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BBC News
24-04-2025
- Science
- BBC News
BBC Learning English - 6 Minute English / How climate change affects animal migration
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Download a free 6 Minute English worksheet and transcript! Try our free interactive quiz! ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Try more episodes of 6 Minute English: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Introduction Climate change can affect the way animals migrate, but did you know that some animal migration could be used to fight climate change? Neil and Beth discuss this and teach you some new vocabulary. This week's question How many animals are thought to take part in The Great Migration, the annual migration of animals around the Serengeti in Tanzania and the Maasai Mara in Kenya? a) 1 million b) 1.5 million c) 2.5 million Listen to the programme to hear the answer. Vocabulary migrate move to another place because of the weather or temperature what kind of (something, e.g. price, distance) are we talking? used to rephrase a question that starts with how much or how far swathes large areas of something secret weapon something nobody knows about that gives you an advantage over a problem or enemy sequester separate and store for perspective used to explain the size or importance of something, particularly when that thing is difficult to imagine TRANSCRIPT Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript. Beth Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Beth. Neil And I'm Neil. You can find a transcript and worksheet for this podcast on our website Beth So Neil, today we're talking about animal migration: that's the movement of animals from one place to another, usually because of the weather or temperature. Neil Yes. For example, wildebeest are famous for their migration. They travel around the Serengeti in Tanzania and the Maasai Mara in Kenya every year depending on the rain. It's often called The Great Migration. Beth Yes, and I have a question for you about this, Neil. How many animals are thought to take part in The Great Migration every year? Is it: a) 1 million b) 1.5 million c) 2.5 million Neil Well, I don't know… but I'm going to guess 2.5 million. Beth OK. I'll reveal the answer at the end of the programme. Now, wildebeest are not the only animals who travel large distances. Neil That's right. Many sharks also migrate – they move to a different place because of the weather or temperature. Beth Trisha Atwood researches sharks and their migration for Utah State University and explained more to BBC World Service programme, The Climate Question. Trisha Animals migrate for all types of reasons. So, some of them migrate for food resources, things like mating or for giving birth. Neil So, animals can migrate for food, mating and giving birth. Host of BBC World Service's The Climate Question, Sophie Eastaugh, wanted to know more. Sophie And what kind of distances are we talking with these migrations? Are they covering huge swathes of ocean? Trisha Some of these shark species can travel massive distances. We've seen great white sharks that have travelled from the coast off of Perth, Australia, all the way to South Africa. Beth Sophie asks, "What kinds of distances are we talking with these migrations?" This is an informal way to ask, "How far are the migrations?" We can rephrase lots of questions in this way. For example, you could ask "What kind of price are we talking?" to ask how much something costs. Neil Sophie goes on to ask whether sharks travel across huge swathes of ocean. Swathes of ocean means large areas of ocean. Beth Yes, and in fact, sharks do travel across large areas. For example, great white sharks can travel from Australia to South Africa. That is a long way to swim! Neil But, as climate change causes changes to the temperature of the ocean, it's changing the way that sharks migrate. Beth This is a problem; sharks scare away other creatures, such as sea turtles, and these creatures eat seagrass, which absorbs a lot of carbon from the atmosphere. Neil So, basically, when the sharks are around, there's more seagrass on the ocean floor and so more carbon is absorbed. So, sharks can actually help fight climate change. Beth Yes. In fact, lots of species that migrate are really important for fighting climate change. Let's hear more from BBC World Service programme, The Climate Question. Sophie Sharks aren't the only migratory animal that acts as a secret weapon against climate change. Trisha Research that we worked on shows that by just managing about 10 groups of animals we could be taking out or sequestering more CO2 from the atmosphere by about six gigatonnes of carbon per year. Sophie So, for perspective, some experts say that we need to suck 10 gigatonnes of CO2 a year out of the atmosphere to meet our climate goals. Neil Sophie says that many animals that migrate, like sharks, are a secret weapon against climate change. A secret weapon is something nobody knows about that will give you an advantage over a problem or enemy. Beth By protecting sharks and other animals that migrate, Trisha's research shows that we could be sequestering six gigatonnes of carbon dioxide, or CO2, a year from the atmosphere. Sequester means remove and store the carbon, for example in plants like seagrass. Neil Six gigatonnes is a lot of carbon! Sophie says that, for perspective, it's about 60% of the amount of carbon dioxide that some scientists believe we need to remove from the atmosphere each year. We can use the phrase 'for perspective' to explain the size or importance of something, particularly when it's difficult to imagine that thing. Beth Alongside sharks, another species that Trisha believes is important to helping remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is the wildebeest. Neil Yes, and that reminds me of your question, Beth. You asked me how many animals take part in The Great Migration, and I think I went for option c) 2.5 million. Was I right? Beth You weren't, I'm afraid. The answer was b) 1.5 million, so still a lot of animals. OK. Let's recap the vocabulary we've learned, starting with migrate: move to a different place. For animals, this is usually because of the weather or temperature. Neil We can use the structure 'What kind of (something) are we talking?' to rephrase a question more informally, particularly one about distance, cost or numbers. For example, "What kind of distance are we talking?" Beth Swathes means large areas of something. Neil A secret weapon is something nobody knows about that gives you an advantage over a problem or enemy. Beth If you sequester something, such as carbon dioxide, you remove it and store it. Neil And we can use the phrase 'for perspective' to explain the size or importance of something, particularly if that thing is difficult to imagine. Beth Once again, our six minutes are up. Why not test what you've learned using the interactive quiz on our website? Bye for now! Neil Goodbye.
