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GENERAL ENGLISH · ENGLISH IN VIDEO · ADVANCED (C1-C2)

FOSSILS

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1 Warm up

Fossils are remnants or impressions of ancient organisms (living things) that are naturally preserved in
stone. Look at the pictures and for each group of three, decide which fossil is different to the other
two.

Group 1

A) a fossil of a dinosaur B) fossil ferns C) an insect preserved in tree

sap, or amber

Group 2

D) a fossil of a tree E) dinosaur footprints F) an early hominid skull

• Have you ever found a fossil?

• Why do you think it is important to know about fossils?

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2 Vocabulary

You are going to watch a video about fossils. Before you watch, complete the activities to define
some vocabulary that you will need.

Group 1

Match the beginning and endings of these sentences and use the context to explain the meanings of
the words or phrases in bold.

1. Our wet clothes were clinging to our a. and don’t react with other elements.
bodies
2. The use of huge nets for commercial b. because we got caught in a rainstorm.
fishing also entraps

3. The police were able to sequence the c. in a liquid to make it easier to give to a patient.
geneticmaterial
4. Gases like argon and neon are inert d. other animals like turtles and dolphins.

5. It’s possible to suspend a powerful drug e. proving that some species lived in social groups.

6. Scientists discovered the fossil footprints f. they found at the crime scene and identify the
of young and adult dinosaurs together, killer.
thereby

Which four words relate in some way to the idea of not being able to move, escape or change?

Group 2

1. a texture a. a hole or empty space in your teeth or body

2. a cavity b. a type of hard material found naturally in the earth, for example iron or
bauxite
3. tissue c. a type of material that makes up part of a living thing, for example muscle
or bone
4. a mineral d. a very small hole in the outside surface of a living thing, for example in your
skin or on a leaf
5. a pore e. something that people study in a museum or scientific experiment

6. a specimen f. something that stops a gas or liquid from leaving an enclosed space, for
example on a bottle or around the door of a refrigerator
7. a seal g. the way something feels when you touch it, for example smooth or rough

Why do all but one of these nouns have the indefinite article (a) in front of them?

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3 Watch Part 1

Watch the first part of the video (00:00-01:57) and complete the notes about fossilization, or the
process by which fossils are created. Write one word in each space.

Fossilization

There are of types of fossils, but only two major categories. Body fossils are the
remains of once-living plants and animals. Trace fossils show how an animal behaved -
are an example of this. There are also two major categories of body fossil. Sometimes an organism
is not by the fossilization process and the specimen shows its original form and
. This type of fossil includes animals and plants that have been ,
preserved in tar pits or mummified. It can also include insects that have been preserved in amber. In
this special case, tree sap covers an insect and forms a . The sap hardens into amber.
Because the amber is , it preserves all the animal’s soft .

What do you think mummified means?

4 Watch Part 2

Watch the second part of the video (01:57-03:45) to find out if these statements are true or false.

1. Coal is an example of fossilization where the specimen has been changed or altered.
2. Permineralization is an uncommon type of fossilization.
3. In permineralization, tiny particles of minerals cover the outside of an organism.
4. We can always identify the tree species of samples of permineralized wood.
5. We have some information about the genetic material of insects trapped in amber.
6. Footprints from thousands of years ago help us understand how the first humans lived.

After you watch the second part of the video, answer these questions.

1. What’s the most interesting or surprising thing you learned from the video?
2. Look back at the vocabulary exercise. Which of the items do you think will be useful for you to
remember and use in other contexts and which items do you think are only useful for watching
this video, or discussing this topic?

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5 Language point

Study the words in the table and answer the questions.

noun/adjective verb relating to process noun relating to process

fossil fossilize fossilization

carbon carbonize carbonization

mineral mineralize mineralization

mummy mummify mummification

1. How were the words in the column on the left changed into verbs?
2. How were the verbs in the middle column changed into another type of noun?
3. What do you notice about the pronunciation of the words as they grow longer?

6 Suffixes

Complete the gaps in the questions below, using the correct form of one of the words in the box with
either an -ify or -ize suffix, possibly with -ation as well. You may need to use only part of the root
word.

electric / glory / legal / liquid / memory / modern / pure / simple / solid / symbol

1. Besides babies, what sort of people need to have food?

2. Do you think people who own historic cars should them or should we keep them
as part of history?
3. Do you think that the of violence in some computer games is dangerous to
children?
4. How do campers water from rivers or streams?
5. How would your home or school benefit from ?
6. Is there any part of English grammar that you think should be ?
7. Jelly is a food that needs to before you eat it. Give some more examples like this.
8. What are some reasons people have given in favour of the of drugs?
9. What does a picture of a white dove normally ?
10. What’s your top tip for new vocabulary?

Ask and answer the questions in pairs. Speak in full sentences using the target language.

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7 Talking point

Discuss the following questions in pairs or small groups.

1. What do you think is the most exciting aspect of being a palaeontologist? What might be the most
frustrating part of the job?
2. Do you think scientists will ever be able to use ancient DNA to bring extinct animals back to life?
Is this a good idea?
3. What do you think is the most important thing that we can learn from the study of fossils?
4. Was the world better in the time of the dinosaurs? What do you think the earth will be like 150
million years from now?

8 Grammar in context (optional task)

We often use the passive to describe processes like fossilization, carbonization or permineralization.
We can also use participle adjectives with -ed endings to show a passive meaning.

Read the sentences from the video and find examples of these two forms.

Text 1

One special case involves trapping organisms, often times insects, in amber. This process
begins when an organism is covered in tree sap. The sap or resin forms a protective seal
around the entrapped organism. Over time, the soft resin hardens and turns into amber
with the organism suspended within. This process creates a biologically inert tomb for the
organism, allowing its soft tissues to be remarkably preserved.

1. Why are we using passive verbs in these two examples?

2. How does the use of -ed adjectives affect the style of this text?

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It’s not always possible to use passives to describe a process. Read the sentences from the video and
answer the questions.

Text 2

But one of the most common types of fossilization that changes a specimen is called
permineralization. Permineralization begins when minerals from water or the ground enter
the pores of dead plant or animal material. Over time, the minerals attach themselves, clinging
onto cellular walls and building a crystalline network in the empty cavities. This mineralization
hardens the bone and turns it into stone ...

1. Why can’t we make sentences in the passive with the verbs in bold?
2. Find two examples of participle adjectives with an active sense.

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