Species are disappearing at an accelerating rate through human action, primarily habitat destruction but also pollution and the introduction of exotic species into residual natural environments. I have said that a fifth or
more of the species of plants and animals could vanish or be doomed to early extinction by the year 2020 unless
better efforts are made to save them.. As the last forests are felled in forest strongholds like the Philippines
and Ecuador, the decline of species will accelerate even more. In the world as a whole, extinction rates are
already hundreds or thousands of times higher than before the coming of man. They cannot be balanced by new
evolution in any period of time that has meaning for the human race.
What message does the author convey in this excerpt?
O Humans need to take action to end further destruction of the natural environment.
O In the coming years, humans will put forth stronger efforts to save plants and animals.
O The extinction of plant and animal species is problematic in the Philippines and Ecuador.
In recent years, the extinction rate for many animal species has significantly increased.

Preparing for a group discussion the first step in participating in a group discussion is to understand the purpose and process of a group discussion. your approach to a group discussion will differ from other assignments, such as writing a research paper. read through the discussion guidelines to understand how you should prepare for a group discussion assignment. your discussion process for this task, you’ll need to work as part of a group of three or four students who can meet together for a face-to-face or virtual discussion. your teacher will identify a process for this task that fits your learning situation. for instance, if you’re working primarily on your own in this course with no on-site classmates (self-paced course), the process will be a little different than if you are learning with at least two other students in the same building and on the same schedule (group-paced course). discussions in those two cases are outlined below. group-paced course the teacher organizes groups or enables students to self-organize. in the discussion session, students take turns presenting their thesis and then discussing each thesis with the group. one student (not the presenter) acts as a discussion facilitator. the discussion will be a round-robin, rotating the presenter and facilitator roles for each thesis. plan to spend at least 15 minutes to present and discuss each thesis. refer to the discussion summary below. you will want to take brief notes during the discussion so that you can easily complete the discussion summary afterwards. self-paced course you will find at least two people to participate in this discussion with you. they could be classmates from other courses, friends, or siblings. they should be roughly your age, if possible, so you can have a thoughtful discussion with peers. you will set a time and place for the discussion and share the discussion guidelines for them to read prior to the discussion. you will be the only presenter for this discussion. you will also play the role of facilitator. you will present your thesis and then discuss it with your group. your invited group members are only required to be active, thinking participants. except for reading through the discussion guidelines ahead of time, they do not have to prepare for the discussion beforehand or do any follow-up afterwards. since you will be presenting and facilitating during the discussion, you may want to ask one of the participants to take brief notes for you on key points that come up during the discussion. these notes will you compose your discussion summary below. since there is only one thesis to discuss, plan to spend at least 30 minutes presenting and discussing your thesis. here is an outline of the whole process for this task: 1. you will formulate a thesis and outline a set of points that support your thesis. this may include some initial research. 2. depending upon your learning situation, you may need to organize the discussion group, place, and time. 3. read the discussion guidelines for how to conduct, facilitate, or participate constructively in a discussion with your peers. 4. the group meets to discuss the theses for your learning situation: the discussions should be fair, democratic, and orderly. each member of the group should have an opportunity to express their views; all members should actively contribute to the discussion. group members should show respect for others' views and make their points politely. the goal of the discussion is to gather opposing viewpoints and additional perspectives that would support or oppose your thesis. each participant should come to the discussion prepared to the presenter deepen the understanding of the topic. 5. after you've discussed your thesis, you will complete the discussion summary section below and submit it to your teacher. leading a discussion be sure that all the participants have read the discussion guidelines before beginning your discussion. with three or four peers, start the discussion by presenting your thoughts and findings from your research. present a question to the group to begin the discussion. allow your group to ask you follow-up questions. using an audio recording tool, record the questions your team asks as well as your response to these questions. finally, consider how the discussion changed or influenced your initial research and thoughts about the discussion questions. you will submit your responses to the questions asked in the discussion summary. use your notes from your research and your discussion to you complete the summary. discussion summary part a using an audio recording tool, record the names of the discussion participants below. if you organized the discussion, using an audio recording tool, record how you know each person and summarize how you chose and invited the participants and how you organized the time and place for the discussion.