Speaking
Speak about:
1. Properties of Wood.
2. Shortcomings of wood.
3. Measure to avoid deterioration of wood.
Unit 6
Sequence of Tenses.
Grammar:
Trees - the rings of our life
From ancient times to the present day humanity has been closely linked with the forests. Our ancestors knew about the significance of trees as early as 2000 years ago. They occupied a special place in popular beliefs, for instance, in the Celtic Druid culture in ancient Ireland and Brittany. The Druids used to withdraw from the world for 20 years in a forest. They believed that forest was a “sacred grave” for them and they had spent their time there in meditation. Pliny the Elder, the Roman writer believed that he could invoke the past, foresee the future and determine happy and fatal days of the calendar. He related in his books that Druids had likened people and their characters to trees, an analogy which they had taken very seriously. They maintained that every human being like every tree had characteristic features, merits and drawbacks.
A tree is a philosophy. Take a tree stump and look at it attentively. Like the famous Japanese stone gardens the tree also makes you think.
Today the forest is viewed as a source of raw materials for various branches of the economy. It is sad to have to admit that man has to protect nature primarily from himself. On the other hand there is a growing trend towards preserving and renewing the forest as one of the chief nature – transforming factors in the Earth's ecological system. If used rationally, the forest will not diminish. Unlike mineral resources it permanently renews itself.
General understanding
Read the text attentively and answer the following questions.
When did our ancestors know about the significance of trees?
How did Druids treat the forest?
What did they do in the forest?
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Were the Druids astrologists?
What could they invoke?
What did Druids liken people and their characters to?
Is a tree a philosophy? Why?
How is forest viewed today?
What does man have to protect nature from?
What is the trend today?
Vocabulary
Exercise 1. Match the English words in A with their Russian equivalents in B.
A. B.
1. link 1. недостатки
2. significance 2. пень
3. feature 3. связывать
4. drawbacks 4. особенность, черта
5. stump 5. преобразовывать
6. protect 6. защищать
7. preserve 7. сохранять
8. transform 8. значение, важность
9. diminish 9. уменьшать, убавлять
Exercise 2. Find the English equivalents to the following Russian.
древний; тесно; уходить; проводить время; предвидеть; определять; сравнивать; человек; достоинства; заставлять; источник; рассматривать; признавать; в первую очередь; с другой стороны; в отличие от; постоянно.
Exercise 3. Choose the words from the text which have the similar meaning.
primitive; importance; connect; for example; go away; predict; compare; shortcomings; consider; in the first place; main; constantly.
Exercise 4. Fill in the blanks with the words from the box.
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1. People have used wood for construction purposes since ________ times. 2.
The ________of wood as indispensable raw material ________ with every year. 3. Druids drew analogy between people and _________ and composed horoscopes. 4.Each species has its _______ and ________. 5. The sound ________ of western red cedar can stay in the forest for several centuries. 6. Looking at the stump left after the tree had been felled you may _________ the age of this tree. 7. Timber is a ________ material, as it can restore itself without man’s help. 8. Wood is indispensable ________ for various ________ of our economy. 9. Our aim is to _________ forests from their enemies.