Mrs. Jordan

9th Grade English

Blizzard Bag #2

Read through Worksheet Vocabulary: "Saving the Great White Monster"

Read the article titled "Saving the Great White Monster" (Paying Attention to graphics and captions)

Complete the Following, Attached Worksheets that go with the Article. Please use complete sentenceswhere appropriate

Vocabulary Practice: "Saving the Great White Monster"

"Saving the Great White Monster" Quiz

N a m e : D a t e :

NONFICTION: "Saving the Great White Monster" • SKILL: Vocabulary Acquisition

1"Saving the Great White Monster"

Directions: Read the following definitions and example sentences. Then add two more words from the article.

1. apex (AY-peks) noun; the top or highest part of somethingexample: Each holiday season, Dad fastens a giant, inflatable Santa Claus to the apex of our roof.

2. delicacy (DEL-ih-kuh-see) noun; 1. something delightful or pleasing, especially a unique or rare fooditem; 2. the quality of being easily broken or damaged; 3. fineness in texture, quality, etc. §example 1: Escargot, or cooked snails, is considered a delicacy in France.example 2: Because of their delicacy, fossilized dinosaur bones must be handled with utmost care.example 3: Silk garments are quite comfortable, thanks to the delicacy of the fabric.

3. dorsal (DOOR-suhl) adjective; of, on, or relating to the backexample: The walleye, a type offish found in various parts of Canada, is easily identified by its spinydorsal fin.

4. ecosystem (EE-koh-sis-tuhm) noun; 1. a system formed by the interaction of a community oforganisms with their environmentexample: Experts predict that the recent oil spill will damage the marine ecosystem.

5. pectoral (PEK-ter-uhl) adjective; of, on, or relating to the chest or breastexample: According to Coach Porter, the bench press is the best exercise for building pectoralmuscles.

6. ruthlessly (ROOTH-lis-lee) adverb; without pity or compassion; cruellyexample: Players on both teams at the Super Bowl fought ruthlessly for control of the football.

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S C H O L A S T I C S C O P E A C T I V I T Y • F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4 P A G E ' . O F 2

Nonfiction

The great whiteshark is amongthe most fearedanimals in theworld. But it'salso one of themost importantto our oceans.Here's why thisshark needsyour LOVE.BY LAUREN TARSHIS

What causeand effectrelation

ships are described in this article?

Imagine for a few minutes that

you are the most feared creaturein the ocean: the great whiteshark. Wherever you go, you

spread terror and panic. Fish scatterlike confetti. Dolphins skitter away.Even six-ton killer whales aren't safearound you.And no wonder. There is no animal

in the sea that you cannot kill. Mainlyyou attack by surprise, striking frombelow, speeding toward your prey likean underwater missile. You hit with thefull force of your 4,000-pound body,knocking your prey senseless.

And then—chompl

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Your jaw is one of nature's mostdevastating weapons, with morethan 300 teeth lined up in jaggedrows. Your bite is three times as

strong as that of a lion; one snap ofyour mighty jaws can kill a creaturemany times your size.

But you are not

just a killing machine,mindlessly prowlingthe ocean in search ofyour next meal. Youare a highly intelligentfish, with a curiousnature. You can travelmore than 10,000 milesin a year. You have seenthe rainbow-hued coral reefs offAustralia and the volcanic shoresof the Hawaiian Islands. You andothers of your species know thepitch-dark depths of the Pacificand the white sandbars of theAtiantic. You are also vital to theworld's oceans. As the animal atthe top of the food chain—the apexpredator—you keep the delicateocean ecosystem in balance.

For millions of years, sharks likeyou have thrived, with nothing tofear. But in recent years that haschanged.

Now, you are in terrible danger.Worldwide, sharks like you

are being ruthlessly hunted andbrutally slaughtered. Over the past10 years, an average of 100 millionsharks have been killed every year.

That's right: 100 million sharks.Every year.In some parts of the world,

sharks have vanished. Manyspecies, including great whites, are

in danger of extinction.What brutal creature is killing

the world's sharks?It does not have fanged teeth or

strangling tentacles. It doesn't evenlive in the sea.

The creature killing the sharks isthe human being.

