Assignment 1
Read the assignment and write down the answers in English. You may use English-language Internet sources to help you.
a Write down five or more plant words.
b Invasive species are plants or animals that come from one part of the world and are then found in another part of the world. There they start growing and spreading easily. Often they are stronger than the plants or animals that used to grow and live there. They push them out.
For each of the following, look up if they are an invasive species for the Netherlands yes or no:
1 Colorado potato beetle
2 scarab beetles
3 muskrat
4 ring-necked parakeet
5 sweet cherry (Prunus avium)
6 wild black cherry (Prunus serotina)
| Deep in the Weeds
Japanese knotweed is a fast growing plant. Many places in the world are not happy with this plant. It is a so-called “invasive species” that causes difficulties in ecosystems. Read all about it here. |
Assignment 2
Read the text. Connect the words and expressions that have the same meaning in the text.
| 1. knot | a. banks of earth that are built to protect areas from flooding |
| 2. weed | b. each year |
| 3. exotic | c. not living or growing naturally in a particular area; from another part of the world |
| 4. flea | d. a part that forms when you tie a piece of rope or string to itself or to something else |
| 5. to combat | e. paths along the side of a street for people to walk on |
| 6. invasive | f. a plant that grows very quickly where it is not wanted and covers or kills other plants |
| 7. side effects | g. plants or plant products that are grown by farmers |
| 8. native plants | h. plants that grow naturally in a particular region |
| 9. crops | i. results of an action that are not expected or intended |
| 10. foundations | j. stone or concrete structures that support buildings from underneath |
| 11. pavements | k. tending to spread |
| 12. dikes | l. to try to stop (something) from happening or getting worse |
| 13. annually | m. very small insect that lives on animals or plants and that has strong legs used for jumping |
Assignment 3
a Why is the exotic leaf flea in the Netherlands?
1 The flea lives naturally in the Netherlands.
2 It is hoped that the flea will help fight knotweed.
3 Biologists are studying if it can survive Dutch winters.
4 A scientist brought the flea from Japan in the nineteenth century.
b What happened first? What next? Put the events in the correct order
1 Biologists released the exotic leaf flea at three locations.
2 Fleas are released again in spring.
3 It must be checked if the flea has survived winter.
4 It should become clear if the fleas can actually help fight the knotweed.
5 Studies show that the leaf fleas do not affect native plants or important crops.
c Why is it important to fight the Japanese knotweed?
1 If we don’t do anything it will start damaging important crops.
2 Invasive plants are always bad for the environment.
3 It is an aggressive plant that can cause a lot of damage.
4 The plant cannot survive winter, but still it always returns in spring.
Downloads
WK 44 2020-2021 Lezen B1 Deep in the Weeds
WK 44 2020-2021 Lezen B1 Deep in the Weeds – uitwerking
(Bron afbeelding: Shutterstock/Leon Brouwer)
