What do these phrases mean in this article? (A dictionary and thesaurus will help!)

• they represented the Sun
• in the backs of utilities
• their sacred mission
• disadvantages
• rich in phoshorus

1. How many types of dung beetles have been released in Australia?

2. How much dung is produced by dogs in Sydney each day?

3. Why is this bad for the environment?

4. How is Warringah Council recycling dog poo?

5. How many flies can grow in a single dung pat?

6. Why is it good to have holes in the soil?

Here are some extracts from the article. Complete the sentences by filling in the spaces.

Dung beetles have a down-to-earth role - they eat ________! The first imported dung beetles were ________ in April, 1967 - mainly in the northern ________ of Australia, that were badly ________ by the buffalo fly. About 275,000 dung ________, of a few different species, were released over the ________ three years. In the early days, CSIRO ________ looked after the dung beetles like babies. ________ even carried cow dung to the hungry ________ in the backs of utilities. They called ________ sacred mission "Meals on Wheels"!

There are ________ of advantages to having foreign dung ________ in Australia. Instead of cow ________ lasting for up to four years, they can ________ in as little as 48 hours, especially if the ________ is wet. And when they do ________, the dung is spread evenly ________ the soil. The dung now acts as ________ excellent fertiliser, instead of poisoning the ________.

This article has a number of sections. Each sections has a main point. Work out the main point of these sections and write them here.

The dung beetle in Ancient Egypt

The dung beetle in Australia

The dung beetle in our city life

The success in reducing the number of flies

Think of all the arguments for and against this statement. (To help you, use this article and others that you can find.)

"We should test for at least ten years before introducing dung beetles and other biological controls."

Use this article, the Internet and libraries to find information on one of these topics:

1. The program of releasing dung beetles in Australia. How many were released? When? Where?

2. How dung beetles have been regarded in other societies (including the ancient Egyptians, but not only them!).

3. The home of a dung beetle.

Use the library or the Internet to collect information about the topic. Find at least four different articles or chapters.

Write down about three ideas from each article you find.

You now have about a dozen ideas on this topic. Choose which idea is the most important, which is second-most important, and so on.

Write them in order, from most important to least important.

Write a paragraph to explain each idea.

Write down where you found the information you used. This is your "bibliography".

Be prepared to deliver your report on the date it is due!

• Meanings
• Questions
• Cloze Activity
• Summary
• Debate
• Research
• Instructions to Students
• Teachers' Guide