A.

Before-listening exercises

Look up the meaning of the following words and phrases in a dictionary.

a. arthritis (n)
b. overhunting (n)
c. poacher (n)
d. lung problems (np)
e. bite (n)
f. dengue fever (np)
g. harvest (n, v)
h. release (n)
i. jar (n)

B. While-listening exercises

1. Listen to the tape THREE TIMES and answer the questions.

a. What is the medical problem that China is facing?

b. What are the medical functions of earthworm in traditional medicines?
c. What is the consequence of the overhunting in Vietnam?
d. Where are the earthworms harvested?
e. What did orange farmers do to prevent poachers in Hoa Binh?

2. Listen to the tape THREE TIMES and answer the questions.

f. What has preventing dengue fever in Honduras meant?

g. Why did Hector Enriquez release some mosquitoes from a jar?
h. What is special about these mosquitoes?
i. Why is the WHO watching the releases in Honduras?

(*Note: Proper nouns:

- Honduras
- Wolbachia)

C. Follow-up exercise

Summarize each piece of news with a full sentence.

Please find the answer key in the highlighted text below.

Tape scripts

Ex 1

China is facing a continuing decrease in its supply of earthworms used for medicine. Hunters in
Vietnam are attempting to catch the animals to meet Chinese demand.

Chinese traditional medicine uses earthworms to treat several conditions, including fever,
arthritis and lung problems. But overhunting has made it difficult to keep harvesting the animals
in China.

This has led hunters in Vietnam to dig up earthworms to sell to Chinese companies. However,
Vietnamese farmers depend on the animals to keep their fields fertile and the environment
balanced. The earthworm harvesting, mainly in northern areas of the country, is hurting farming
operations.

Chinese buyers are offering a lot of money for earthworms, Vietnam’s VnExpress recently
reported. The harvests are taking place unlawfully at private fields and fruit farms, the news
service said.

The hunts have led orange farmers in Hoa Binh province to carry out 24-hour guard operations to
stop the poachers, Vietnam’s VTC News reported. The farmers have asked Vietnamese
agriculture officials for help. VOA’s Vietnamese service contacted the country’s Agriculture
Ministry for comment, but did not receive an answer.

Ex 2

For many years, preventing dengue fever in Honduras has meant teaching people to avoid
mosquito bites. Now, Hondurans are being taught a more effective way to control the disease —
and it goes against everything they have learned.

Recently, a small group of people cheered as Hector Enriquez freed mosquitoes from a glass jar.
Enriquez did that to bring attention to a program to suppress the viral disease dengue fever. He
did so by releasing millions of special mosquitoes in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa.

Scientists bred the mosquitoes. The small insects carry bacteria called Wolbachia that stop the
spread of the disease. When these mosquitoes reproduce, they pass on the bacteria and reduce
future outbreaks.

The nonprofit World Mosquito Program based in Australia launched the new plan for battling
dengue. And it is being tested in more than 10 countries. With more than half the world’s
population at risk of dengue infection, the World Health Organization is watching the mosquito
releases in Honduras and other places closely in order to expand the plan worldwide.