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Skills Worksheet

Active Reading

Section: Land Management and Conservation

Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow.

People use enormous amounts of wood. The worldwide average is 1,800 cm3 of wood used per person each day. However, on average, each person in the United States uses about 3.5 times this amount. This is the equivalent of each person in the United States cutting down a tree that is 30 m tall every year. About 1.5 billion people in developing countries depend on firewood as their main source of fuel.

The timber industry classifies forest lands into three categories—virgin forest, which is forest that has never been cut; native forest, which is forest that is planted and managed; and tree farms, which are areas where trees are planted in rows and harvested like other crops. The two most widely used methods of harvesting trees are clear-cutting and selective cutting. Clear-cutting is the process of removing all of the trees from an area of land. Clear-cutting large areas destroys wildlife habitat and causes soil erosion. The main alternative is selective cutting, which is usually practiced on smaller areas owned by individuals. Selective cutting is the process of cutting and removing only middle-aged or mature trees. Selective cutting is more expensive than clear-cutting, but selective cutting is usually much less destructive.

IDENTIFYING MAIN IDEAS

ONE READING SKILL IS THE ABILITY TO IDENTIFY THE MAIN IDEA OF A PASSAGE. THE MAIN IDEA IS THE MAIN FOCUS OR KEY IDEA. FREQUENTLY, A MAIN IDEA IS ACCOMPANIED BY SUPPORTING INFORMATION THAT OFFERS DETAILED FACTS ABOUT THE MAIN IDEA.

In the space provided, write the letter of the term or phrase that best answers each question.

1. How many people in developing countries rely on firewood for fuel?

a. 30 million c. 1.5 billion

b. 3.5 billion d. 1.5 million

2. How much wood does the average person (worldwide) use per day?

a. 3.5 cm3 c. 30 m

b. 1,800 cm3 d. 1.5 m

3. How much wood does the average person in the United States use per day?

a. 1,800 cm3 c. 6,300 cm3

b. 5,400 cm3 d. 1,050 m

Active Reading continued

VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT

IN THE SPACE PROVIDED, WRITE THE LETTER OF THE DESCRIPTION THAT BEST MATCHES THE TERM OR PHRASE.

4. clear-cutting

5. virgin forest

6. selective cutting

7. tree farms

8. native forest

RECOGNIZING SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES

ONE READING SKILL IS THE ABILITY TO RECOGNIZE SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TWO PHRASES, IDEAS, OR THINGS. THIS IS SOMETIMES KNOWN AS COMPARING AND CONTRASTING.

Read each question and write the answer in the space provided.

9. What comparison does the author use to show how much wood a person in the United States uses?

10. What are the similarities between clear-cutting and selective cutting?

11. What are the differences between clear-cutting and selective cutting?

12. What are the advantages and disadvantages of clear-cutting versus selective cutting?

Answer Key

Concept Review

MATCHING MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. G 9. A

2. e 10. c

3. f 11. d

4. a 12. a

5. d 13. d

6. b 14. a

7. c 15. b

8. h 16. d

17. c

18. a

Critical Thinking

ANALOGIES

1. D 5. B

2. a 6. b

3. c 7. c

4. d 8. c

INTERPRETING OBSERVATIONS

9. SAMPLE ANSWER: THE LOWER TEMPERA-TURE MAY INDICATE A RURAL AREA OR OPENSPACE. THE HIGHER TEMPERATURE MAYHAVE BEEN RECORDED IN AN AREA WITHASPHALT OR SIMILAR SURFACES THAT ABSORBAND RERADIATE HEAT.

10. Plant more vegetation. Plants lower thetemperature of the surrounding area.

11. Yes; plants absorb carbon dioxide, produce oxygen, and filter pollutants fromthe surrounding air and water. Plantsalso add scenic beauty.

AGREE OR DISAGREE

12. ACCEPT ANY THOUGHTFUL ANSWER. SAMPLE ANSWER: AGREE; ALTHOUGH PRE-SERVING TRACTS OF LAND DECREASES THEAMOUNT OF LAND THAT CAN BE DEVEL-OPED, PEOPLE LIKE TO LIVE AND WORK INAREAS THAT INCLUDE OPEN SPACE. THEREFORE, DEVELOPERS CAN ATTRACTMORE PEOPLE TO BUY HOMES BY DEVEL-OPING LAND IN ENVIRONMENTALLY SUS-TAINABLE WAYS. OPEN SPACE ALSOREDUCES DRAINAGE PROBLEMS BYABSORBING AND SLOWLY RELEASING LARGEQUANTITIES OF PRECIPITATION.

