Biomimicry: a sustainable solution?

1

a. Look at the

vocabulary boxes below

. Find a title for each category.
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

b.

Pair work

Play dictionary. Pick out words in the toolbox and guess their definition. Share your findings and look up the definition in the dictionary.

2

a. Look at the picture above. Why is it an illustration of biomimicry?

b. Is biomimicry associated with the word sustainable? Why?

3

Listen to Janine Benyus, President of the Biomimicry Institute, USA. What definition does she give to biomimicry?

Workbook p. 97

4

Read the

brainstorming questions

and discuss with your group.

5

Idiom

Read the

idiom of the week

below. With the photo, and the note, guess its meaning. Rephrase it.

• breathtaking (adj.)
• impressive (adj.)
• inspiring (adj.)
• flower petals (n.)
• mimicry (imitation) (n.)
• mimic (imitate) (v.)
• adapt (v.)

Every cloud has a silver lining

John Milton coined (= first used and thus invented) the phrase ‘silver lining' in Comus: A Masque Presented at Ludlow Castle, in 1634. It wasn't until the days of Queen Victoria's England that we began to hear the proverbial form that we are now familiar with: “Every cloud has a silver lining”. This proverb is usually said as an encouragement to a person who is overcome by some difficulty and is unable to see any positive way forward.

• advance (n.)
• biologist (n.)
• device /dɪˈvaɪs/ (n.)
• discovery (n.)
• innovation (n.)
• invention (n)
• process (n.)
• research / study (n.)
• discover (v.)
• provide (v.)

• biodiversity (n.)
• ecosystem /ˈiːkəʊˌsɪstəm/ (n.)
• habitat (n.)
• natural selection (n.)
• organism (n.)
• renewable energies (n.)
• species /ˈspiːʃɪz/ (n.)

• architecture (n.)
• climate change /ˈklaɪmət/ (n.)
• energy (n.)
• global warming (n.)
• housing (n.)
• medicine /ˈmɛdsən/ (n.)
• pollution (n.)
• transport (n.)

• exhibition / conference / march (n.)
• sustainable / valuable (adj.)
• go green (v.)
• protest / question / preserve (v.)
• raise awareness / tackle an issue /ˈɪʃuː/ (v.)
• inform / challenge (v.)
• reduce / cut (v.)
• solve / figure out / find / understand (v.)

• excited / exciting (adj.)
• interested / interesting /ˈɪntrəstɪŋ/ (adj.)
• optimistic (adj.)
• pessimistic (adj.)
• surprised / surprising (adj.)
• worried / worrying (adj.)