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4. BIOLOGY

SESSION 8

Evolution

"Killer Whale (Resident Orca)" by Shawn McCready is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0

This session is a brief introduction to the fascinating world of Marine Biology. The activities proposed here provide valuable information about water mammals and how they have evolved throughout history.
The section devoted to Language Tools will present various relative pronouns and the use of relative clauses.

 INTRODUCTION

A. Before we start. How much do you know about water mammals?

Challenge #1

Do you know the names of the following water mammals? Show your expertise and warping speed to other students by completing the following challenge with zero mistakes as fast as you can.

NOTE: For bigger images click on the fullscreen icon  

TEST UPDATE

Due to COVID-19, the listening test has been cancelled. Check new assessment procedure below.

TEST
100% of the mark
(January 2021)

•   Reading comprehension
•   Culture landmarks 1-6
•   Grammar
•   Writing

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STRUCTURE

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  Playing

• Challenge #1: Water mammals
• Challenge #2: Whale body parts
• Challenge #3: Relative bank robbery

  Watching

• Evolution: Great Transformations

  Comprehension

• Transcribe
• Answer the A/B/C/D questions
• Open questions

  Oral practice

• Prepare yourself for presentations

  Watching

• Relative clauses

  Language tools

• Relative pronouns
• Building up sentences with relative clauses

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PREVIOUS SESSIONS

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7. Immune war against HIV

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6. Chemistry in fiction

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5. Mercury pollution

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4. Fortnite

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3. Artificial Intelligence

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2. The story of One

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1. Animals that count

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 PART 1

Watch a 3-minute extract from the PBS documentary Evolution: Great Transformations (from 03'16" to 06'10") and answer the questions.

Evolution and whales

B. Transcribe.

Transcription: Write down the first sentence in the video, from “Human” to “arrived”. If you cannot find all the words, write what you hear even if you think it makes no sense.

C. Answer the questions.

1. As Neil Shubin explains, it is possible to take the entire history of the planet down to one hour: what appeared during the first 50 minutes of that hour?

a. Our civilisation

b. Mammals

c. Microorganisms

d. Dinosaurs

Check answer

2. Which of the following traits defining mammals is NOT mentioned?

a. They are homeothermic

b. They are viviparous

c. They have hair

d. They breathe air

Check answer

Why are whales an evolutionary puzzle? Because....

a. they have a great life expectancy

b. they are so beautiful

c. they are so enormous

d. they are mammals living in the water

Check answer

4. According to Gingerich, we are fascinated by whales. Which reason does he NOT give for that?

a. They have complex brains

b. Their sounds are mesmerizing

c. They give us information about our own evolution

d. They are masters of the sea

Check answer

 PART 2

D. How much do you know about whale body parts?

Challenge #2

Do you know the names of the following body parts? Look at the diagram of the whale and connect the names to the right parts. Will you be faster and more precise than other players?

NOTE: Don't forget to click on the fullscreen icon  

Now watch another 2-minute extract from the same documentary (from 06'11" to 08'32") and answer the questions.

Gingerich's discovery

E. Answer the questions.

1. When and why did Gingerich go into geology?

2. Where did Gingerich discover his fossil?

3. What was it similar to?

4. What was surprising about the fossil?

5. What could this fossil possibly prove?

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LANDMARKS

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4. Joshua Lederberg

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3. Robert Boyle

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2. Ada Lovelace

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1. Katherine Johnson

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SUGGESTIONS

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Improve your English speaking, listening and writing skills with Duolingo, a free, fun-to-use app.

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WHALES

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Whale chart
Source: Pinterest.com

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PLACES

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Whale Valley, Egypt
Source: Smithsonian Magazine

Skeleton at Whale Valley
Source: Reddit.com

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FACTS

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Creodonts
Source: Wikipedia.org

An extinct order of carnivorous mammals that lived from the Paleocene to the Miocene epochs. Because they both possess carnassial teeth, creodonts and carnivorans were once thought to have shared a common ancestor.
Creodonts were the first large, obviously carnivorous mammals in the late Paleocene. During the Paleogene, they were the most abundant form of terrestrial carnivore in the Old World.