13. Accept any reasonable answer. Sampleanswer: Disagree; although reforesta-tion has been known to occur on itsown in some cases, such as whenunproductive farmland has been aban-doned, the speed at which land isbeing developed and logged suggeststhat deliberate human intervention isneeded to slow or reverse the environ-mental damage caused by the loss ofso many trees.

14. Accept any thoughtful answer. Sampleanswer: Agree; many urban areas weredeveloped around the use of automo-biles. Many urban areas were builtwithout regard to future traffic con-gestion. Better urban land-use plansinclude more public transportation.

REFINING CONCEPTS

15. SAMPLE ANSWER: SELECTIVE CUTTING OFTREES, WHILE MORE EXPENSIVE TO DO, IS FAR LESS DESTRUCTIVE TO FORESTECOSYSTEMS.

16. Sample answer: Rural areas supporturban areas. Resources such as cleanwater, clean air, food, wood products,and scenic beauty are provided byrural areas.

17. Accept any reasonable answer. Possible answers include infrastruc-ture problems such as constructingnew highways; widening existingroads; developing new shopping cen-ters, houses, schools; or building anew airport. Overcrowding could alsohave an impact on power supply,waste treatment, fire and police pro-tection, schools, libraries, hospitals,and the water supply.

Active Reading

SECTION: HOW WE USE LAND

1. WHAT YOU FIND ON A PATCH OF LAND

2. a forest, a field of grain, and a parking lot

3. 2,500 or more

4. a governing body

5. wood, crops, and minerals

6. large areas of open space; few

7. buildings; roads; 2,500 or more

8. If it is not classified as urban, it isrural.

9. Urban areas use land for buildingsand roads. In rural areas, land isopen and may provide resources forhuman consumption.

10. b

11. a

12. c

13. a

14. b

15. a

16. b

17. c

18. c

19. a

SECTION: URBAN LAND USE

1. “ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS IN THE CEN-TER OF A CITY ARE DIFFERENT FROM THOSE OFTHE SURROUNDING COUNTRYSIDE.”

2. The author is using Atlanta as anexample of a city that is experiencingthe heat-island effect.

3. may; the last (sentence 11)

4. It is a statement of probability; inother words, trees and reflectiverooftops may moderate the heat-island effect, but they may not.

5. a heat island

6. anything that is built within or belowa city

7. The temperature is often higher in a citythan it is in the surrounding countryside.

8. It might rain more often.

9. a heat island10. Hot air rises over a city, cools, andproduces rain clouds.

11. plant trees and install rooftops that donot retain heat

SECTION: LAND MANAGEMENT ANDCONSERVATION

1. C

2. b

3. c

4. d

5. b

6. c

7. e

8. a

9. The author compares the amount ofwood the average person in the United States uses to each person cuttingdown a 30 m-tall tree every year.

10. In both, trees are removed from anarea of land.

11. In clear-cutting, all the trees areremoved; in selective cutting, onlymiddle-aged or mature trees are used.

12. Clear-cutting—Advantages: It is lessexpensive than selective cutting; Disadvantages: It destroys wildlifehabitats and causes soil erosion. Selective cutting—Advantages: It isless destructive than clear-cutting; Disadvantages: It is more expensive.

Map Skills

1. marshes and swamps

2. crops and grazing, pastures and woods

3. urban areas, crops and grazing

4. grassland or pastures and woods

5. Answers may vary but will likelyinclude the suggestions that forestsprovided lumber for construction,while land suitable for crops andgrazing made agriculture near urbandwellers possible.

Quiz

SECTION: HOW WE USE LAND

MATCHING

1. h

2. c

3. g

4. e

5. d

6. a

7. f

8. b

Multiple Choice

9. a

10. d

SECTION: URBAN LAND USE

MATCHING MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. b 7. d

2. d 8. d

3. f 9. d

4. e 10. a

5. a

6. c

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a. forest that is planted and managed

b. forest that has never been cut

c. the process of cutting and removing only middle-aged or mature trees

d. the process of removing all trees from an area of land

e. areas where trees are planted in rows and harvested like other crops

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