Advanced Vocabulary for IELTS 7.0+: Environmental Issues and the Natural World (Part 2)

Understanding environmental vocabulary is crucial for IELTS candidates, particularly when discussing global challenges such as wildlife protection, conservation, and sustainability. This lesson focuses on vocabulary practice through gap-fills, contextual meanings, and exercises designed to help you score Band 7.0+ in IELTS Speaking and Writing.

Environmental Issues in the Developing World

Environmental issues in developing nations often highlight the clash between survival needs and conservation efforts. The following exercise helps you learn how to use advanced words in real contexts when you are talking in IELTS Speaking Part 1, IELTS Speaking Part 2, and IELTS Speaking Part 3

(A) Vocabulary Gap-Fill Exercise

Word Box:
capital | disregard | face | lucrative | tusks | premium | trigger | scorn | rung | habitats | plains | poaching | scream | executioner | trophy | limbs | trinkets | verge

Text with Gaps:

It is hardly surprising, in light of their desperation, that the peoples of the developing world who are on the very bottom 1. _____________ of the ladder have little time for the conservationists and environmentalists who 2. _____________ bloody murder at what they perceive to be a total 3. _____________ for the environment in some parts of the “Third World”.

And while they – the nature campaigners, that is – have, on the 4. _____________ of it, a very valid point after all, serious, and, in some cases, irrevocable, harm has been done to many precious 5. _____________ and the rare creatures that inhabit same – we must understand that the rules of supply and demand are in play here in the developing world just as much as anywhere else.

For example, on the African 6. _____________ , where 7. _____________ is still rife, and in the mountain forests where rogue hunters patrol, ask yourself this: would they bother if there wasn’t a market for their kill?

Believe me, for every bull elephant slaughtered for its ivory 8. _____________ , there is a rich, greedy, fat-cat collector ready to pay a 9. _____________ to acquire this ‘find’ – in fact, there are probably ten of them.

Similarly, for every mountain gorilla murdered, whose dismembered 10. _____________ appear in tourist outlets as so-called ‘ornaments’ – ashtrays and jewellery boxes, if you don’t mind – there has to be a willing buyer; an admirer of these grotesque 11. _____________.

And there are plenty of them it turns out. It’s the same principle with rare animal furs and skins; who do you think buys the crocodilian handbag? I doubt the local tribespeople could afford the price tag, don’t you?

It is an absolute tragedy that endangered species of animals are being hunted to the 12. _____________ of extinction, of this there can be no doubt. But we must try to understand the reasons why this is happening.

The reality is that poaching will continue while it is a 13. _____________ occupation and while the prospects of finding other forms of employment are very poor. Developing nations need our help, not our 14. _____________.

Save that for the few unscrupulous 15. _____________ hunters still out there; rich, spoilt, despicable Western brats who get a kick out of taking aim at some of the world’s most precious and endangered species.

It is a good thing for them that we live in a civilised world where the death penalty has, by and large, been removed from the list of possible punishments our courts can hand down. That said, since they have made themselves judge, jury and 16. _____________ for the innocent creatures they have slain, perhaps nothing less than a 17. _____________ sentence would be good enough for these 18. _____________ happy delinquents.

(B) Vocabulary in Context: Find the Phrases

• Spend more than the market value → pay a premium
• On first examination/as it first appears → on the face of it
• Damage/hurt from which there is no possibility of recovery → irrevocable harm
• About to die out completely → to the verge of extinction
• A person who kills game purely for their own entertainment → trophy hunter
• Enjoys using their weapon a lot → trigger happy
• In charge of every decision made in an unfair process → judge, jury and executioner
• Complain bitterly and forcefully → scream bloody murder
• At the lowest level of pay or status → on the bottom rung of the ladder

(C) Practice Exercise

Word Box: scorn | rife | delinquent | slain

1. He poured _____________ on the idea that employing poachers as park wardens might actually work, and yet it seems the initiative has succeeded.
2. They buried the _____________ in a large pit; the stench of rotting corpses was foul.
3. Corruption is _____________ in the current administration and young people are beginning to lose faith in their elected representatives.
4. These _____________ are good for nothing; they are in and out of jail almost as a hobby.

Answer Key

(a) Gap-Fill Answers:
1 rung | 2 scream | 3 disregard | 4 face | 5 habitats | 6 plains | 7 poaching | 8 tusks | 9 premium | 10 limbs | 11 trinkets | 12 verge | 13 lucrative | 14 scorn | 15 trophy | 16 executioner | 17 capital | 18 trigger

(b) Phrases in Context:

• pay a premium
• on the face of it
• irrevocable harm
• to the verge of extinction
• trophy hunter
• trigger happy
• judge, jury and executioner
• scream bloody murder
• on the bottom rung of the ladder

(c) Practice Exercise Answers:

1. scorn 
2. slain 
3. rife 
4. delinquents

Overall, mastering environmental vocabulary is essential for IELTS Speaking and IELTS Writing Task 2, especially when dealing with global issues such as poaching, extinction, and conservation. By practicing gap-fills, contextual meanings, and collocations, you not only improve accuracy but also enhance fluency and coherence in your answers, helping you reach a Band 7.0 or higher. For those aiming for top scores, following the IELTS Exam Preparation Tips for Band Score of 8+ can further enhance your vocabulary and overall test performance.

Also Check: 

• Advanced Vocabulary for IELTS 7.0 + : Medical and Health Issues (Part 4)
• Advanced Vocabulary for IELTS 7.0+ : Medical and Health Issues (Part 3)
• Advanced Vocabulary for IELTS 7.0 +: Medical and Health Issues (Part 1)
• Grammar For IELTS : The Common Grammars And Sentence Structures In English (Part 1
• Grammar For IELTS : The Common Grammars And Sentence Structures In English (Part 2)
• Using Contrast in IELTS Speaking & Writing: Advanced Grammar in IELTS
• 100+ Advanced Vocabulary Word List for IELTS (PDF Available)