IELTS PREPARATION

INTENSIVE TRAINING
AUTUMN 2023

ACTIVITY
- VOCABULARY: ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES -
Source: http://ieltsliz.com/world-environmental-problems-vocabulary/

1. Listen to the recording and fill in the blanks below. You may use no more
than three words and/or numbers to complete the sentences.

a. ACID RAIN: Rain that contains large amounts of i. _________________. This can cause
serious health problems as particles of pollution can enter people’s ii.
______________. Acid rain can iii. _________________ into the ground causing soil
pollution. As rain falls into lakes and rivers, this can cause water pollution. Acid
rain can also be responsible for damaging iv. _________________.
chemicals/ lungs/ seep/ building
b. DEFORESTATION: Deforestation is the destruction of forests and the cutting
down of trees on a large scale. As forests are cut down, it affects the atmosphere
and i. _________________ as trees play a large part in the water cycle. Another
problem is the loss of ii. ________________. Some species of plants and animals have
already been lost while others remain endangered. This is due to the loss of their
iii.
_________________. This process affects climate change. Trees iv. _________________ CO2
and give off oxygen. By destroying forests more CO2 remains in the atmosphere
affecting the climate. In the area where the trees have been removed,
v.
_________________ occurs as the earth is exposed to the sun’s heat. This evaporates
much needed nutrients contained in the soil and is very difficult to reverse.
ecosystem/ biodiversity/ habitat/ absorb/ soil erosion
c. LAND DEGRATION: This relates to changes in the land which reduces its
i.
____________________. Factors that have contributed to land degradation include
soil erosion, ii. ________________, desertification and loss of vegetation cover. Many of
these factors are iii. ______________________ by human activities. With a growing
world population, land degradation can have serious effects on our ability to feed
everyone due to reduced iv. _______________________ in major food crops.
productive potential/loss of fertility/exacerbated/ yields
d. MARINE POLLUTION: The main contributor of ocean pollution begins on land,
namely non-point pollution from septic tanks, sewage sludge, car oil leaks, boats
and i. ____________________, which make their way to the sea. Other reasons for the
pollution is that some boats and even countries ii. ________________ their waste
directly into the ocean. Water covers approximately iii. ______________________ of our
globe, it would seem that it is an iv. _______________________ resource but it is not.
Humans are destroying the homes of millions of v. _______________________, some of

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INTENSIVE TRAINING
AUTUMN 2023

which we know little to nothing about. Ocean pollution is not only devastating
for the sea creatures, it can also be devastating for vi. _______________________ as well.
farm chemical/ deposit/ 70%/ abundant/ aquatic creatures/ humans
e. WORLD POPULATION: The world population is currently 7 billion and is
estimated to be i. ____________________ by 2024. This is due to improved living
standards and medicine which results in a ii. ________________ and lower infant
mortality. Over population will result in iii. ______________________ and an increase in
carbon emissions worsening climate change.

In urban areas it may result in lower standards of living and increasing

iv.
_______________________. Feeding such a large population will also create
challenges.
Safe, environmentally friendly v. _______________________ will also become a problem
as the world population grows which can result in growing pollution.
8 billion/ longer life span/ draining world resources/ crime rates/ waste disposal

2. Read the sample answer for IELTS Speaking Module below regarding
environmental issues, and fill in the blanks with the words/phrases below.

fauna marine migrate breed

habitat mammals nocturnal omnivores
livestock birds protected species fungus
ecosystem species soil agriculture
tundra hibernation flora drought

Do you take an active interest in nature?

Sample answer 1:
Yes, I do take an active interest in nature, especially bird watching. I live by the coast
where there is a wide variety of beautiful and unique flora and a. _______________________.
Some of the b. _______________________ birds in the area have been designated as
c.
_______________________ by the local government, which issues fines to anyone caught
hunting these endangered seabirds. I particularly enjoy bird watching in autumn
when thousands of birds d. _______________________ south from the north to e.
_______________________ on the cliff tops.

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 IELTS PREPARATION
INTENSIVE TRAINING
AUTUMN 2023

Do you take an active interest in nature?

Sample answer 2:
Very much so. I often go to the countryside in Mainland China when I am free, and
particularly enjoy searching forests for different types of
f.
______________________, which I use in my cooking. They grow best in moist and damp
g.
_______________________ and I have to be careful not to pick any poisonous ones, which is
difficult because there are thousands of different h. _______________________. Also, while I
am picking them, I take care not to destroy the i. _______________________ of any insects
which may be living around them.

What aspect of natural world excites you the most?

Sample answer 1:
The part of nature that excites me the most is spring in Canada, where my aunt lives.
It is an amazingly diverse j. _______________________ and the change the occurs in this
season is the most exciting part. The bears wake up from their winter k.
_______________________ and I like to go and see them in their natural l.
_______________________. I obviously watch from a safe distance because they are m.
_______________________, which means they eat both meat and plants! Another thing I like
about spring is that the
n.
_______________________ comes to bloom and there are colourful plants everywhere.

Sample answer 2:
My family are all involved in o. _______________________ so the aspect of the natural world
that excites me the most is taking care of my aunt’s p. _______________________ on her farm
every day when I visit her in Scotland. She mainly raises q. _______________________ like
sheep and cows, and she has four different rare r. _______________________ of cow – all
from different parts of the country. Aside from that, she also have a few
s.
_______________________ like ducks, chickens, and an owl, which is t. _______________________
and sometimes wakes me up in the middle of the night.

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INTENSIVE TRAINING
AUTUMN 2023

SOLUTIONS

1. Do you take an active interest in nature?

Yes, I do take an active interest in nature, especially bird watching. I live by the coast where there is
a wide variety of beautiful and unique flora and fauna. Some of the marine birds in the area have
been designated as protected species by the local government, which issues fines to anyone caught
hunting the birds. I particularly enjoy bird watching in autumn when thousands of birds migrate
south from Canada to breed on the cliff tops.

Yes, I take an active interest in nature. I particularly enjoy searching forests for different types
of______1______, which I use in my cooking. They grow best in moist and damp _____2_____ and I have to
be careful not to pick any poisonous ones, which is hard because there are thousands of different
_______3___.Also, while I am picking them, I take care not to destroy the ___4_________of any insects
who may be living around them.

2. What aspect of the natural world excites you the most?

The part of nature that excites me the most is spring where I live. It is an amazingly diverse
ecosystem and the change that occurs in spring is the most exciting part. The bears wake up from
their winter hibernation and I like to go and see them in their natural habitat.I obviously watch from
a safe distance because they are omnivores, which means they eat both meat and plants. Another
thing I like about spring is that the flora comes into bloom and there are colourful plants
everywhere.

My family are all involved in ____5___________ so the aspect of the natural world that excites me the
most is taking care of my ________6________ on the farm every day. I mainly raise ______7_______ like
sheep and cows, and I have four different rare____8_____of cow, all from different parts of the country.
Aside from that, I also have a few ___9______ like ducks, chickens, and an owl, who is ____10_______and
sometimes wakes me up in the middle of the night.

fungus
soil
species
habitat
agriculture
livestock
mammals
breeds

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 IELTS PREPARATION
INTENSIVE TRAINING
AUTUMN 2023

birds
nocturnal