Grade 12 English Unit 9: Ecology and Environment (with Grammar Solutions)- Language Development

 

Reading

Living in a Redwood Tree

Working with words

A. The words/phrases in the box are from the text. Check their meanings in a dictionary and use these words to complete the given sentences.

redwood, propane, occasional, wake-up call, logging, detrimental, stint, resolution, transformation, debris

a. Logging is one of the main reasons behind the rapid deforestation in the world.

b. That's one example of how the pandemic should be a wake-up call.

c. Propane is a gas used as a fuel for cooking and heating.

d. Emergency teams are still clearing the debris from the plane crash.

e. What a transformation! You look great.

f. My father made a New Year resolution to give up smoking.

g. He has worked in the Army for two years. He hates that two-year detrimental.

h. Emissions from the factory are widely suspected of having a stint effect on health.

i. My father is an occasional smoker. He doesn't smoke often.

j Redwood is a very tall type of tree that grows especially in California and Oregan.

B. The words redwood, barefoot, single-burner, short-term, fast-paced, mudslide, windstorm and childhood from the above text are made of two words and they yield a new meaning. Compound words can be written in three ways:

open compounds (spelled as two words, e.g., ice cream), closed compounds (joined to form a single word, e.g., doorknob), or hyphenated compounds (two words joined by a hyphen, e.g., long-term). Choose one word from each box to make sensible compound words.

rattle, sun, touch, moon, day, fire, water, basket, pass, wash, weather,

grand, cross down, port, light, snake, cloth, mother,

walk, flower, dream, man, ball, works, melon

C. Match the following words/phrases related to ecology with their meanings.

Words/Phrases      Meanings

a. sustainability i. the height on a mountain above which the climate is too cold for trees to grow

b. tree line ii. to keep in existence; maintain. To supply with necessities or nourishment

c. precipitation iii. an agreement between countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. It was established in Japan in 1997 but didn't become international law until 2004

d. tropical zone iv. water that returns to the earth as rain, hail, sleet, or snow

e. Kyoto Protocol v. items that are discarded

f. pollutants  vi. the soils, sediments, and rock layers of the Earth's crust, both continental and beneath                           the ocean floors

g. geosphere vii. substances that destroy the purity of air, water, or land

h. deciduous viii. an organism that has a short life cycle

i. ephemeral ix. a plant that sheds all or nearly all its leaves each year

j. trash    x. the region between latitudes 23.5 degrees S and 23.5 degrees N

a. ii

b. i

c. iv

d. x

e.  iii

f. vii

g. vi

h. ix

i. viii

j. v

Grammar

Reported speech

A. Study the following expressions.

Interviewer: Julia, can you share your experiences of living on the branches of a tree for two years?

Julia: It was wonderful! I can't express that in words.

Somebody reported the above expressions in the following way.

The interviewer asked Julia to share her experiences of living on the branches of a tree for two years.

Julia replied that it had been wonderful. She could not express that in words.

B. Someone says something to you which contradicts what they told you earlier. Match the beginnings of the conversations with the correct endings.

a. I'm going to Pokhara on holiday. i. You said she'd had a boy.

b. He's a lawyer. ii. You admitted you cheated in all your exams.

c. She's had a baby girl. iii. You told me he was a teacher.

d. I haven't seen Binesh for ages. iv. You told me she was fluent in both.

e. I love these new boots. v. You said you hated them.

f. I only cheated in one exam. vi. You said you were going on business.

g. She doesn't speak Hindi or Chinese. vii. You told me his office was in Biratnagar.

h. He works in Kathmandu. viii. You told me you'd seen him the previous week.

a. vi

b. iii

c. i 

d. viii

e. v 

f. ii

g. iv 

h. vii

C. Change the following sentences into indirect speech.

a. The principal said, “You can phone from my office, Rita.”

b. “You must not neglect your duty,” said the teacher to the student.

c. The student said, “Sir, please, grant me a leave for two days.”

d. I said to her, “Go to school or you will be fined.”

e. The headmaster said, “Don’t make any noise, boys.”

f. “Work hard if you want to rise in life,” said the old man.

g. He said, “Goodbye, my friends!”

h. She said to me, “Have a pleasant journey ahead.”

i. “Don’t give me the book, please,” Sharmila said.

j. “Where have you been these days?” she spoke on the telephone.

k. The teacher said, “Have you submitted your assignments, students?”

Answers

a. The principal said that she could phone from his office. 

b. The teacher told the student s/he must not neglect her/his duty. 

c. The student requested to grant him leave for two days.

d. She was told to go to school or she would be fined.

e. The headmaster asked boys not to make any noise.

f. The old man suggested working hard if they wanted to rise in life.

g. He said goodbye to his friends.

h. She told me to have a pleasant journey ahead.

i. Sharmila pleaded not to give her the book.

j. He asked on the telephone where I had been those days.

k. The teacher asked students if they had submitted their assignments. 

D. These are the exact words Dinesh said to you yesterday.

"I've just got engaged! We're getting married next month. We're going to Pokhara for our honeymoon. It's all going to be very expensive. Luckily, my friend is a photographer so he'll take the photos for us. We'll be having the reception in my parents' back garden. My mum is baking the cake for us and my sister's band is playing free for us. I hope you'll come to the wedding."

Now, you're telling your friend what Dinesh told you. Complete the text.

He said he (1) had just got engaged. He told me that he (2) they were getting married next month. He told me (3) they were going to Pokhara for their honeymoon. He mentioned that it (4) was all going to be very expensive. He said that his friend (5) was a photographer and he (6) would take the photos for them. He mentioned that they (7) would be having the reception in his parents' garden. He admitted that (8) his mum was baking the cake for them. He said his sister’s band (9) was playing free for them. He said he (10) hoped I'd come to the wedding.