B2 – Upper Intermediate
The effects of climate change are hotter temperatures, stronger storms, loss of species, and food supply issues to name a few.
As temperatures get higher and higher, mosquitos now plague new places and Europe is no exception.
Listen to this audio and read the transcript about how climate change worsen some mosquito-borne diseases.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english_2023/ep-230525
Vocabulary Questions:
- What does the phrase “critical window” mean? “Sometimes parents don’t know about this critical window, and when they bring the child to the hospital, it’s difficult for us to help.” Use this phrase in your own sentence.
- What does the idiom “part of the jigsaw/puzzle” mean, “Manisha also talked about the link between poverty and dengue, which is an important part of this jigsaw isn’t it, because as more and more people move to cities and live in cramped conditions, with poor sanitation, then more and more people are exposed to dengue, so there’s something of a domino effect here.” Use this idiom in your own sentence.
- What does “domino effect” mean, “These provide the perfect breeding ground for mosquitos creating a domino effect.”? Use this phrase in your own sentence.
Discussion Questions:
- What does climate change have anything to do with mosquito-borne diseases?
- Share your thoughts/reaction to this: “The domino effect means that dengue is spreading not just in Asia, but in parts of the world which didn’t have it before, including France, Spain, and Italy.”.
- Talk about another disease caused or spread by insects or animals. Discuss its symptoms and treatment.
- Talk about other diseases that are made worse by climate change.
- How else does climate change impact human health?