Grade 9 Academic Writing

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ACADEMIC WRITING MODULE 2

Worksheet 1
PART 1. VOCABULARY PRACTICE

Practice 1: Read the texts below and complete each space with ONE suitable word.

Global warming may be threatening one of the world’s most important crops: rice. Increased night
time temperatures are associated with significant declines in crop (11) ___________________,
according to a study conducted by researchers at the International Rice Institute. The researchers
analyzed twelve years of rice production along with twenty-five years of temperature data. This
study, a direct measurement of yields produced under normal field conditions, using (12)
___________________ that good farmers normally employ, has confirmed previous simulations and
suggests that (13) ___________________ increases due to global warming will make it
increasingly difficult to feed the Earth’s growing population. Average (14) ___________________
temperatures, which increased 0.35 degrees Celsius over the (15) ___________________ of the
study, have little effect on rice production. However, a strong correlation exists between warmer
nighttime temperatures, which have risen an average of 1.1 degrees, (16)
___________________ decreasing rice yields. Although the underlying (17) ___________________
of this relationship is unknown, researchers speculate that plants work harder to maintain themselves
in (18) ___________________to the warmer nights and consequently divert energy from growth.
Thus, an average (19) ___________________ of just one degree Celsius can (20)
___________________ in a ten percent reduction in yields. Similar findings have been reported for
corn and soybean yields in the United States.

Practice 2. Complete the passage with the appropriate forms from the words given in the box.

complicate stand dine welcome depend occur

defend terror delicate expose poisonous sealife

One of the most lethal poisons on Earth, ten thousand times more deadly than cyanide, is tetrodotoxin,
more concisely known as TTX. Its potency is well known in East Asia, where it regularly kills (11)
___________________ who have braved the capricious (12) ___________________ known as
puffer fish. This toxin has a (13) ___________________ method of operation: twenty-five minutes after
(14) ___________________, it begins to paralyse its victims, leaving the victim fully aware of what is
happening. Death usually results, within hours, from suffocation or heart failure. There is no known
antidote. If lucky patients can (15) ___________________ the symptoms for twenty-four hours, they
usually recover without further (16) ___________________. It is no ordinary poison. What is strange
about its (17) ___________________ is that it is found in such a wide range of creatures, from algae
to angelfish spanning entire kingdoms of life. It is rather unlikely that such an unusual toxin evolved
(18) ___________________ in so many unrelated animals. Marine biologists have discovered that the
poison is produced by bacteria living in the gut of its host. The best explanation is that a symbiotic

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relationship exists between host and the not (19) ___________________ guest, where microbes
exchange poison for nutrients, providing a valuable (20) ___________________ weapon for its host.

Practice 3: Rewrite the following sentences using the words given.

1. People know more about my novels than the plays I write.

(BETTER) I'm .

2. The staff hated his new policies intensely and so went on strike.

(HATRED) So intense .

3. Your attitude to life would be greatly improved by regular exercise.

(WONDERS) Regular exercise would .

4. There is someone in the office twenty-four hours a day.

(STAFFED) The office _.

5. Do you think her grandmother was offended by what I said?

(EXCEPTION) Do you think ?

6. His behavior at the conference gave him the bad reputation he now has.

(CONDUCTED) The way .

7. Unless we can obtain more information, we can't process your claim.

(FORTHCOMING) Unless further .

8. Our teacher thinks it would be better to get on as quickly as possible.

(MUCH) Our teacher would prefer us .

9. I had to wait for the manager for almost an hour before he would see me.

(BEST) The manager kept .

10. They remain close friends despite having had many arguments. (FALL)

Frequently as _.

PART 2. READING

Urbanization and the Future of Cities

Today, more than half of all people in the world live in an urban area. By mid-century, this will increase
to 70%. But as recently as 100 years ago, only two out of ten people lived in a city, and before that, it
was even less. How have we reached such a high degree of urbanization, and what does it mean for
our future? In the earliest days of human history, humans were hunter-gatherers, often moving from
place to place in search of food. But about 10,000 years ago, our ancestors began to learn the secrets
of selective breeding and early agricultural techniques.
For the first time, people could raise food rather than search for it, and this led to the development of
semi-permanent villages for the first time in history. "Why only semi-permanent?" you might ask. Well,
at first, the villages still had to relocate every few years as the soil became depleted. It was only with
the advent of techniques like irrigation and soil tilling about 5,000 years ago that people could rely on
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a steady and long-term supply of food, making permanent settlements possible. And with the food
surpluses that these techniques produced, it was no longer necessary for everyone to farm. This
allowed the development of other specialized trades, and, by extension, cities. With cities now
producing surplus food, as well as tools, crafts, and other goods, there was now the possibility of
commerce and interaction over longer distances.
And as trade flourished, so did technologies that facilitated it, like carts, ships, roads, and ports. Of
course, these things required even more labor to build and maintain, so more people were drawn from
the countryside to the cities as more jobs and opportunities became available. If you think modern
cities are overcrowded, you may be surprised to learn that some cities in 2000 BC had population
densities nearly twice as high as that of Shanghai or Calcutta. One reason for this was that
transportation was not widely available, so everything had to be within walking distance, including the
few sources of clean water that existed then.
And the land area of the city was further restricted by the need for walls to defend against attacks. The
Roman Empire was able to develop infrastructure to overcome these limitations, but other than that,
modern cities as we know them, didn't really get their start until the Industrial Revolution, when new
technology deployed on a mass scale allowed cities to expand and integrate further, establishing
police, fire, and sanitation departments, as well as road networks, and later electricity distribution. So,
what is the future of cities? Global population is currently more than 7 billion and is predicted to top
out around10 billion. Most of this growth will occur in the urban areas of the world's poorest countries.
So, how will cities need to change to accommodate this growth? First, the world will need to seek ways
to provide adequate food, sanitation, and education for all people. Second, growth will need to happen
in a way that does not damage the land that provides us with the goods and services that support the
human population. Food production might move to vertical farms and skyscrapers, rooftop gardens,
or vacant lots in city centers, while power will increasingly come from multiple sources of renewable
energy. Instead of single-family homes, more residences will be built vertically. We may see buildings
that contain everything that people need for their daily life, as well as a smaller, self-sufficient cities
focused on local and sustainable production. The future of cities is diverse, malleable, and creative,
no longer built around a single industry, but reflecting an increasingly connected and global world.
Choose the correct letter A, B, C or D. Write your answers in box 1-5 on your answer sheet.
1. One hundred years ago, what percentage of the human population lived in cities?
A 10% B 20%
C 40% D 80%

2. What lead to the development of the first semi-permanent settlements?

A Changes in the global climate B An increase in fresh water supplies
C Improvements in healthcare D Advancements in agriculture

3. Which of these technologies developed because of the desire to trade with other cities?
A Tractors B City walls
C Roads D Aqueducts

4. Why did people first move into cities?

A Jobs B Fun
C Safety D More farmland

5. The global population is expected to peak at ___ billion.

A 7 B 6
C 9 D 10
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