READING PASSAGE-B1(with sound and exercises&key)

ALPINE FORESTS
Forests are the lifeguards of the snowy peaks of the Alps. They provide a natural barrier against avalanches and landslides, but the skiing industry, which proved a boon for poor Alpine farmers, is damaging the environment. Forests have been felled to make way for more ski runs, car parks, and hotels, and Alpine meadows have been abandoned by farmers keen to exploit tourism. Consequently, the avalanche has now become a common phenomenon. Forestry experts estimate that two-thirds of the several thousand avalanches that descend into inhabited parts each year are the result of forest depletion.

EXERCISE 1: Find words or phrases in the passage which mean the same as:

a) an expert swimmer employed at a beach or pool to protect other swimmers from drowning or other accidents (used metaphorically in the passage)…………..
b) pointed top of a mountain………………..
c) something that stops or hinders movement from one place to another………………………
d) great mass of snow and ice that slides down the side of a mountain………………………….
e) small movement of rocks and soil down the side of a hill or other slope………………………..
f) advantage; something that makes life better or easier……………………………
g) cut down (of trees)………………………….
h) area of grassland……………………
i) stop looking after and leave, not intending to return…………………………
j) eager; wanting (to do something) very much……………………..
k) develop in order to make money; take advantage of…………………………..
I) something that happens and can be seen or experienced……………………
m) calculate approximately…………………….
n) go or move downwards……………………….
o) with people living there; occupied……………………..
p) reduction; being used up so that little or none remains…………………………….

EXERCISE 2: Choose the correct answer according to the passage.
1. In the Alps, the attraction of tourism
A) causes two thousand avalanches a year
B) has diverted some farmers away from the care of the land
C) has brought much-needed help for protecting the environment
D) has lessened due to the threat of avalanches
E) forced many farmers to leave the area

2. As a consequence of the depletion of Alpine forests
A) many farmers have had to turn to tourism for work
B) the skiing industry has suffered a great decline
C) only one-third of all avalanches occur in uninhabited parts
D) many areas are now uninhabitable
E) the frequency of avalanches has greatly increased

3. Alpine farmers
A) were the people who initiated the development of the skiing industry
B) have had much of their land taken from them by those involved in tourism
C) used to be poor before the rise of the skiing industry
D) were forced to turn their meadows into hotels and car parks
E) feel that they have been exploited by tourism

EXERCISE 3,” Complete the sentences by selecting words from Column B in EXERCISE 1.
1. Recent restrictions on imports have led to a……………… of the country’s oil reserves.
2. The police put……………………. around the stadium to try to stop those supporters without tickets from attempting to get in.
3. The puppies had obviously been…………….. by their mother, so we decided to take them in and look after them.
4. Environmentalists are claiming that the construction company…………… more trees than necessary while building the new road.
5. She…………………… the stairs slowly, careful not to catch her foot in her long skirt.

KEY

Ex.1: a) lifeguard b) peak c) barrier d) avalanche e) landslide f) boon g) fell h) meadow i) abandon j) keen
k) exploit I) phenomenon m) estimate n) descend o) inhabited p) depletion
Ex.2: 1.B 2.E 3.C
Ex. 3: 1.depletion 2.barriers 3.abandoned 4.felled 5.descended