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Unit 1 - Listening B - A Conversation about Dr. Sylvia Earle
A: Hi, Becca! I didn’t see you in class on Thursday. Where were you?
B: Hey, Ren. Yeah, I
was sick on Thursday, so I (1) ___________ home.
A: That’s too bad. Do you feel better now?
B: I do, thanks. So, was it a good class on Thursday?
A: Oh, it was great! There was a (2) ___________ presentation by Dr. Sylvia Earle.
B: Really? I’m sorry I missed it. What did she talk about?
A: She talked about her (3) ___________ and how she got started.
B: She’s
a marine biologist, right? Did she say what made her decide to study the ocean?
A: She said that she was knocked over by a wave when she was just a little girl, and since then she’s been
(4) ___________ by the ocean.
B: So, what exactly does she do?
A: She’s in (5) ___________ of several groups that study the oceans and take care of them.
B: So, they study the oceans . . . like – all of the oceans?
A: Sure, well, she talked about fish and other forms of ocean life. That’s what marine biologists study, you
know. And she talked about the fact that there are about seven and a half billion people on (6)
___________ now.
B: Wow! That’s a lot of people! But how does that relate to her study of the ocean?
A: Actually, all these people are having a really big (7) ___________ on the world’s oceans.
B: What kind of effect?
A: Think about it—a
hundred years ago, there were only two billion people on Earth.
This increase in
people has led to all kinds of (8) ___________. For example, how often do you eat fish?
B: Not very often. Maybe once or twice a month.
A: OK, but here’s what Dr. Earle said. Although you might not eat a lot of fish, 7.5 billion people eat a huge
amount of fish! And think about the (9) ___________. The oceans are getting dirtier and filling up with
trash.
B: I see what you mean. It’s sad, really.
A: It is sad, but Dr. Earle believes that we—you and I—can help.