World News for Students of English

12-03-2025 07:00

Many animals are dying out because of people, like the great auk. Others, such as orangutans and hedgehogs, are in danger.

The great auk was a bird. People hunted auks for food and feathers before it died out in 1844. This event showed that human actions can cause extinctions. Today, cutting down trees, dirty water and land, and climate change are hurting animals and plants. More than a million species are in danger. Hedgehogs are disappearing because cities are expanding, and people are using chemicals which kill hedgehogs.

In 2022, countries promised to protect 30% of nature by 2030. Some people, like Indonesian dentist Hotlin Ompusunggu, are also helping. Those who protect forests and save orangutans get cheaper care. To stop extinctions, we all need to do something now.

Difficult words: feathers (soft and light things that cover a bird’s body), extinction (when animals or plants are gone forever), species (a group of animals or plants).

You can watch the original video in the Level 3 section.