UNIVERSITATEA DIN BUCUREȘTI

Facultatea de Geografie
Geografie, Grupa 101
Student: Chioseaua Andrei-Daniel

UNIT 6 - TEMPERATE AND CONIFEROUS FOREST

A. READING COMPREHENSION
1.
1. Most of these woodlands are deciduous as an adaptation to a cold winter climate that limits
the availability of water
2. The relatively open structure of the forest encourages plant growth on the forest floor,
which is carpeted in spring with the flowers of plants that survive the winter as underground
bulbs, corms or rhizomes.
3. In the fall the forest turns yellow, red and gold as the leaf pigments break down before the
leaves drop
4. In summer the abundance of caterpillars and other insects attracts temporary visitors such
as warblers and flycatchers; fruits and berries provide food for birds migrating south in the
fall.
5. Decomposition of the leaves and rapid weathering of the underlying rocks leads to a build-
up of rich soil, which is able to support intensive cultivation when the trees have been
cleared.
6. The main disadvantage triggered by the existence of such rich soil is that the natural forest
cover of the temperate Europe and Asia was reduced to scattered remnants hundreds of
years ago.
7. Much of the temperate forest growing today is secondary or seminatural forest, and only
pockets of virgin broadleaf forest have survived.
8. In the text are describe 6 types of forest. Types of forests : coniferous forests, broadleaf
forests, temperate forest, seminatural forest, boreal forest, sclerophyll forest.
9. The broad band of forest lying to the north of the temperate broadleaf zone is dominated by
coniferous trees, which grade into birch, willow, alder and aspen at the northern extremity.
This is known as the boreal forest or taiga.
10. The range of plants is limited partly because of the dense shade and thick leaf litter of the
forest floor; lichens, ferns and shrubby plants predominate.
11. Conifers are felled in large quantities for timber, pulp and wood chip.Canada, Scandinavia
and Siberia, which survive in an environment that has been only sparsely settled by humans,
have been considerably less affected and modified by human activities than have many
other biomes.
12. Canada, Scandinavia and Siberia, which survive in an environment that has been only
sparsely settled by humans, have been considerably less affected and modified by human
activities than have many other biomes.

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 13. The trees in the Mediterranean-type climate shed their leaves in the dry season to reduce
the loss of water through transpiration.
14. Human activities, especially grazing by flocks of sheep and goats, have been destroying the
tree cover for centuries.
15. The destruction has resulted in the spread of flowering herbs and aromatic shrubs such as
lavender and thyme.

B. VOCABULARYSTUDY
3.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

e i g k b j a c f l h d o m n

4.
1. scattered
2. the broad band
3. areas
4. abundance

6.
1. zonation
2. biomes
3. snow-capped
4. tropical
5. coniferous
6. tundra
7. inhospitable
8. plentiful
9. treeline
10. hardiest

GRAMMAR OVERVIEW

2.
1) I was working / I’ve been working as a website designer for the last few years.

2) I haven’t had / didn’t have my eyes tested for a couple of years.

3) And how have you slept / have you been sleeping? / I’ve been having / I’m having difficulty
getting to sleep.

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 4) Why on earth didn’t you tell / haven’t you told me about that loose floorboard? I tripped / have
tripped over it just now and hurt myself.

5) It’s a long time since I saw / have seen / have been seeing your brother. What did he do / has he
done / has he been doing lately?

6) Don’t forget that you didn’t see / haven’t seen Mrs Smith. She has waited / has been waiting
outside since 10.30.

7) What did you think / have you thought of Brighton? Did you stay / Have you stayed there long?

8) I feel really tired. I weeded/have weeded / have been weeding the garden for the last three hours
and I didn’t rest / haven’t rested for a single moment.

9) How long did you have / have you had / have you been having driving lessons? And did you take /
have you taken / have you been taking your test yet?

10) Doesn’t this room look better? I’ve put / I’ve been putting some posters up on the walls.

11) The price of petrol has risen / has been rising by 15% over the past year.

12) I’ve read / I’ve been reading a really good book this morning.

13) I think there’s something wrong with your motorbike. It’s made / It’s been making some very
funny noises.

14) Jack has asked / has been asking for a pay-rise three times this year.

15) I’ve been phoning / I’ve phoned Ann all evening, but there’s no reply.

3.
1) This has been my home for thirty years. (LIVED) I have lived here for thirty years.

2) Eating Chinese food is new to me. (NEVER) I have never eaten before.

3) Tony hasn’t been to Paris before. (FIRST) It’s the first time Tony has been to Paris.

4) We haven’t been swimming for ages. (SINCE) It’s a long time since have been swimming.

5) Mary started learning French five years ago. (HAS) Mary has been learning French for five years.

6) I am on the tenth page of this letter I am writing. (TEN) So far I have written tenht pages of this
letter.

7) The last time I saw Andrew was in 2010. (SEEN) I haven’t seen Andrew since 2010.

8) There is a definite improvement in your work. (HAS) Lately your work has improved.

9) This is my second visit to Japan. (VISITED) This is the second time I have been visited Japan.