Баранова, Starlight 8. Учебник. Module 3h

Deforestation is the cutting down of large areas of trees. It is happening because farmers want space to grow crops or people want land to build houses on. It’s a problem because it destroys the natural habitat of plants and wildlife. This, in turn, is destroying the world’s climate and ecosystems. We can help fight it by planting more trees, recycling paper, raising awareness and supporting rainforest charities.

1 tropical rainforests left
2 grow crops or let animals graze
3 medicines
4 forests are cut down or burned
5 comes from rainforest areas

1 are home to
2 release
3 under threat
4 delicate
5 absorb harmful
6 graze

Don’t cut us down or burn us because this way you are ruining the world’s ecosystem. You are causing erosion and flooding, as well as global warming. You are taking away from doctors lots of valuable medicines. Without us many species of animals will become extinct. Stop being so ungrateful and greedy!

Deforestation is not new. On Easter Island, in Polynesia, settlers arrived between 800 and 1200 AD. They built the strange stone statues which the island is still famous for today. The islanders cut down trees to grow crops and they also used wood to build homes. When the wood ran out, they had to leave. Dutch sailors arrived in around 1700 to find the island deserted.
One new idea to save rainforests could be bat roosts! A recent study involved placing bats in simple boxes in deforested areas. From there, they eat fruit and then scatter around 60 different types of seeds. Scientists hope this experiment with bats could help trees to grow back.