Mosquito-Borne Diseases Kill Over 1 Million People Each Year

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Materials Daily News

Intermediate

Exercise 1

Vocabulary

mosquito

Noun

məˈskiːtoʊ

a flying insect that bites humans and animals and sucks their blood. One type of mosquito can spread the disease malaria

Mosquitoes spread diseases by sucking blood from their victims.

It appears that mosquitoes possess their own ideas of what tasty means.

ability

Noun

əˈbɪlɪtiː

the fact that somebody/something is able to do something

His musical ability was obvious at a young age.

He has the ability to make cards disappear.

Lack of sleep may impair your ability to work.

A good scout has the ability to see future success.

In this job it helps if you have the ability to do more than one thing at the same time.

The most important criterion used in our CEO search was integrity, but we also looked at fundraising ability.

target

Verb

ˈtɑːrɡɪt

to aim an attack at somebody/something

They targeted drug dealing with the new law.

plume

Noun

pluːm

something (such as smoke, steam, or water) that rises into the air in a tall, thin shape

She could see a plume of dark smoke in the air.

carbon dioxide

Noun

ˈkɑːrbən daɪˈɑːksaɪd

a gas breathed out by people and animals from the lungs or produced by burning carbon

The company has reduced its emission of carbon dioxide.

Without carbon dioxide, plants can't produce the oxygen we need for breathing.

Experts measure the levels of carbon dioxide in the world.

mammal

Noun

ˈmæməl

any animal that gives birth to live babies, not eggs, and feeds its young on milk.

Mammals feed their young on milk.

Buffalo are the largest land mammals in North America.

Whales are the largest mammals on earth.

The lion is a magnificent animal, and certainly one of the fiercest of all mammals.

Cows, humans and whales are all mammals.

Dolphins are mammals.

Exercise 2

Article

AI Generated Audio––:–– / ––:––

Mosquito-Borne Diseases Kill Over 1 Million People Each Year

Mosquitoes have an ability to target humans far away and fly straight to their unprotected skin. Regrettably, mosquitoes can do more than cause an itchy wound. Some mosquitoes spread several serious diseases.

Over one million people worldwide die from mosquito-borne diseases each year. New research now shows how mosquitos choose who to bite.

Mosquitoes need blood to survive. They are attracted to human skin and breath. They smell the carbon dioxide gas – which all mammals breathe out.

But mosquitoes also use their eyes and sense of touch. Michael Dickinson is a professor at the California Institute of Technology. His research shows how these small insects, with even smaller brains, use three senses to find a blood meal.

Michael Dickinson’s team used plumes – material that rises into the air – of carbon dioxide gas into a wind tunnel. They then used cameras to record the mosquitoes. The insects followed the plume.

This suggested to the researchers that a mosquito’s sense of smell is more important in the search for food.

Exercise 3

Questions

What ability do mosquitoes have?

What do Mosquitoes need to survive?

How many senses do mosquitoes use according to Michael Dickinson’s research?

Exercise 4

Discussion

Do you dislike mosquitoes?

What do people usually do to stop mosquitoes in your country?

When do you have mosquitoes in your country?

Parts of this lesson are based on:

An article by Voice of America.