’s message to young people is: (A) there
are many ways you can work for conservation.