BBC News
17-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
BBC Learning English - 6 Minute English / Can AI solve crime?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Download a free 6 Minute English worksheet and transcript! Try our free interactive quiz! ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Try more episodes of 6 Minute English: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Introduction How can artificial intelligence be used to help police solve crime? Neil and Beth discuss this and teach you some new vocabulary. This week's question In 2020, a magazine called the Radio Times asked readers who their favourite TV detective was. Who was the most popular? a) Sherlock Holmes b) Hercule Poirot c) Miss Marple Listen to the programme to hear the answer. Vocabulary where (someone) is coming from someone's opinion or perspective background the area that someone has most experience in what can (something) do for me? how can (something) help or improve things? renaissance new interest or activity in a subject out of favour less popular or appealing real-time information is presented as it is happening TRANSCRIPT Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript. Beth Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Beth. Neil And I'm Neil. Don't forget that you can find a transcript and a quiz for this episode on our website, Beth Now today, Neil, we're talking all about solving crime. Do you think you'd be a good detective? Neil Actually, no, Beth. I think my brain's not very good with details! Today, we'll be talking about how artificial intelligence might help detectives and the police investigate crimes. But first, I have a question for you, Beth – in the UK, lots of people enjoy watching fictional detectives on TV. These programmes are called murder mysteries and tell the story of a detective solving a crime. In 2020, a magazine called the Radio Times asked readers who their favourite TV detective was. So, who do you think was the most popular? Was it: a) Sherlock Holmes b) Hercule Poirot c) Miss Marple Beth Surely it's Sherlock Holmes? Neil Well, you sound very sure, but I will reveal the answer at the end of the programme. Now, when the police are investigating crimes in the real world, their techniques are often quite different from what we see on television. Beth Yes. Solving crimes involves collecting and reviewing lots of evidence, like DNA, fingerprints, or CCTV. Neil All of this work takes a lot of time. So, can AI help police speed up the work and even solve crimes? That's the question listener Alastair had for BBC Radio 4 programme The Artificial Human. And host Aleks Krotoski wanted to know more… Aleks Krotoski So, Alastair, why are you asking this question? Tell us a little bit more about yourself and where you're coming from? Alastair So, my name's Alastair and I'm a serving police officer. My background is with investigation. I'm looking at artificial intelligence and thinking, "What can it do for me?" Beth Alex asks Alastair to explain where he's coming from. This means explain his perspective or point of view. In informal English, we'll often ask someone, "Do you get where I'm coming from?" And we're asking whether they understand our opinion or perspective. Neil Alastair explains that he's interested in how artificial intelligence could help solve crimes, because he's a police officer with a background in investigations. If you have a background in something, it means most of your previous work or experience was related to something. For example, I work as a producer at BBC Learning English now, making programmes, but my background is in classroom teaching. Beth Alastair talks about using artificial intelligence for training and asks, "What can it do for me?" This means, "How can artificial intelligence help or improve something?" Neil When a crime happens, police officers have to collect and review a lot of information to find evidence. When you have a lot of information to review, it can be difficult to know what's important and find patterns which might be relevant to the crime. Beth But Professor Ruth Morgan, an expert in crime and forensic science, thinks AI could help speed up police work, as she told BBC Radio 4's The Artificial Human. Ruth Morgan I think we're seeing a renaissance in the pattern-recognition forms of evidence, so finger marks, footwear marks. There's been lots of challenges with those forms of evidence over the last ten years, probably going a little bit out of favour. And yet what we're beginning to see now with AI is that you can take a photo of a mark with your phone, compare that mark to the database and get real-time insight. Neil Ruth says that there is a renaissance in looking at patterns in evidence, such as finger marks or footwear marks. Renaissance means new interest or activity in a particular topic or area. Beth This kind of evidence went a little bit out of favour over recent years because of the excitement around DNA evidence. If something is out of favour, it is less popular or appealing. Neil But AI could mean that patterns in finger marks or footwear marks are useful in solving crimes again. This is because AI can be used to compare a picture of a mark with a database of pictures from other crimes and get real-time insight. The adjective real-time means the information is presented at the same time that it's happening. Beth Yes, AI can compare lots of information very quickly, which makes finding patterns in evidence much easier and more reliable. Neil There are some problems with using AI to solve crimes though. Beth To find these patterns, lots of private information would need to be collected, and police usually have to give clear reasons why they need access to certain information in their investigations. Neil It's unlikely an AI-powered robot would ever replace a detective anytime soon! Beth Yes, and that reminds me of your question, Neil. I said that Sherlock Holmes was maybe the most popular detective. Was I right? Neil You were absolutely right. And I think people should try the quiz on our website to find out how much they know as well. It's at OK. Let's recap the vocabulary we've learned, starting with the expression where you're coming from, which means your opinion or perspective on something. Beth Your background is the area that you have the most work experience in. Neil The question 'what can this do for me?' means 'how can this help or improve things?' Beth Renaissance means new interest or activity in something Neil If something is out of favour, it has become less popular or appealing. Beth And the adjective real-time means information is presented as it is happening. Neil Once again, our six minutes are up. Head to our website to find more episodes of 6 Minute English at Bye for now! Beth Bye!
