Practice Together
Read the passage aloud. As you read, listen for context that helps you figure out the correct meaning of each underlined word.
Television, radio, newspapers, and the Internet tell us news about the environment. Sometimes their stories give a dim view of things.
Sometimes, however, bad news can lead to action. One good example is California Coastal Cleanup Day.
News reports about the amount of garbage along California’s coast caused people to take action. Now more than 50,000 people come together each year on the third Saturday of September to clean up the coast. Since the program began in 1985, more than three quarters of a million volunteers have removed over 12 million pounds of waste and garbage from California shores.
Try It!
Read the following passage. What is the correct meaning of each underlined word? How do you know?
How can one person help the natural world? Perhaps you don’t live in a rain forest or can’t do research at the South Pole. But if you long to help the planet, you can make choices that make a difference. Use less water. Use fewer plastics. Recycle whenever it’s possible. Keep your home a little cooler in winter and a little warmer in summer. Use batteries that you can recharge. Avoid driving when you can walk. Dispose of trash properly.
None of these tips is new. Think, though, about the difference it would make if the rest of us, all 250 million Americans, followed your lead.