Comprehension .- Intermediate [ 10 ]

[ 10 ] Comprehension . 

[  10  ] Intermediate 

Read the following , then answer the questions below :

              There is nothing new about cutting down trees . In ancient times , Greece , Italy and Great Britain were covered with forests . Over centuries those forests were gradually cut back until now nothing is left .

             Today , however , trees are being cut down far more rapidly . Each year , about 42 million acres of forest area are cut down .That is more than the area of the whole of Great Britain . While there are important reasons for cutting down trees , there are also dangerous consequences for life on earth .

            A major cause of the present destruction is the world wide demand for wood . In industrialized countries people are using more and more wood for paper  , furniture and houses . Wood companies , therefore , have begun taking wood from the forests of Asia , Africa , South America and even Siberia.

                           Wood is also in great demand as fire wood in developing countries .  In Brazil and Central America ,large landowners want to raise lots of cattle for export .

                The destruction of forests affects first the people who used to live there . However , it also has other effects far away . For example , on the mountain sides , trees help to absorb heavy rains . When the trees are cut down , the rain pours all at once into the rivers and there are terrible floods downstream . This has happened to the Ganges , the Mekong and other major rivers in Asia .

But finally , the loss of forests may have an effect on the climate of our planet . Together with increasing pollution , it could cause temperatures to rise and the climate to change around the world . No one knows exactly what effects this would have on our lives . For many people , however , the effects would probably be destructive .

A-] Answer the following questions :

1-] What are the reasons for cutting down the trees ?

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2-] Why is cutting down the trees destructive ?

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3-] How does cutting down the trees affect the climate ?

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4-] What do you think would happen , if trees were not cut down ?

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B-] Choose the correct answer :

1-] The underlined word “ That” refers to

A-] cutting down trees . B-] great demand for wood . C-] the major cause of cutting down the trees . D-] the climate .

2-] In Brazil and Central America

A-]landowners use forests for hunting . B-] landowners destroy forests for hunting . C-] landowners worry about the effects of cutting down the trees .

D-] landowners use a lot of wood to build their houses .

3-] Consequences means

A-] reasons   B-] results  C-] temperatures   D-] losses