Creodont skull
Source: Pikuki.com

 PART 3

Now watch the final 4-minute extract from the documentary (from 08'32" to 13'03") and answer the questions.

More surprises...

F. Answer the questions.

1. What are “transitional forms”?

2. Why was Gingerich unable to go back to Pakistan?

3. Where did he go?

4. Why is the place called "Valley of the Whales"?

5. How old are the skeletons?

6. What explanation does Gingerich believe could explain the presence of so many whale skeletons?

7. What is the name of the whale to which the skeletons belonged?

8. What extraordinary finding did they reveal?

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VOCABULARY

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Layered sandstone
Source: Fine Art America

Mushroom rock in the Sahara Desert, Egypt
Source: Geofacts.in

Lagoon surrounded by sandbars in Florida, US
Source: Pinterest.com

PART 4

Oral practice

Prepare yourself for oral presentations.

Now you are Philip Gingerich, and you are going to present your discovery to the scientific community. Take a few notes and then record your discourse with your phone/tablet/computer. Listen to your performance and give/take your own constructive criticism.
If you are brave enough, you can record a video and send it to your teacher for assessment.

Source: synapsiscreative.com

PART 5

Language Tools

Relative clauses

The following video is a short and clear explanation about how to use relative clauses

Challenge #3

G. You work for the local newspaper and you're writing an article on a bank robbery that happened yesterday. Type in the correct relative pronouns to make your story perfect. Note: you only have 5 minutes to complete the challenge.

Source: freepik.com

Now you are ready to do exercises H and I.

H. Choose the correct answer.

1.
   Who’s that over there?
   Oh, it’s our new teacher, ..... just started work today.

a. that

b. who he

c. which he

d. who

Check answer

2.
   Which gift did you get Marcus in the end?
   I got him the one ..... said he really wanted.

a. that

b. who he

c. which

d. which he

Check answer

3.
   Who did you send a Valentine’s card to?
   I'm not telling you but it was someone ..... name begins with "B".

a. which

b. who her

c. whose

d. whose her

Check answer

4.
   Have you seen Jason Green’s latest film?
   Is that the one in ..... he joins the FBI?

a. which he

b. that he

c. whom he

d. which

Check answer

5.
   Why do you like Tania so much?
   Well, she’s one of the few people to ..... I can really talk.

a. which

b. whom

c. that

d. who

Check answer

6.
   Why don't we go to Lionel's for dinner tonight?
   Is that the new restaurant ..... has just opened on the other side of town?

a. which

b. that it

c. where

d. which it

Check answer

7.
   Could you lend me some money?
   I’d like you to give me some good reason ..... I should.

a. that

b. why

c. which

d. who

Check answer

8.
   What do you want to do this summer?
   I think we should go somewhere ..... has plenty of sun and sand.

a. who

b. where

c. when

d. that

Check answer

I. Rewrite as one sentence using a relative clause. Use the text in the boxes as hints to build up your sentences.

1. My friend, Simon, plays the guitar. He has just released a new album.

2. All electors must be heard. Their votes are crucial.

3. Microsoft has a lot of power in the world of computers. That annoys some people.

4. The euro replaced a number of national currencies. It was introduced in 2002.

5. Peter is my best friend. I wrote a letter to him yesterday.

6. 1984 was written by George Orwell. His real name was Eric Blair.

7. The greyhound can reach speeds of over 65 kilometres an hour. This is impressive.

8. This actress is quite famous. These flowers arrived for her.

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RELATIVE PRONOUNS

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WHO

Refers to people only

Example:
Marie Curie, who discovered radium, was Polish.

WHOM

Refers to people only

Example:
That is the girl with whom I work.

WHICH

Refers to objects

Example:
My cat did not come back home last night, which is strange.

THAT

Refers to people and objects

Example:
The book that I've just bought deals with whales.

WHOSE

Refers to people (though accepted for objects nowadays)

Example:
My neighbour, whose son broke my window, came to apologise earlier today.

WHERE

Refers to places

Example:
I honestly don't know where I have left your keys, sorry.

WHEN

Refers to time

Example:
He will call me when they arrive, or so he said.

WHY

Refers to reasons

Example:
There is always a reason why people do stupid things.

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VOCABULARY

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Greyhound
Source: wikipedia.org

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