Joy English
Joy English

C1 Vocabulary

C1Environment20 min

The environment and sustainability

Learn precise vocabulary such as mitigate, deplete, carbon sink, tipping point and greenwashing for discussing environmental issues.

Discussions of the environment at an advanced level need more than words like pollution and recycling. Scientists, journalists and policy writers use precise terms to describe causes, risks and solutions. This set will help you read reports and articles on sustainability and take part in debates about them with greater accuracy.

biodiversitynoun
the variety of living things in a particular place or in the worldCoral reefs support an extraordinary level of marine biodiversity.
mitigateverb
make something harmful less serious or severeSea walls are built to mitigate the damage from storm surges.
depleteverb
use up a resource so that little is leftIf we deplete the aquifer faster than rain refills it, wells will run dry.
carbon sinknoun
a forest, ocean or other system that absorbs more carbon than it releasesOld forests are a major carbon sink.
tipping pointnoun
the moment when a change becomes so large that it cannot be reversedEcologists warn of a tipping point after which the forest turns to grassland.
land degradationnoun
the gradual decline in the quality and productivity of soil and landOvergrazing is a leading cause of land degradation.
offsetverb
balance the harm of something by reducing or removing an equal amount elsewhereThe airline promises to offset its emissions by funding forest protection.
stewardshipnoun
the careful and responsible management of something that you look afterCommunities with strong stewardship of their woodland manage it for future generations.
greenwashingnoun
making a company or product appear more environmentally friendly than it isThe advert was dismissed as greenwashing.
circular economynoun
a system that keeps materials in use by repairing, reusing and recycling themA circular economy produces far less waste than one that dumps products after use.
finiteadjective
having a limit; not unlimitedFossil fuels are a finite resource.
resilientadjective
able to recover quickly from damage or difficult conditionsWetlands are resilient ecosystems that recover quickly after storms.

Exercise 1 of 2

Choose the best option

Choose the word or phrase that completes each sentence correctly.

  1. Planting native trees on hillsides can help _____ the effects of flooding.

  2. Decades of overfishing have _____ stocks of cod across the northern seas.

  3. What does greenwashing mean?

  4. Scientists warn that if warming passes a certain _____, some ice sheets could collapse irreversibly.

  5. What does land degradation mean?

  6. What does it mean to offset a company's emissions?

  7. A _____ economy keeps materials in use by repairing, reusing and recycling products.

  8. Because fossil fuels are _____, we cannot rely on them for ever.

0 of 8 answered

Exercise 2 of 2

Complete the sentence

Type the word that completes each sentence. Use each word once: biodiversity, degradation, deplete, greenwashing, mitigate, resilient, sink, stewardship.

  1. Coral reefs support an extraordinary level of marine .

  2. Communities with a strong sense of manage their forests carefully for future generations.

  3. Soil caused by intensive farming has left much of the land unproductive.

  4. The advert showed green meadows, but critics dismissed it as because the factory's emissions had risen.

  5. Wetlands are ecosystems: they recover quickly after storms.

  6. If we the aquifer faster than rain refills it, the wells will run dry.

  7. Sea walls and flood barriers are built to the damage from storm surges.

  8. Old forests are a major carbon because they absorb more carbon than they release.

0 of 8 answered

Source

Original lesson by Joy English.

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