1.  CHALLENGING VOCABULARY FROM THE ARTICLE:  How many definitions do you know?  Match the words with their definitions.

straw men              dissents              conflating
interspersed            alarmist              callous
platitudes               assuage              scintillating
consensus              rhetoric

a) _______________ speech or writing which is intended to be effective and persuasive
b) _______________ having something in several places among something else
c) _______________ strong difference of opinion on a particular subject; disagreement, especially about an official suggestion or plan or a popular belief
d) _______________ a person who intentionally shows only the bad and dangerous things in a situation, and so worries people
e) _______________ combining two or more separate things, especially pieces of text, to form a whole
f) _______________ a generally accepted opinion or decision among a group of people
g) _______________ interesting, exciting and clever
h) _______________ an argument, claim or opponent which is invented in order to defeat or create an argument
i) _______________ to make unpleasant feelings less strong
j) _______________a remark or statement that may be true but is boring and meaningless because it has been said so many times before
k) _______________ unkind or cruel; without sympathy or feeling for other people
(scroll to the bottom of the page for the answers)

2.  Define the global warming theory.

3.  Check out the websites listed under "Background" below for information on both sides of the debate.  Which side seems to be more logical to you?  Why?

4.  Who are Bill Gray and Roy Spencer?  What qualifications do they have to make assertions about global warming?  What has each said about global warming? 

5.  Some of the problems the reporter of this article, Mark Bergin, finds with the Al Gore's film are listed below.  Which of these do you think are valid?  Why?
--viewpoints from experts who say global warming is not true are not mentioned in the film (para. 3-4)
--film critics have praised Mr. Gore's film; one said "There is no other view that can be defended." (para. 6) but they have no scientific expertise
--the film made the list of top 10 movies its first two weeks out, but moviegoers who saw the film are people who already believe Mr. Gore's assertions about global warming - when the movie is released more broadly it will not receive such a high rating (para. 7)
--the film dismisses the economic impact of Kyoto and does not mention the struggles European countries are facting to live up to their committment
--Mr. Gore says that the issue is not political (government) but moral (individuals), but then presents many actions the government needs to take to end global warming

6.  Have you seen or will you see this movie?  Why?