Watching, grammar and vocabulary the private life of plants part I, travelling, episodes 1 and 2

I. Match the words with their definitions.

1. still

2. to compete

3. to invade

4. to face

5. a shoot

6. pollen

7. to extend

8. an adult

9. a particle

10. a generation

11. to germinate

12. a consequence

a) an extremely small piece of something

b) a very young plant

c) to try to win a competition

d) all the organisms who are born and live around the same time

e) to develop from a seed

f) a powder that flowers produce

g) to deal with a problem

h) a result

i) a fully grown human, animal, plant

j) to increase

k) not moving

l) to enter a place in a way that causes problems

II. Choose the correct word from the list below.

height, weight, length, width, canopy, germinate, equipment, explosives, aircraft, feet, particular, consequence, force

Trees have a (1)___________ advantage when transporting their seeds by air – their height. However a few of their seeds can (2)___________. Most will be lost. But trees produce seeds in such numbers that the lost is no (3)_____________. There’s much less wind in the tropical rain forest. Even above the (4)___________ the humid air hangs as a mist and below there is seldom even a breath in the air. Plants have to give their seeds very good fly (5)____________ indeed. (6)_____________ designers have tried to build a wing. Plants created glidersand helicopters, too. The balance between the (7)___________ of the seed and the (8)__________ and (9)_____________ of the wing is perfect. Plants also use (10)________________ and jet proportions. The (11)__________ is so great that seeds can be shot away for as much as fifteen (12)__________.

Key: I. 1. k; 2. c; 3. l; 4. g; 5. b; 6. f; 7. j; 8. i; 9. a; 10. d; 11. e; 12. h; II. 1. particular; 2. germinate; 3. consequence; 4. canopy; 5. equipment; 6. aircraft; 7. weight; 8. length; 9. width; 10. explosives; 11. force; 12. feet

WATCHING and LISTENING

WILD SOUTH AMERICA

PART I, THE LOST WORLDS, EPISODE 6

Survival of Isolated Traditional Cultures and Wildlife

Choose the right words from the list. Two words are odd.

cultures	stamina	relatives	isolated
outside	survives	whereas	altitudes

1. Around 7000 years ago people domesticated wild (1)___________ of guanaco to produce llamas and alpacas as the sources of meat, wood and pack animals.

2. Llamas are better pack animals and have good meat (2)________ alpacas are more valued for their dense wool.

3. The animals carry weights so the race is the test of their (3)__________ especially at these high altitudes.

4. Traditional (4)__________ have survived in places like this because they’re so (5)________ from the outside world.

5. Wildlife too (6)__________ because much of the continent remains isolated and remote.

Key: 1. relatives; 2. whereas; 3. stamina; 4. cultures; 5. isolated; 6. survives

(altitudes and outside are the odd words)