Advanced Vocabulary for IELTS 7.0+: Environmental Issues and The Natural World (Part 3)

Understanding environmental issues is crucial not only for global awareness but also for mastering IELTS vocabulary. This lesson explores advanced terms related to environmental problems in developing countries, giving you essential practice exercises to strengthen your word power for IELTS Speaking and Writing.

Environmental Issues in the Developing World

Environmental challenges in developing nations often arise from population growth, economic struggles, and the clash between humans and wildlife. The following exercise helps you practice IELTS Vocabulary in meaningful contexts.

Exercise A: Fill in the Blanks with Advanced Vocabulary

Task: Use the words in the box to fill gaps 1–16. Remember to adjust the tense or form where necessary. Each word can only be used once.

Word Bank:
cede, expand, flatten, prowl, motivate, compel, stampede, push out, catch up, compromise, win out, encroach, contribute, nullify, diminish, claim

Text for Practice:

While there will always be a minority of poachers 1. ______ by their innate cruelty and greed, it is probably fair to say that the vast majority are 2. ______ in this awful activity out of economic necessity.

Similarly, in developing countries where overpopulation is becoming increasingly problematic, and as communities 3. ______ further and further into the wilderness to find a place to live, they are 4. ______ on the habitat of wild and dangerous animals more and more.

There is bound to be increased contact between and conflict with natural predators and wild animals that would not otherwise be in the line of fire, and this is another cause of their 5. ______ numbers.

When it is a straight choice between survival and an environmental conscience, the former 6. ______ every time, and instinct as well as their sense of responsibility to their families will compel farmers and community leaders to hunt and kill dangerous predators 7. ______ around their villages in the night, and herds of elephants capable of 8. ______ their way through and 9. ______ whole towns.

Moreover, many of these communities lead an agrarian lifestyle, and when their livestock – and so, by implication, their livelihood – is threatened by predation, this will also inevitably 10. ______ them to act to 11. ______ the threat.

And there are other considerations, too; after all, livestock needs a place to graze and land is also required for the cultivation of crops. And with an ever-expanding number of mouths to feed, the only logical solution is to 12. ______ more of the land for agricultural purposes.

This leads to trees being cut down, and 13. ______ the stability of the soil. Precious nutrients are quickly washed away and the land becomes more and more arid, 14. ______ to another of the dangerous climate-related phenomena; that of desertification.

Indeed, deforestation and the 15. ______ of the deserts go hand-in-hand. Not alone are farmers claiming more of the land for themselves then, vast swathes of habitat are being 16. ______ to the advancing desert.

For many wild animals, their entire ecosystem is being destroyed, putting their long-term survival in extreme doubt.

Exercise B: Match Vocabulary with Definitions

Task: Match the words from the passage with their correct definitions.