Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. shelf life
    • ex. This milk’s shelf life is only five days, so drink it before it goes bad.
  2. attribute (something) to (something)
    • ex. She attributes her good health to daily exercise and diet.
  3. unpredictable
    • ex. The weather is very unpredictable. So, we always carry an umbrella.
  4. threaten
    • ex. Dark clouds threaten to bring heavy rain this afternoon.
  5. a crop
    • ex. Rice is the main crop in my country.

Article

Read the article below and answer your tutor's questions.

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In Ohio, a long drought and changing weather due to climate change are affecting the pawpaw, North America’s largest native fruit. The pawpaw is about the size of an avocado and tastes like a mix of mango and banana. However, the fruit rarely appears in US grocery stores due to its short shelf life. Pawpaw grows in the east of North America.

However, in Ohio and Kentucky, some farmers are reporting that they are picking the fruit earlier than usual this year. The fruit is also becoming bitter. These changes might be due to unusual weather. Farmer Valerie Libbey was surprised to see the pawpaw falling in early August instead of mid-September. Libbey attributes this change to the heat.

It’s not clear whether the drought alone is the main reason for the changes in the fruit. Some farmers think that unpredictable weather events, including very cold springtime, also affect the fruit. According to a government report, such unusual weather conditions threaten crops and animals in the Midwest region of the U.S. However, farmers hope these strong trees will survive the changing conditions.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Crops and Climate Change

  • What crop in your country do a lot of people consume (ex. rice, corn)? Discuss.
  • Why do you think it is important to keep crops safe from the effects of climate change like drought and unusual weather? Discuss.
  • Imagine you’re a farmer and climate change is affecting your crops. What would you do? Discuss.

Pawpaw Fruit

  • Would you like to try the pawpaw fruit? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • According to the article, the pawpaw’s taste is becoming bitter. What do you think pawpaw growers can do to still sell the bitter pawpaw (ex. turn them into jam)? Discuss.
  • Aside from climate change, unpredictable weather conditions affect crops in general. In your opinion, what will happen to the farming business if this situation continues? Discuss.