AP® Spanish Language and Culture review sheet from Aim for Five (aimforfive.com/spanish/units/6/6-2)
Unit 6 · Topic 6.2
6.2 Natural World (La naturaleza)
You'll explore nature in the Spanish-speaking world, from the Amazon rainforest to the Galápagos Islands, and the threats it faces, like deforestation and climate change. Expect readings on conservation, such as how Costa Rica brought back much of its lost forest and how Ecuador gave rights to nature in its constitution.
Key terms
- el medio ambiente
- el cambio climático
- la deforestación
- la biodiversidad
- la conservación
- el desarrollo sostenible
A world of biodiversity
Biodiversity (la biodiversidad) is the variety of living things in a place. Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela are among the world's "megadiverse" countries, the small group that holds a large share of the planet's species.
The Amazon rainforest (la selva amazónica) spreads across nine countries, including Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela. The Galápagos Islands, part of Ecuador, are famous for species found nowhere else, such as giant tortoises and marine iguanas; Charles Darwin's 1835 visit helped shape his ideas about evolution, and the islands were among the first places named UNESCO World Heritage Sites, in 1978.
The threats
- Deforestation (la deforestación): clearing forest for cattle, crops, illegal mining and roads. Fires (los incendios forestales) are often set to clear land.
- Melting glaciers (el deshielo de los glaciares): Bolivia's Chacaltaya glacier, once used for skiing, had disappeared by 2009. In 2024, scientists reported that Venezuela's last glacier, the Humboldt, had shrunk too much to count as a glacier, leaving the country with none.
- Drought (la sequía): in 2023, a historic drought in Uruguay left the tap water in Montevideo salty for about three months.
- Pollution (la contaminación) of rivers and oceans, and species at risk of extinction (las especies en peligro de extinción).
Solutions that worked, and debates
Costa Rica had lost much of its forest by the late 1980s, when forest covered only about a fifth of the country. A 1996 forest law banned clearing forest without permission, and a program of payments for environmental services (el pago por servicios ambientales) began paying landowners to protect and replant forest, funded partly by a fuel tax. Today more than half of the country is forested again.
Ecuador's 2008 constitution was the first in the world to recognize rights of nature (los derechos de la naturaleza, or Pacha Mama in the text). In 2023, Ecuadorians voted in a referendum, about 59 % to 41 %, to stop oil drilling in one block of Yasuní National Park in the Amazon. Supporters celebrated protecting the forest and the Indigenous peoples who live there; opponents warned about lost oil income and jobs, and in two Amazon provinces where oil is the main industry, most voters said no.
Readings on this topic often weigh the same tension: protecting nature versus income and jobs, especially in poorer regions.
Vocabulary
- el medio ambiente (the environment), el cambio climático, el calentamiento global (global warming), el desarrollo sostenible (sustainable development)
- la conservación, proteger, reforestar, reciclar, las energías renovables, la huella de carbono (carbon footprint)
- las inundaciones (floods), las emisiones, los combustibles fósiles (fossil fuels), el petróleo (oil)
Language toolkit: proposals and the passive
- Es urgente que los gobiernos protejan los bosques. (Es urgente / necesario / importante que + subjunctive)
- Se debería prohibir la tala ilegal. (Se debería + infinitive, a polite "we should")
- El bosque fue recuperado gracias a… (ser + participle, the passive, which agrees with the subject)
- Se plantaron miles de árboles. (The passive se, more common than ser + participle in everyday Spanish)
Worked examples
Try each one yourself first, then open the solution.
- Example 1
A conclusion that does more than repeat
Essay prompt (in the style of the exam): ¿Debe un país dejar su petróleo bajo tierra para proteger la naturaleza? You've argued yes, using an article about a protected rainforest (Fuente 1), a chart of income from ecotourism (Fuente 2) and an audio interview with an Indigenous leader (Fuente 3). Here's a weak conclusion: «En conclusión, el país debe dejar el petróleo bajo tierra. La Fuente 1, la Fuente 2 y la Fuente 3 lo demuestran». Improve it.
Show the solutionHide the solution
- Step 1: Notice the problem: it restates the thesis and lists the sources without saying anything new. Readers want a conclusion that brings the argument to a close, not one that only repeats it.
- Step 2: Pull the main reasons together in a single sentence, in fresh words.
- Step 3: Add a final thought that goes one step further: a consequence, a wider meaning or a recommendation.
- Step 4: Use a conditional or a si-clause to vary your structures, which also supports the language score.
Answer: Model conclusion: En resumen, proteger la selva no significa renunciar al desarrollo, sino elegir otro tipo de desarrollo, basado en el ecoturismo y en el respeto a los pueblos que viven allí. El petróleo se acabará algún día; un bosque bien cuidado puede dar trabajo durante generaciones. Si más países tomaran decisiones como esta, la lucha contra el cambio climático dejaría de ser solo un discurso y se convertiría en una realidad.
Common mistakes
- Treating especie as masculine. It's la especie, even for male animals: las especies en peligro de extinción.
- Forgetting that el agua is feminine: el agua limpia, las aguas. It takes el only because it starts with a stressed a.
- Writing "la clima". It's el clima, like el problema and el sistema.
- Ending an essay by listing the sources again. A conclusion should close the argument, not repeat the evidence.
On the exam
- Environmental articles are often paired with charts on emissions, forest cover or temperatures. Expect questions that ask you to find a data point and to connect the trend to the article's claim.
- Audio reports on nature often include several speakers, such as a scientist, a farmer and an official. Track who says what, because questions ask about each one's perspective.
- Environmental prompts are very common for argumentative essays. Costa Rica's forests and Ecuador's rights of nature are strong outside examples, as long as the sources stay at the center.
Connected topics
Videos
Check yourself
5 questions on 6.2 Natural World (La naturaleza). Pick an answer to see if you got it, and why.
Texto escrito para esta práctica
¿Cuál es el propósito principal del artículo?
Según el artículo, ¿qué causó la pérdida de bosques en el pasado?
¿En qué consiste el pago por «servicios ambientales» que describe el artículo?
Según el artículo, ¿qué papel tiene el ecoturismo en este modelo?
¿Qué actitud muestra el autor en el último párrafo?
0 of 5 answered