IELTS Writing Task 2 (Exercises): NATURAL RESOURCES (P2)

Topic : NATURAL RESOURCES (P2)

Useful words and phrases:

1. conservation (n)
2. hazardous (adj)
3. household appliances (np)
4. recovery (n)
5. regulate (v)
6. scarce (adj) – scarcity (n)
7. solar cell (np)
8. stagnation (n)
9. the verge of (collocation)
10. threat (n) – threaten (v)

Exercise:

Task 1: Write sentences from given cues. Make changes to the cues when needed.

1. after / host / Olympic game / Egypt / unexpected / suffer / economic crisis and stagnation.
   __________________
2. Greenpeace / work / promote / aware / dangers / threaten / our planet / today.
   __________________
3. first / noticeable / effect / the crisis / was / great / scarcity / employment.
   __________________
4. conservation / forest / is / national problem / so / must / tackle / perfect coordination / forest department / other department.
   __________________
5. by / adjust / thermostat / you / regulate / temperature / building.
   __________________

Task 2: Fill in the blanks with suitable words/phrases

conservation (n) household appliances (np) regulate (v) solar cell (np) the verge of (collocation)

hazardous (adj) recovery (n) scarce (adj) – scarcity (n) stagnation (n) threat (n) – threaten (v)

The world natural resources are consumed at an ever-increased rate. What are the dangers of this situation?
What should we do?

The overconsumption of natural resources has become a growing concern in recent years. This alarming trend poses a number of serious 1__________ to the world, and must be addressed by a number of definite actions.

The increasingly high level of exploitation of natural resources can be 2__________in manya ways. The most obvious threat is that once the resources come to 3__________exhaustion, humans would have to face the 4__________of fuels to provide essential energy. When oil becomes 5__________and more expensive, transport and many daily necessities become less accessible and affordable for most people. The shortage of resources also leads to 6__________in other industries, for example, there may not be enough wood for furniture production and not enough seafood for food processing. This would 7__________the business of thousands of companies, as well as the employment of millions of workers in these fields.

Some measures can be taken to mitigate the problem of over-consuming natural resources. The most practical measure is to lower the demand for energy in every household. This can be done by mass-producing energy-efficient 8__________and selling them at a low price. Another sustainable solution is to promote environmentally-friendly technology. For instance, 9__________are nowsoldin a small quantity and ata relatively high price;they should bemade readily available and cheaper for the public. Finally, the 10__________and 11__________of natural resources, including seafood and forests, should be 12__________by law.

To conclude, the overexploitation of the world’s resources may result in severe consequences, threatening many industries and people’s livelihoods. Strong measures, such as reducing energy use and resource conservation and recovery laws, should be implemented to tackle this situation.

(287 words)

Key/Answer

Task 1:

1. After hosting the Olympic Games, Egypt unexpectedly suffered from economic crisis and stagnation.
2. Greenpeace works to promote awareness of the dangers that threaten our planet today.
3. The first noticeable effect of the crisis was a great scarcity of employment.
4. Conservation of forest is a national problem, so it must be tackled with perfect coordination between forest department and other departments.
5. By adjusting the thermostat, you can regulate the temperature of a building.

Task 2:

(1) threats
(2) hazardous
(3) the verge of
(4) scarcity
(5) scarce
(6) stagnation
(7) threaten
(8) household appliances
(9) solar cells
(10) conservation
(11) recovery
(12) regulated