All living things on earth grow at different speeds.

Some quick growing plants, like bamboo, are

widely used for many reasons.
Bamboo is very cheap, because it is the fastest growing plant in the word.
Baby bamboo grows at about 1 meter in 24 hours for the first few days, and grows slower to about
20 meters in 60 days. In contrast, trees may take 60 years to grow 20 meters. Bamboo is also
cheap because it grows in large groups, and one group can produce many meters of bamboo in a
short period of time.
Bamboo is also the strongest plant in the world. This is why bamboo is used in so many different
parts of the world. Bamboo is used for the main structure of many homes in Bangladesh and
Burma. Bamboo is also used by workers in China and Hong Kong instead of steel safety bars
when making tall buildings.

Exercise 1

What is the talk mainly about?

(A) The characteristics of bamboo

(B) The uses of fast growing trees

(C) The different homes in Bangladesh

(D) The reasons for bamboo growth

2. Why does the woman mention trees taking 60 years to grow 20 meters?

(A) To list examples of fast growing things

(B) To explain how the trees are used

(C) To stress how quickly bamboo can grow

(D) To show that bamboo can grow very slowly

ɔːl ˈlɪvɪŋ θɪŋz ɒn ɜːθ grəʊ ət ˈdɪfrənt spiːdz. sʌm kwɪk ˈgrəʊɪŋ plɑːnts, laɪk bæm

ˈbuː, ɑː ˈwaɪdli juːzd fə ˈmɛni ˈriːznz.

bæmˈbuː z ˈvɛri ʧiːp, bɪˈkəz ɪt s ðə ˈfɑːstɪst ˈgrəʊɪŋ plɑːnt ɪn ðə wɜːd. ˈbeɪbi bæm

ˈbuː grəʊz ət əˈbaʊt 1 ˈmiːtər ɪn 24 ˈaʊəz fə ðə fɜːst fjuː deɪz, ənd grəʊz ˈsləʊə tʊ ə

ˈbaʊt 20 ˈmiːtəz ɪn 60 deɪz. ɪn ˈkɒntrɑːst, triːz meɪ teɪk 60 jɪəz tə

grəʊ 20 ˈmiːtəz. bæmˈbuː z ˈɔːlsəʊ ʧiːp bɪˈkəz ɪt grəʊz ɪn lɑːʤ gruːps, ənd wʌn

gruːp kən ˈprɒdjuːs ˈmɛni ˈmiːtəz əv bæmˈbuː ɪn ə ʃɔːt ˈpɪərɪəd əv taɪm.

bæmˈbuː z ˈɔːlsəʊ ðə ˈstrɒŋgɪst plɑːnt ɪn ðə wɜːld. ðɪs ɪz waɪ bæmˈbuː z juːzd ɪn

səʊ ˈmɛni ˈdɪfrənt pɑːts əv ðə wɜːld. bæmˈbuː z juːzd fə ðə meɪn ˈstrʌkʧər əv

ˈmɛni həʊmz ɪn ˌbæŋgləˈdɛʃ ənd ˈbɜːmə. bæmˈbuː z ˈɔːlsəʊ juːzd baɪ ˈwɜːkəz ɪn

ˈʧaɪnə ənd hɒŋ kɒŋ ɪnˈstɛd əv stiːl ˈseɪfti bɑːz wɛn ˈmeɪkɪŋ tɔːl ˈbɪldɪŋz.