after years of research, Lockwood is closer than ever to solving the mystery of why the Rocky Mountain locust disappeared.

29 Lockwood begins by carefully examining maps of where the locusts lived during the 1800s, and where they bred at that period in time. It turns out that the Rocky Mountain locust gathered in one particular region to lay its eggs. In the 1800s, that region was in the river valleys of the Rocky Mountains. At the same time, the area's farming and agriculture industries were becoming more and more successful, and farms were beginning to appear everywhere. \turned out that agriculture was booming in these river valleys in the late 1800s, explains Lockwood. However, that wasn't all that was happening. Concurrently, the gold and silver industries were booming as well, which resulted in more and more people settling in the area to service the mining communities. The major nesting area of the Rocky Mountain locust had become a busy and overcrowded place; therefore, the conditions there would certainly have had an effect on any species.

30 As Lockwood examines all the evidence, it finally begins to become clear to him exactly what happened. As a result, he is able to put forward a valid theory. He explains that it was humans who were in fact responsible for the extinction of the Rocky Mountain locust. \ he says. \were the killers of the Rocky Mountain locust. By investigating the conditions surrounding the locust at its weakest point, just upon hatching, Lockwood was able to solve the mystery that had puzzled scientists for over a century.

31 Lockwood explains exactly how the farmers unknowingly managed to wipe out the Rocky Mountain locust. As more and more farms appeared in the river valleys to feed the miners, the farming became more and more intensive. In the course of working on the land, the farmers plowed up the fields and thereby stamped out the delicate eggs that had been laid by the great swarm. Inside those unhatched eggs was the last generation of the Rocky Mountain locust. By not allowing the eggs to mature into full-grown locusts, the species was entirely destroyed when it was at its weakest when the insects were just eggs. The only extinction of a pest species in agricultural history was in fact an accident.

pest n. an insect that causes destruction or annoyance

pioneer n. one of the first people to enter new or undeveloped land to live and work there

plow n. a special farm implement used to turn over earth for planting crops drought n. a period of little or no rainfall drone n. a low, rhythmic sound

hail n. rain that freezes and falls as balls of ice claw n. one of the sharp nails on an animal?s foot vanish vi. completely and unexpectedly disappear

Milky Way the area of more than 100 billion stars in which our Sun and Earth are located

magnitude n. great size

flourishing adj. doing well; healthy

demise n. end or death

glacier n. a large mass of ice that slowly moves, usually down a mountain tomb n. a place where dead bodies are buried

pick ax a cutting tool with a sharp metal head on a long wooden handle

grasshopper n. a plant-eating insect that can jump high and that makes a loud noise

bolt out of the blue a sudden event breed vi. have young

booming adj. very busy; doing well hatch vi. come out of an egg Reading Comprehension

1. Locust swarms could consume the food reserves of __D____. A. a whole village B. a continent C. the world D. an entire country 2. What is a swarm of locusts NOT described in Paragraph 5?D A. A storm. B. A cloud. C. A tornado. D. A drought.

3. The swarm of 1875 passed through the areas now known as ___B___. A. Oklahoma, California, Kansas B. Texas, South Dakota, Nebraska C. Colorado, Washington, Oklahoma D. Kansas, North Dakota, South Carolina

4. In Paragraph 10, which of the following does the writer imply about how the locusts affected America in the 1800s?B A. They infected many people with a deadly disease. B. They caused economic and social damage. C. They wiped out all American insects. D. They warned farmers of tornadoes.

5. The main reason Lockwood journeys to the glaciers is because he has a hypothesis that ___C___. A. locusts prefer the cold temperatures adjacent to glaciers B. a swarm may still be living there C. some locusts might be buried in the ice D. the insects there have similar DNA to locusts

6. Which of these questions CANNOT be answered with the information provided in Paragraph 22?D A. What tool does Lockwood use to break the ice? B. In what kind of condition are the locust specimens? C. Does he have a complete specimen? D. With how many specimens does Lockwood return?

7. The word \ in Paragraph 27 is closest in meaning to __A____. A. naturally existing B. worthwhile C. distinguished D. vulnerable

8. Lockwood will have to look at what was happening to the locust when it was at its weakest, not when it was flourishing.

