News-based English language activities from the global newspaper Page 1

November 2009
Level ≥ Advanced
Style ≥ Individual or group activities
Welcome to the Guardian Weekly’s special news-based materials to support learners and teachers of
English. Each month, the Guardian Weekly newspaper selects topical news articles that can be used to
practise English language skills. The materials are graded for two levels: Advanced and Lower Intermediate.
These worksheets can be downloaded free from guardianweekly.co.uk/learningenglish/. You can also
find more advice for teachers and learners on the site
Materials prepared by Janet Hardy-Gould

Buzzing flies herald global warming on Everest

Ice warning ... Dawa Steven Sherpa climbing in the Himalayas WWF

height
Before reading
1 What do you know about Everest? Work in small
groups and make brief notes under the following
categories. Report your ideas back to the class.
location
climate

≥2
News-based English language activities from the global newspaper
history of people climbing it
2 Work with a partner and draw a sketch of a moun-
tain. Look at the words below. Check any unknown
vocabulary in a dictionary. Where do you think you
might find these things on a mountain? Label your
sketch.
flank, glacier, ice fall, saddle, peak, permanent ice, slope,
summit
3 Look at the headline, photo and caption. Complete
the sentences.
a have been found on Everest.
b This discovery is an indication of . who has climbed Everest 19 times – the world
c The discovery was made by . record.
Article
Buzzing flies herald global
warming on Everest
1 Earlier this year Dawa Steven Sherpa was resting
at Everest base camp when he and his compan-
ions heard something buzzing. “What is that?”
asked the young Nepali. They searched and
found a big black house fly, something unimagi-
nable just a few years ago when no insect could
have survived at 5,360 metres.
2 “It’s happened twice this year – the Himalayas
are warming up and changing fast,” says Dawa,
who has climbed Everest twice as well as two
8,000 metre peaks in Tibet.
3 “What I do is climb. And what we see is the Hima-
layan glaciers melting. It’s not a seasonal thing
any more. It’s rapid. It’s so apparent,” he said.
Page 2
November 2009
4 “Look at the walls and slopes of the Khumbu
glacier [which flows 3km down from an icefall on
the southern flanks of Everest].
5 “You can see a clear line where the black rock
becomes white. That’s where it’s been exposed
to the sun. That means metres of thick ice have
melted in just a few decades.”
6 All three generations of Dawa’s family testify to
major climate change taking place today. “Grand-
father used to take yaks to a place called Gokio,
which was on the other side of the Ngozumba
glacier, Nepal’s longest. He could walk them over
the ice but now the whole thing has melted,” he
said.
7 He lists some of the physical changes he has seen
and their effects on local communities. “The per-
manent ice above our village now melts at about
5,500 metres, but it used to be 3,750 metres.
Our village is seeing prolonged droughts. They
used to last a few months. Now we can go seven
months without rain.”
8 Dawa, 25, is a WWF ambassador on climate
change and runs major expeditions into the
Himalayas, climbing with his friend Apa Sherpa,
9 Everest is changing, he says. “Apa says there was
running water on the surface of the South col
[a saddle at 7,920 metres between Everest and
Lhotse mountain] this year,” said Dawa. “Also
the summit is getting smaller. You used to be able
to get 50 people on the ridge to it. Now there’s
room for 18 people at most.”
John Vidal
Glossary
yak (noun) an animal of the cow family, with long horns
and long hair
wasteland (noun) a desolate area of land without
plants
prolonged (adjective) continuing for a long time
saddle (noun) a ridge connecting two mountain peaks
≥3
News-based English language activities from the global newspaper Page 3

November 2009

While reading
1 Read the article. Put yes [Y] or no [N] next to these
sentences. Underline the information in the text.
Global warming on Everest …
a has allowed flies to appear at higher levels.
b is occurring relatively slowly. f How many people can you now get on the summit?
c has a seasonal effect on the ice.
d is clearly making the glaciers melt.
e has only been noticed by younger Nepalis.
f has affected the people in local communities.
g has increased the size of the summit.

2 Read again. Answer the questions. After reading

a What would have been difficult to imagine only a
1 Find words from the article to match the definitions.
few years ago?
Paragraph numbers are in brackets. Put verbs in
the base form. Find the vertical word and learn the
Nepali name for Everest.
a

b
b What two examples of changes to glaciers does Dawa
Steven Sherpa give? c

f
c What negative effect has global warming had on the
local communities? g

j
d What is Dawa Steven Sherpa’s role?

a not covered; open to the air etc.(5)

b obvious; easy to see (3)
c period of no rain (7)
d to be a sign that something is going to happen
(headline)
e Who does Dawa Steven Sherpa work with? Why is
e the most times something has ever been done (8)
this man famous?
f become hotter (two words) (2)
g large and important (8)
≥4
News-based English language activities from the global newspaper Page 4

November 2009

h to say you believe something because you have d The whole thing has melted … (6)
evidence (6)
i when something becomes different eg the climate (6)
j 10 years (5)

2 Look at the structures in the sentences below.

Comment on their use.
Example: Dawa Steven Sherpa was resting at Everest e The permanent ice … now melts at 5,500 metres. (7)
base camp when he heard something buzzing.
Past continuous, past simple – used here to describe
a longer ongoing activity interrupted by a shorter
one.
a … the Himalayas are warming up … (2)

Activity
Writing a short report about a local aspect of climate
change
a Think of an example of how climate change has
b Grandfather used to take yaks to a place called affected the environment, weather etc in your region.
Gokio … (6) b Find out more information about it and make notes.
c Plan the report. Divide it into three main paragraphs:
Introduction – including dramatic signs of recent
changes.
How the environment was in the past.
Specific details of the ongoing changes.
d Look back at After reading exercise 2. Which
c He could walk them over the ice … (6) structures might you use in the different paragraphs?
e Write a rough then final version then swap it with
another person in the class.

2 a That an insect could have survived at 5,360m.

e Present simple to express a fact. 1aYbNcNdYeNfYgN
finished action with a present result. While reading
c “Could” past of can to talk about past possibility. d Present perfect to describe a
past habit that is now finished. 3 a Flies. b Global warming. c Dawa Steven Sherpa.
2 a Present continuous to describe a changing situation. b “Used to” to talk about a the side; summit – highest point.
i change j decade top of mountain; permanent ice – ice high up that never melts; slope – incline on
1 a exposed b apparent c drought d herald e record f warm up g major h testify a glacier, like a frozen waterfall; saddle – ridge between two peaks; peak – pointed
After reading 2 Flank – side of mountain; glacier – frozen river in a valley; ice fall – steep part of
reach the summit, Hillary and Tenzing, 1953.
f 18. tures often below -20 °C and strong winds; history: first climbers to definitely
e Apa Sherpa. Holds world record for climbing Everest. 1 location: between Tibet/Nepal; height: 8,850m; climate: harsh with tempera-
d He’s a WWF climate change ambassador. Before reading
c There are prolonged droughts.
part of the Ngozumba glacier. Answers
b He cites the exposed rocks on the Khumbu glacier and the disappearance of