Killing for SoupPeople have been hunting

sharks for thousands of years. Inthe 1800s, Americans relied on oilfrom shark livers to waterprooftheir ships. Native Americansprized the teeth of tiger and bullsharks, which they used for carvingand cutting. But it wasn't untilthe 1990s that sharks were huntedin staggeringly large numbers.Today, they are hunted for meatand as trophies, but mainly they

are hunted for their fins, the keyingredient in shark fin soup.

This soup is a delicacy in China,where a single bowl of it can cost$300. A watery broth filled withstringy strands of shark fin, thesoup is not known for its goodtaste. Rather, it is served to impressimportant guests at occasions likebanquets and weddings.

For centuries, only a smallnumber of Chinese people werewealthy enough to afford the soup.But since the late 1980s, wealth inChina has been growing. Today,millions can afford luxuries likefancy cars, designer clothing—andshark fin soup. As the demand forshark fins has skyrocketed, so has

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Sharks help keep the oceanirr balance. Already, the

disappearance: of sharks lias-had: a dramatic:effect on

the ecosystem.

Here is one example.

Because of overfishing: offthe east coast of the U.S.,bull sharks disappear from

these waters.

With the bull sharks gone,numbers of their main prey,the cownose ray, explode.

Cownose rays devour allthe scallops off the NorthCarolina coast. Now there

are almost no scallopsleft there.

So loAg!

Humans who eat NorthCarolina scallops are out ofluck. So are the fishermen

whose jobs depend onscallops.

the price. The dorsal and pectoralfins of a great white can sell forthousands of dollars each.

On any given day, thousands offishing boats are out in the ocean,prowling the seas for sharks. Manytrail wire fishing lines hundredsof feet long and studded with asmany as 1,500 hooks baited withraw meat. Some boats can catchmore than 100 sharks on a singletrip. Many fishermen don't evenbother to bring the sharks back toshore. They just hack off the finswhile at sea and leave the sharks todie in the ocean.

Rising AlarmSharks are some of Earth's

oldest creatures. Tens ofmillions of years ago, asTyrannosaurus rex wasroaring across America'sGreat Plains, ancestorsof today's sharks werecruising the world's oceans.Now, these ancient andfascinating creatures couldsoon be wiped off the faceof the planet.

By the early 2000s,worried scientists werewarning that China'sappetite for shark finsoup was endangering theworld's shark populations.Indeed, over the pastdecades, the populationof some shark specieshas dropped 99 percent.Great white, tiger, bull, andhammerhead sharks are inparticular danger.

Extinction would be tragic forsharks, of course, but it wouldalso spell disaster for fragile oceanecosystems—and the humans whodepend on the ocean for food. Thedisappearance of an apex predatorwould have an impact on almostevery other species of fish, causingsome populations to boom andothers to vanish.

Attacks Are RareImagine once again that you

are a great white shark, swimmingthrough the ocean.

Are you doomed?Just a few years ago, many

scientists thought so.That, however, was before

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WildAid got involved.WildAid is one of several

wildlife groups workingto save the planet's manyendangered species. Theshark presented them witha difficult case. People tendto want to help animals thatthey care about. Pictures ofbaby elephants and wide-eyed pandas melt our heartsand move us to donate tocauses dedicated to savingthem. But looking at a photoof a great white shark—theblood-red mouth, the deadblack eyes—few people think,"Awwwww." More likely, theyshudder and recall the frighteningstories of shark attacks that makeheadlines every year.

It is true that an average of 80people are bitten by sharks eachyear, and that each incident ishorrifying. But given the numberof people who swim and surfin the ocean, these incidentsare extremely rare. Abeachgoer is 15 timesmore likely to bekilled by a fallingcoconut than by ashark.

Still, many peoplebelieve the world mightbe a better place withoutsharks, which has made it difficult

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; Many shark-bite, survivors like surfer |ethany•Hamilton, who lost her arm in a shartfattackt-when she.was 13, are fighting to save sharks:1% you care about the ocean, you. care^about^sharks/" she says.

•J

for scientists to rally support forshark conservation.

