Page 13 - READING COMPANION TO ENGLISH EXAMS

1.1 CLIMATE CHANGE

The Changing Seas:
Climate Change and Fish Populations

The impact of climate change on food access is highly complex and variable. According to studies, climate
change will soon pose a serious challenge of accessing food, which will lead to malnutrition in many people.
One of the most important issues that we need to consider, leaving aside agricultural production, is the
effect of climate change on seafood. We live in a world whose three-quarters is surrounded by the sea, and
seafood is the main source of many vitamins and minerals, especially protein and Omega-3, that the healthy
human body needs. However, the sudden increase in the temperature of seawater due to climate change is
endangering the diversity and quality of marine life. Furthermore, the alteration in the potential hydrogen (pH)
of seawater caused by this temperature increase also threatens the marine ecosystem. The temperature of the
seas and oceans has risen sharply in the last decade. This has caused a dramatic change in fish populations
and diversity. The water temperature, which is above average, causes fish not to grow and get fat enough;
moreover, it brings about their migration northwards in shoals to reach cool waters. This situation indirectly
leads to a decrease in the population of fish caught for human consumption, and fish consumption does not
benefit the human body as much as it used to. As a result, this means most of the world’s population will be
deprived of its main food item in the near future.

a Match the highlighted words and phrases in the passage to the definitions below.

1. : without an immediate cause; incidentally
2. : a poor condition of health caused by a lack of food or a lack of the right type of food
3. : the powerful effect that something has on somebody or something
4. : to cause something to happen
5. : happening or done quickly and unexpectedly
6. : to be all around something
7. : to be likely to cause harm or damage to something or someone
8. : sudden, very great, and often surprising
9. : to not discuss one subject in order to discuss a different subject
10. : in a critical, rough, or severe way

b Complete the sentences with the correct forms of the words given below.

impact sharply surround

dramatic indirectly sudden threaten

1. Everything got much more complicated at the meeting, as most of the students started
complaining about many different issues.
2. Those who can make decisions during rough times are more likely to succeed in life than
the others.
3. Although environmental awareness has increased over the past decade, there is still too
much to do to save our planet.
4. The drought, which ravaged some parts of the country for three years, was quite for the
local people, especially the farmers.
5. Although the scientists used language in their speech, it was obvious that they were
actually targeting at developed countries for global warming.
6. A boreal forest and its area are often referred to as taiga, which is characterised by
coniferous trees such as spruce and pine and a cold, dry climate.
7. efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are crucial in mitigating the devastating
effects of climate change on our planet.

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