Now do this put-the-text-back-together activity.
This is the text (if you need help).
Scientists in Florida will release 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes into the wild. The aim is to reduce the number of existing mosquitoes that have diseases like Zika virus, yellow fever and dengue fever. The plan is to release the mosquitoes next year in the Florida Keys. This is a long chain of tropical islands stretching 170km south of the southern tip of Florida. The modified mosquitoes are all male. They carry a protein that will kill off any female offspring before they reach biting age. It is only female mosquitoes that feed on blood and bite humans. Males only feed on nectar from flowers. Over time, scientists hope the disease-carrying population of mosquitoes in the area will fall.
Environmental groups are not happy with the plan to release the genetically modified mosquitoes. One group called it a "Jurassic Park experiment". It said Florida was "a testing ground for mutant bugs". Many environmentalists warn that the project could cause damage to local ecosystems that could never be reversed. They say the experiment could even create a new super-species of mosquito that is resistant to insecticides. The environmental group Friends of the Earth said: "The release of genetically engineered mosquitoes will needlessly put Floridians, the environment and endangered species at risk in the midst of a pandemic." The company releasing the mosquitoes said there was no risk.
Comprehension questions- What fever do mosquitoes carry besides dengue fever?
- Where will the mosquitoes be released?
- When will the mosquitoes be released?
- What will the proteins carry that will kill off other mosquitoes?
- What do male mosquitoes feed on?
- Who is not happy with the release of the mosquitoes?
- What did someone say an area was being used as a testing ground for?
- What might a new super-species of mosquito be resistant to?
- Who did Floridians say was needlessly being out at risk?
- What did a company say about the risk from the mosquitoes?
Back to the mosquitoes lesson.
