8. Work in pairs. Discuss the facts from the text. Use the following expressions:

• The fact that … was unknown to me.

• I didn’t know that …

• I know that …, and you?

• Was the fact that … known to you?

• Have you ever heard about the fact that …?

• It was interesting to learn that…

Reading for Understanding

1. Read the text and choose the headline:

1. Citrus Trees

2. The Symbol of Friendship

3. Unusual Trees

4. Trees Which Give You Water

A. In Sochi there is a fantastic tree, because about 50 different citrus species grow on it. They are: Italian lemons and oranges, American grapefruits and others. Many years ago a gardener at the experimental botanical station in Sochi planted an orange tree, and soon somebody inserted a lemon bud into it. The tree began to give oranges and lemons. One autumn Otto Schmidt, a well-known Russian scientist, came to Sochi, saw the tree and inserted a grapefruit bud into it. Then many well-known people from different countries came to Sochi and inserted buds of different citrus species into the tree. This tree became the symbol of friendship of people of the world.

B. If you are in a tropical forest you will not die without food and water. Here there are always trees which give you both. For example, in Australia there is a tree whose timber has very much moisture. The flowers of American tulip tree have also a lot of water. Everywhere in the tropics the coconut palm is the man’s first friend, for it will give him water and food.

Notes:

to insert a bud–привитьчеренок timber–древесина

2. Find in the text the equivalents to the following word combinations:

виды цитрусовых; экспериментальная ботаническая станция; апельсиновое дерево; черенок лимона; известный русский учёный; из разных стран; символ дружбы; тропический лес; без еды и воды; много влаги; тюльпанное дерево; первый друг человека

3. Select the statement that best expresses the main idea of the text.

1. Many years ago a gardener at the experimental botanical station in Sochi planted an orange tree.

2. The tree began to give oranges and lemons.

3. If you are in a tropical forest you will not die without food and water.

4. There are amazing trees on the Earth.

4. Is it true or false? Correct the wrong statements.

1. In Sochi there is a fantastic tree, because about 30 different citrus species grow on it.

2. Many years ago a gardener at the experimental botanical station planted a cherry tree, and soon somebody inserted a lemon bud into it.

3. The tree began to give oranges and lemons.

4. A well-known Russian scientist Otto Schmidt inserted a plump bud into the tree.

5. The tree became the symbol of friendship of peoples of the world.

6. If you are in tropical forest you may die without food and water.

7. In tropical forests there are always trees which give you both food and water.

8. Everywhere in the tropics the oak is the man’s first friend.

5. Retell the text.

6. Read the following English proverbs and learn them by heart. Match the right Russian equivalents from the given below.

• A tree is known by its fruit.

• As the tree so the fruit.

• The highest tree has the greatest fall.

• One shakes like an aspen leaf.

• As a man sows, so shall he reap.

(Дрожит как осиновый лист. Что посеешь, то и пожнёшь. Дерево смотри в плодах, а человека в делах. С высокого дерева больнее падать. Каково дерево, таков и плод.)

7. Find some interesting information about plants on the Internet. Retell it.

Reading for Translating

Forest

Do you know what forest is? It certainly is not just multitude of trees neither is it a combination of several tree species, because both conditions can be found present in a park or orchard, yet they do not make forest.

To understand what forest is let us watch its birth… Now, imagine that onto an abandon or fire-destructed land, which is covered with cinders and ashes winds have brought multitude of dark-brown, light, winged pine seeds.

About three million seeds have fallen on an area of one hectare. There are both large and small seeds here, both strong and weak ones. Some have fallen into small nice cosy holes, others onto hummocks. Some are strong and germinate easily, others are weak and can hardly spring up from the ground. Not all of them can germinate, of course; yet one-third part is sure to come to life.

So, one million off-springs have made their appearance. All the roots have come to work now. They try hard to get a better fix. Some off-springs prosper; others fail to get rooted.

The little ones that have survived come now to fight enemies. The winds brought grass seeds; the grasses sprang up quickly and are now taller and stronger than the baby-pines.

Field mice come to look for pine seeds, they try their teeth on young roots.

Before pine trees are five years of age, they have suffered cold autumn rains, heavy snowfalls, rapid spring flows and summer droughts. Lots of them could not survive the fight and perished. Out of one million only five thousand are left on the hectare area.

Up to the age of ten each pine of these five thousand has been fighting all alone, all by itself. Now that the trees are meeting their eleventh spring, they all keep together, their crowns have joined, their roots interlaced under the earth, they can withstand now many troubles, they stand now together, and are now influencing the environment, they dominate it because they have become forest! A new life, a forest life has begun. Towards the age of maturity only about five hundred trees are left on the one hectare area which we have been watching.