Scientists Want to Bring Mammoths Back to Life

1. Warm-up activity. What can you say about these words and how do you understand them? Scientist, extinct, DNA, mammoth, creature, GPS, genetics.
2. Pre-listening task

1) Should scientists try to bring back species from extinction?

2) Which animals should be brought back to life? (Wolly mammoth, Sabre-toothed tiger, Black rhinoceros)

3. Read and listen to the text and circle the correct word.

Scientists are working on bringing / brought back the wooly mammoth. The giant creature is an ancestor / ancestry of the Asian elephant. It became extinct over 4,000 years ago, but scientist / scientists and entrepreneurs want to bring it back to life / living. The idea is like something from the movie Jurassic Park. Scientists will use the DNA from the bones of a mammoth finding / found in Siberia to revive the mammoth. They will also use cloning techniques. It would be the first time for / since the Ice Age for a mammoth to walk on the earth. The lead / iron scientist is professor George Church, a genetics / geneticist from Harvard Medical School. He is an expert in giant / gene editing. An entrepreneur, Ben Lamm, said: “Our goal is to have our first calves in the next four by / to six years”. 

Ben Lamm is founder of a technology and software company called Colossal. He has provided / gave $15 million for the research to move forward / backward. He said he has big plans to bring / bringing the mammoth back to life and to revival / revive other species. He said he hoped / hopped to “rapidly advance the field of species de-extinction” and “to restore the wooly mammoth to the Artic tundra”. Mr Lamm beliefs / believes the research will result in innovations that will benefit / beneficial biotechnology and health care. Lamm compared the project to the Apollo mission to the moon. He said they / it made people excited about space. They led to the development of everyday products like / same freeze-dried food, and of technology such as GPS. Mr Lamm believes genetics will improvement / improve our lives.     

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/sep/13/firm-bring-back-woolly-mammoth-from-extinction

4. Put the words in the right order.

1) back  /  working  /  are  /  Scientists  /  mammoth.  /  bringing  /  the  /  on

2) became  /  The  /  mammoth  /  extinct  /  over  /  ago.  /  4,000  /  years

3) since  /  first  /  The  /  age.  /  the  /  ice  /  time

4) million  /  He  /  has  /  the  /  provided  /  research.  /  for  /  $15

5) Mr Lamm  /  genetics  /  believes  /  improve  /  our  /  will  /  lives.   

5. Pronunciation. Listen to the words and practice saying them.

6. Writing. Make up 3 your own questions according to the text.