Reading test part 4

You are going to read some reviews of wildlife books. For questions 1-10, choose from the reviews (A-E). The reviews may be chosen more than once. A: Nature Cure by Richard Mabey If the best wildlife writing reveals as much about the writer as the wildlife itself, then this is the best of them all. Mabey is brutally frank and honest about his own life, his depression, and his fear that nature may no longer hold the answers for him. The more he tries to engage with it, the more disconnected from the world he feels. But the book charts his path out of despair, as he finds a way to let nature back in and fire up the wild bits of his imagination. It's a fascinating book, written in Mabey's richly evocative language, and it's painful too: probably the best understanding of 'biophilia', mankind's innate relationship with nature, out there. B B: The World’s Vanishing Animals by Cyril Littlewood and DW Ovenden An unashamedly nostalgic choice. Published in two volumes (mammals and birds) in 1969, this was my introduction to the idea that extinction wasn’t just for dinosaurs and dodos. I used to pore over Denys Ovenden’s illustrations of familiar polar bears and black rhinos, and less familiar takahes and nyalas, and wonder whether I could do anything to help. Published by the Wildlife Youth Service, part of Peter Scott’s WWF, it was a call to action for young folk. Trouble is, we haven’t fully listened to it. The book’s dustjacket records that about 1,000 animal species were faced with extinction at the time of publication. Today, the World Conservation Union’s Red list of animals about which to be concerned contains over 16,000 entries C: How to be a Bad Birdwatcher by Simon Barnes You know the feeling: you're reading a book, and as you turn every page you're nodding in agreement, as if the writer has popped into your head and committed your own thoughts to paper. This is one of those books. It's about being a normal birdwatcher, reasonably knowledgeable, constantly passionate, but often a bit confused as to what you've seen or heard, and with the vague feeling that everyone else you're with knows so much more. It's the book for those of us who find birdwatching pleasurable, not competitive, and it's terribly funny to boot. I always smile now when I see a sparrowhawk. I urge you to read this book to find out why. D: Field Guide to the Dragonflies and Damselflies of Great Britain and Northern Ireland by Steve Brooks and Richard Lewington You can't have a list of wildlife books without including a guide book. I've gone for this excellent little number, partly because it's clearly written and well laid out, partly because it's superbly illustrated, but mainly because a whole new world has opened up for me since buying it. If you've never looked closely at nature before, this book will set you in the right direction, and I guarantee that as you get to know these fascinating creatures you'll have new marvels to understand and enjoy every time you take a summer walk. E: The Future of Life by Edward Wilson Here’s a fascinating book which is a great example of conservation-based writing. The ecological debate will always rage on – should mankind continue to experiment with new sciences and discoveries, or are we destroying our world and ourselves in the process – and Wilson gets to the heart of the arguments superbly, driven by a constant love of the animals with which we share the planet. Agree with him or not, he's a stimulating writer and this is a stimulating book.