Focusing on culture Warm-up: Work in groups and brainstorm. 1.What is this? 2. Look at the picture. What do you think these circles mean? ? scar from forest fire ? first year growth ? rainy season ? dry season It is a tree trunk. first year growth rainy season dry season scar from forest fire The memories of trees Do trees have memories? This may seem like a strange question, but trees can actually tell us things about the past. When a tree is cut down, you can see something special inside: rings. These rings are the memories of trees. Tree rings contain lots of secrets from the forest. Every year the tree grows, there is a new ring. Scientists can count the rings to tell the age of the tree. They also study tree rings to learn about the climate and the environment. Tree rings are a record of the climate. Some rings are quite wide. This is a good sign as it means the tree grew well and was healthy. This happens when the tree gets enough sun and rain. When it doesn’t rain enough, the tree won’t grow as much, and the rings are narrow. Thanks to this, scientists can look at the tree ring patterns to learn about climate change in a particular place. Scientists also look at tree rings to study natural disasters. For example, sometimes there is a black area on a tree ring. This usually means there was a forest fire. If scientists count the rings from the black area, they can answer difficult questions, such as “When did the fire happen?” and “How common are forest fires?” Tree rings can also help us understand human history. For example, scientists can use tree ring patterns to learn the age of old buildings. Nowadays, they can even look at the chemistry of each tree ring to figure out exactly when the tree was cut down. Thanks to this new method, a team of archaeologists discovered that a Viking village in Canada was built in the year 1021 CE. It’s amazing that trees can tell us so much, even though they cannot talk! Focusing on culture Reading: Read the article and answer the questions. What is the main idea of the article? What are tree rings, and why are they called the “memories of trees” How do tree rings help us understand the past? How can scientists tell the age of a tree by looking at its tree rings? What do wide tree rings show? What do narrow tree rings mean? What does a black area on a tree ring mean? How do tree rings help us understand human history? Focusing on culture Reading: Read the article and answer the questions. 1. What is the main idea of the article? 2. What are tree rings, and why are they called the “memories of trees”? 3. How do tree rings help us understand the past? Tree rings can tell us things about the past. Tree rings are the circles inside a tree trunk. Each year a tree grows, there is a new ring. The writer calls them the “memories of trees” because they contain information about the past. For example, they are a record of natural events and climate in the past. Scientists can look at tree rings and lea ... ...
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