Joy English · Level C2 · Biologyjoy-english.com
Tidal flats as nurseries
Name:Date:
Follow the logic of an ecology lecture, from cause to consequence.
Listen to each sentence and write what you hear.
Audio and answer checking: https://joy-english.com/listening-lessons/tidal-flats-as-nurseries
Words to know
- barren
- Empty and without life.
- sediment
- Sand and mud that settle at the bottom of water.
- migratory
- Moving regularly between places.
- flyway
- A route that birds follow when they migrate.
Answer key
- Tidal flats may look like barren stretches of mud, but each is one of the most productive habitats on the planet.“One of the most” is followed by a plural noun. “Barren” has two syllables: BA-ren.
- Each tide delivers a fresh supply of nutrients, which feeds microscopic algae that coat the surface like a thin film.“Which” refers to the supply of nutrients. “Algae” is pronounced AL-jee.
- Those algae, in turn, sustain enormous populations of worms and shellfish buried just beneath the sediment.“Those algae” is plural, so “those”, not “that”. “Beneath” has a soft th.
- Migratory birds time their journeys to coincide with this abundance, feeding heavily here before continuing across whole continents.Here “time” is a verb. “Coincide” has stress on the third syllable: co-in-CIDE.
- That is why drainage projects, however modest they appear, can undermine a flyway that stretches far beyond the site itself.“However modest they appear” means even if they look small. “Undermine” stresses the last syllable.