Reading 4-1

Deforestation

We have a beautiful green and blue planet. The oceans cover 71% of it and on 31% of the land we have forests and jungles. Sadly, we cut around 42 million trees down every day. Apart from providing homes for animals, these trees actively help the environment, removing and storing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Cutting down huge numbers of trees in an area is deforestation, but why do people cut down so many?

A lot of deforestation is for wood used in building and to make paper and card products, but they mostly cut down trees to clear space for farming. 41% of global deforestation takes place in order to produce beef from farming cows. But this isn’t the only reason. Humans clear 300 football pitches worth of forest and jungle every hour in order to produce palm oil - a type of fat that we use to make lots of food products including chocolate.

Global deforestation results in 4.8 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide in the air, which is terrible news for the environment. However, deforestation isn’t only releasing huge amounts of greenhouse gases. It is also leaving many animals without a place to live. This is causing some species such as the orangutan and the Sumatran rhino to face extinction. 

Is there anything we do about it when we live so far from the forests and jungles? Yes, there is. Firstly, we can use recycled paper whenever possible and not waste paper. For example, not printing things off unless we really need to. We could also stop eating products that contain palm oil. Small actions by all of us today can save ecosystems tomorrow, and we can still enjoy our beautiful green and blue home. 

1. What is the main idea of the first paragraph?

• Only land animals are under threat because of losing their homes.

• Certain human activities damage the environment.

• Planting trees can stop the effects of global warming.

• Humans need more green spaces where they live.

Deforestation

We have a beautiful green and blue planet. The oceans cover 71% of it and on 31% of the land we have forests and jungles. Sadly, we cut around 42 million trees down every day. Apart from providing homes for animals, these trees actively help the environment, removing and storing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Cutting down huge numbers of trees in an area is deforestation, but why do people cut down so many?

A lot of deforestation is for wood used in building and to make paper and card products, but they mostly cut down trees to clear space for farming. 41% of global deforestation takes place in order to produce beef from farming cows. But this isn’t the only reason. Humans clear 300 football pitches worth of forest and jungle every hour in order to produce palm oil - a type of fat that we use to make lots of food products including chocolate.

Global deforestation results in 4.8 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide in the air, which is terrible news for the environment. However, deforestation isn’t only releasing huge amounts of greenhouse gases. It is also leaving many animals without a place to live. This is causing some species such as the orangutan and the Sumatran rhino to face extinction. 

Is there anything we do about it when we live so far from the forests and jungles? Yes, there is. Firstly, we can use recycled paper whenever possible and not waste paper. For example, not printing things off unless we really need to. We could also stop eating products that contain palm oil. Small actions by all of us today can save ecosystems tomorrow, and we can still enjoy our beautiful green and blue home. 

2. Why does the author mention football pitches in the second paragraph?

• to suggest a place for planting palm trees

• to show ways to save forests and jungles

• to add one more reason for deforestation

• to explain how much deforestation occurs

Deforestation

We have a beautiful green and blue planet. The oceans cover 71% of it and on 31% of the land we have forests and jungles. Sadly, we cut around 42 million trees down every day. Apart from providing homes for animals, these trees actively help the environment, removing and storing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Cutting down huge numbers of trees in an area is deforestation, but why do people cut down so many?

A lot of deforestation is for wood used in building and to make paper and card products, but they mostly cut down trees to clear space for farming. 41% of global deforestation takes place in order to produce beef from farming cows. But this isn’t the only reason. Humans clear 300 football pitches worth of forest and jungle every hour in order to produce palm oil - a type of fat that we use to make lots of food products including chocolate.

Global deforestation results in 4.8 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide in the air, which is terrible news for the environment. However, deforestation isn’t only releasing huge amounts of greenhouse gases. It is also leaving many animals without a place to live. This is causing some species such as the orangutan and the Sumatran rhino to face extinction. 

Is there anything we do about it when we live so far from the forests and jungles? Yes, there is. Firstly, we can use recycled paper whenever possible and not waste paper. For example, not printing things off unless we really need to. We could also stop eating products that contain palm oil. Small actions by all of us today can save ecosystems tomorrow, and we can still enjoy our beautiful green and blue home. 

3. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

• Producing palm oil is bad for the environment.

• Carbon dioxide is a cause of global warming.

• Producing meat causes over half of deforestation

• There is twice as much water as land on our planet.

Deforestation

We have a beautiful green and blue planet. The oceans cover 71% of it and on 31% of the land we have forests and jungles. Sadly, we cut around 42 million trees down every day. Apart from providing homes for animals, these trees actively help the environment, removing and storing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Cutting down huge numbers of trees in an area is deforestation, but why do people cut down so many?

A lot of deforestation is for wood used in building and to make paper and card products, but they mostly cut down trees to clear space for farming. 41% of global deforestation takes place in order to produce beef from farming cows. But this isn’t the only reason. Humans clear 300 football pitches worth of forest and jungle every hour in order to produce palm oil - a type of fat that we use to make lots of food products including chocolate.

Global deforestation results in 4.8 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide in the air, which is terrible news for the environment. However, deforestation isn’t only releasing huge amounts of greenhouse gases. It is also leaving many animals without a place to live. This is causing some species such as the orangutan and the Sumatran rhino to face extinction. 

Is there anything we do about it when we live so far from the forests and jungles? Yes, there is. Firstly, we can use recycled paper whenever possible and not waste paper. For example, not printing things off unless we really need to. We could also stop eating products that contain palm oil. Small actions by all of us today can save ecosystems tomorrow, and we can still enjoy our beautiful green and blue home. 

4. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?

• Farming palm trees affects wildlife more than farming cows.

• Eating too much meat is bad for the environment.

• Deforestation is worse than air pollution for the environment.

• Fewer crops are the main solution to deforestation.

Deforestation

We have a beautiful green and blue planet. The oceans cover 71% of it and on 31% of the land we have forests and jungles. Sadly, we cut around 42 million trees down every day. Apart from providing homes for animals, these trees actively help the environment, removing and storing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Cutting down huge numbers of trees in an area is deforestation, but why do people cut down so many?

A lot of deforestation is for wood used in building and to make paper and card products, but they mostly cut down trees to clear space for farming. 41% of global deforestation takes place in order to produce beef from farming cows. But this isn’t the only reason. Humans clear 300 football pitches worth of forest and jungle every hour in order to produce palm oil - a type of fat that we use to make lots of food products including chocolate.

Global deforestation results in 4.8 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide in the air, which is terrible news for the environment. However, deforestation isn’t only releasing huge amounts of greenhouse gases. It is also leaving many animals without a place to live. This is causing some species such as the orangutan and the Sumatran rhino to face extinction. 

Is there anything we do about it when we live so far from the forests and jungles? Yes, there is. Firstly, we can use recycled paper whenever possible and not waste paper. For example, not printing things off unless we really need to. We could also stop eating products that contain palm oil. Small actions by all of us today can save ecosystems tomorrow, and we can still enjoy our beautiful green and blue home. 

5. Which phrase is closest in meaning to face extinction in the third paragraph?

• lose food and their homes

• disappear from the planet

• have to move to another place

• fight each other in order to live