9. The booming gold and silver industries resulted in more and more people settling in the area to service the mining communities.

10. From the passage, we can conclude that the farmers did not intend to kill the Rocky Mountain locust. HOME LISTENING audio SCRIPT

Cicadas and Cicada Killers The Cicada

The cicada is a special type of locust. Although some kinds of cicadas (annual cicadas) appear every year, many other types spend most of their lives underground, emerging from the earth only after a fixed period of time — either 13 years or 17 years. One way to identify a cicada is by its distinctive call. The male makes a noise that sounds like the buzz of a bee, only much louder, and it is capable of making several different types of noises. One sound can be heard when a male is frightened or is being handled, another is used to attract groups of males and females together. Three additional types of calls are also used during the mating process.

The Life Cycle of the Cicada

Although they fly like locusts, cicadas do not cause extensive crop damage; however, these insects do some minor damage to vegetation. When laying their eggs, the female cicada makes a hole in a tree branch where she places the eggs. If enough of these insects do this in the same tree, it can devastate the structure of the tree and cause branches to break off or die. Upon hatching, the tiny creatures fall to the ground and dig into the earth where they feed on the underground roots of the tree, growing slowly until they emerge years later as adults. The exact day of their emergence is determined by how warm the weather is. When the temperature of the soil reaches 17.8° Celsius, the cicadas dig their way out of their holes and climb the nearest tree. There, they rest for several days before beginning their adult lives.

The Cicada Killer

The cicada killer is a large bee-like insect that, like the cicada, spends most of its life underground. As the name implies, part of its life cycle involves killing cicadas. Because they emerge in mid-July, cicada killers prey only on annual cicadas, not on the 13- or 17-year varieties that emerge in May or June and die by July. To provide food for her young, the female of the species stings a cicada and carries it back to her nest. There, she lays an egg on the cicada and places a seal over the egg. In a few days, the egg hatches and the tiny cicada killers eat the cicada and then spend the winter in an underground nest. Cicada killers are beneficial in that they help control the cicada population which can threaten trees if they become too numerous. Teaching notes

I. 1. Give students time to go through the statements. 2. Play the audio.

3. Have students compare the answers in pairs.

4. Have students summarize the main idea of the listening passage. II. 1. Give students time to predict the answers.

2. Play the audio.

3. Have students compare the answers in pairs.

III. 1. Have students repeat each sentence after it is spoken twice and then write the sentences.

2. Have students listen again, and mark the word stress on content words with a stress mark (?).

3. Have students listen to each sentence and draw an upward arrow ? for rising intonation, or a downward arrow ? for falling intonation.

4. Have students listen again and draw a curved line ? to mark any words that are linked or blended together.

5. Have students practice reading the sentences till they can say them using appropriate intonation and stress pattern. IV. 1. Put students into pairs.

2. Have students list all the facts they have learned. You can also ask them to search for additional information before class.

3. Invite a representative from each pair to present their reports to the class. Encourage groups to use PowerPoint presentations if necessary.

4. Give students some comments and suggestions for improvement. Word bank

1. emerge vi. come out from inside or from being hidden The sun emerged from behind a cloud. He suddenly emerged from behind the tree. 2. prey on to hunt or eat as prey The small bird preys on insect pests. 3. numerous adj. many There are numerous differences between the two. Useful expressions Describing varieties

* Male cicadas may make many different types of noises. * Various cicadas may have different lifespans.

* A variety of cicadas are introduced in this passage.

* All kinds of cicadas gather together to make noises happily. HOME LISTENING

I. Listen to the passage. Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F).

____F__ This passage is mainly about cicada types and cicada characters. ___T___ There are about three types of cicadas mentioned in the passage. ___F___ A female cicada can make different sounds. ____F__ Cicadas can cause extensive crop damage. ___T___ Tiny cicadas will grow up underground.

___F___ The bee is the cicada killer according to the passage. ___F___ Cicada killers prey on all kinds of cicadas. ___T___ Cicada killers are beneficial to trees.