Until now.The leaders of WildAid realized

that few Chinese people understoodthe true cost of shark fin soup. SoWildAid enlisted some of China'sbiggest celebrities, like basketballplayer Yao Ming and actor Jackie* Chan, to raise awareness. WildAid

also ran ads on TV showinggruesome scenes of sharks

being slaughtered. Thecampaign attractedenormous attentionand has been moresuccessful man

anyone dared hope.Many young people are

refusing to serve shark finsoup at their weddings, and in 2012,

the Chinese governmentbanned the soup fromofficial banquets. In 2013,the number of shark finsimported into China droppedby nearly 30 percent.

Reason for HopeEventually, as fewer

people want shark fin soup,fishermen will not be ableto demand high prices forfins. Soon, experts hope,fins will be all but worthless,and fishermen will haveno reason to hunt sharks.WildAid founder Peter

Knights points out that the successof the campaign shows that evendifficult problems can be solvedwith creative thinking.

But for now, danger still lurksfor you and other sharks. Stayaway from fishing boats, with theirterrible nets and thousand-hookfishing lines. Steer clear of crowdedbeaches with splashing humans,where the sight of your fin knifingthrough the water will cause panic.

But don't despair. There isreason to hope that the humanswho have threatened you will,one day, learn to prize you. Andperhaps millions of years fromnow, your descendants will be themost powerful creatures in theocean, just as you are today. •

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SCOPE Name: Date:

NONFICTION: "Saving the Great White Monster" • SKILL: Vocabulary Acquisition

mSaving the Great White Monster"Directions: Complete the sentences using a form of the vocabulary words listed in the Word Bank. You will useeach word once.

WORD BANKapex dorsal pectoral

delicacy ecosystem ruthlessly

1. The original Godzilla film features a giant lizard thatJapanese city of Tokyo.

rampages throughout the

2. Gunnulf saw, in the distance, an approaching figure on horseback. The bright-red dragon on hisarmor signified that he was the king.

side, this boa constrictor was likely attacked by a bird3. "Judging from the scar on itsswooping down from above," our guide informed us.

4. The of the Great Pyramid of Giza is more than 450 feet high.

5. Scientists worry that climate change will affect the planet's fragile

6. Historically, lobster was primarily eaten by the poor; today, however, it's considered aand is quite expensive.

Directions: Choose two of the vocabulary words listed on the first page of this activity. Write an examplesentence for each one.

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NONFICTION: "Saving the Great White Monster" • SKILL: Test Prep

"Saving the Great White Monster" QuizDirections: Read "Saving the Great White Monster." Then answer the multiple-choice questions below.

1. Which statement expresses a central idea of the 5. Which statement best describes the sectionarticle? "Rising Alarm"?® An increase in shark hunting is threatening ® The author proposes solutions to the problem

ocean ecosystems. of shark hunting.© Sharks are resilient creatures. © The author compares two species.© Jaws portrays sharks as bloodthirsty monsters. © The author explains effects of shark hunting.@ WildAid is a wonderful organization. © The author argues strongly for increased

support of sharks.2. Which sentence best supports this central idea?

® "For millions of years, sharks like you have 6. If the information from the infographic "Why Wethrived, with nothing to fear." Need Sharks" was included in the main text of the

© "People tend to want to help animals that they article, which section would it best fit into?care about." ® "Killing for Soup" © "Rising Alarm"

© "People have been hunting sharks for © "Attacks Are Rare" © "Reason for Hope"thousands of years."

© "The disappearance of an apex predator would 7. The author writes that "a beachgoer is 15 timeshave an impact on almost every other species more likely to be killed by a falling coconut thano f fi s h " by a shark." Which idea does this detail support?

@> Coconuts are dangerous.3. Consider this sentence from the article: "Mainly © Shark attacks are common.

you attack by surprise, striking from below, © Shark attacks are not common.speeding toward your prey like an underwater ©all of the abovemissile." What literary device does it contain?® onomatopoeia © metaphor 8. How does the author support her claim© s i m i l e © h y p e r b o l e that WildAid's campaign in China has been

successful?4. The author probably used this literary device to (§) She quotes Chinese people who stopped eating

(§) vividly describe how sharks zero in on prey. shark fin soup as a result of the campaign.© develop the idea that sharks are monsters. © She describes the campaign itself.© help the reader imagine what it is like to be © She cites a statistic about reduced fin imports.

shark prey. ® She explains why it's easier to rally support for© frighten the reader. cute animals.

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