Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. a pesticide
    • ex. The farmer used a pesticide to protect the crops from harmful insects.
  2. offshore
    • ex. The company built an offshore wind farm.
  3. activism
    • ex. Her activism focuses on protecting the environment.
  4. a teach-in
    • ex. The students attended a teach-in about climate change.
  5. take aim at [something]
    • ex. The campaigns take aim at reducing plastic waste.

Article

Read the article below and answer your tutor's questions.

Font size

Millions of people celebrate Earth Day every April 22. This event started because people wanted to protect our planet. In the 1960s, a famous book called Silent Spring helped people understand how pesticides hurt nature. Later, in 1969, a massive offshore oil spill in California made many people angry. They wanted to start environmental activism to save the ocean and the land.

Senator Gaylord Nelson had the idea for a national “teach-in” to educate the public. He chose April 22 because students had finished their spring break but had not started final exams yet. The first Earth Day in 1970 had an overwhelming response. Millions of people joined, and the U.S. government soon passed new laws to keep the air and water clean.

Today, Earth Day is a global event in 192 countries. It is not a formal holiday, but many volunteers clean up parks and beaches. Recently, the event has started to take aim at climate change. This year’s theme is “Our Power, Our Planet.” It encourages everyone to work together to stop pollution and keep our world healthy.

This material was based on an article by The Associated Press.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Earth Day

  • Do you celebrate Earth Day? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • This year, Earth Day’s theme is “Our Power, Our Planet.” What do you think this theme means? Discuss.
  • Imagine you are organizing the Earth Day event in your city/town. What activities would you do (ex. recycling workshops, gardening)? Discuss.

Environmental Activism

  • Do you think it’s important to practice environmental activism nowadays? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Environmental activism started in the U.S. because of an offshore oil spill in California. What environmental issue in your city or country would you want to be solved? Discuss.
  • Would you participate in activities promoting environmental activism? Why or why not? Discuss.