New Forest in Hampshire is England’s oldest forest. William the Conqueror created it in 1079 to protect an area of woodland for hunting animals. It is typical of deciduous forests, with several layers of vegetation. The first layer of tall trees, such as oak, beech and ash, forms a roof over the forest with their broad green leaves. Below are younger trees and small trees, for example, hawthorne. In the next layer are shrubs and below that berries and wild flowers. The bottom layer includes moss, which grows on tree trunks. These layers provide food and habitats for wild animals. In William’s day you could find wild boar and deer. No surprise that he wanted the land for hunting. However, the local people weren’t happy, because they couldn’t use the land or wood, so William allowed their pigs, cows and ponies to live and find food there. You can still find these animals there, in addition to birds, foxes, squirrels, snakes and deer. Wild boar, extinct in Britain since the 17th century, are returning to the forest, too.

In Northumberland, Kielder Forest is England’s largest coniferous forest. There you can find spruce, pine and fir trees, typical of cold northern climates. The trees have dark green needles, which absorb weak sunlight. They are tall and narrow, so that snow falls off their branches easily. The trees grow close together for protection from wind. They also make good timber because they have thick tall trunks and grow quickly.

The first trees at Kielder Forest grew in the 1920s and soon became an important source of timber for industries. Today the forest provides wood for building, paper and fuel. Kielder Forest is a good example of a sustainable forest because millions of new trees are planted each year. They are a mixture of coniferous and deciduous trees, to encourage animal life in the forest. Kielder Forest is now very popular for walks and picnics.

Task 1. Read the text “A tale of two forests” . Then answer the questions.
1. Where do you normally find coniferous trees?
2. Why does snow fall off coniferous trees?
3. How do we use coniferous trees in industry?
4. How do workers at Kielder Forest sustain it?

Task 2. Read the text. Then label the pictures with the words in the box.

There are two kinds of temperate forest: deciduous and coniferous. Deciduous forests have
trees which lose their leaves in the autumn, while coniferous forests have trees which don’t change during the year.

Task 3. Write your own formal letter to the local newspaper. Your local council is going to close the food bank in your town to build a big supermarket. You want to stop this. (120-150 words). Include:
Explanation words: because, as, therefore, for this reason;
Will and be going to;
Layout of the letter.

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