Practice · Exercise 2: Multiple matching: nine questions, sections or short texts A to E

Planting a forest

The text rarely uses the question's words. Look for the same idea said differently, and check the other sections before you decide.

Exercise 2: Multiple matching: nine questions, sections or short texts A to E · Planting a forest0 of 9 answered · 18:00

Read the texts in which five young people describe two weeks volunteering on a tree-planting project in the hills. For questions 1 to 9, choose the correct person (A, B, C, D or E). Each person may be chosen more than once.

Apersonal account

Amira

To be honest, I didn't sign up because I cared about forests. My cousin Leila had done the project the year before and she kept saying it was the best fortnight of her life, so I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I'm glad I listened to her. On our first morning outside, our group leader showed us how to dig a small curved bank of earth on the downhill side of each seedling, so that rainwater collects around the roots instead of running away down the slope. It sounds simple, but it makes a huge difference on steep ground. When I got home, I tried the same idea on my grandmother's vegetable patch, which is on a hill, and her beans have never looked healthier. I'd recommend the project to anyone.

Bpersonal account

Tomás

I play football four times a week, so I assumed tree planting would be easy. I couldn't have been more wrong. By lunchtime on the first day, my back and shoulders ached so much that I could hardly lift a spade. In the evenings I was usually too tired to do anything except sleep. We learned to use a heavy tool called a mattock to break up hard ground, which was satisfying, although I doubt I'll ever need one again. The person I'll remember most is Jonas, who shared my tent. At first he seemed rude because he hardly spoke to anyone, but I later realised he was just shy, and by the end he was the one making us all laugh. Two weeks felt about right.

Cpersonal account

Yuki

Before I left, everyone warned me that the work would be exhausting, but I found it surprisingly manageable as long as I drank plenty of water and took regular breaks. The thing I hadn't expected was the effect we had on the village at the bottom of the valley. Children from the local primary school came to watch us on several afternoons, and in our second week their teacher told us the school had decided to start its own tree nursery, growing seedlings to plant next spring. That made me feel that what we were doing would continue after we had gone. My only complaint is that the project ended just as we were getting good at it. Another week, or even two, would have made much more sense.

Dpersonal account

Kwame

I've wanted to do something practical for the environment since I was about twelve, when a forest fire destroyed the woods near my uncle's farm. So this project felt like the right place to start. The training days at the beginning were really useful: we learned which trees suit dry slopes and why it matters to plant a mixture of species rather than just one. People in the village were incredibly generous and brought us fresh bread and fruit almost every day. I'm already planning my next step. The organisers take a few former volunteers back each year to lead groups, and I've applied to be one of them. I think I'd enjoy helping nervous newcomers in the way that our leaders helped me.

Epersonal account

Sofia

I'll be honest: the first few days were a letdown. We had travelled a long way and I was ready to start planting, but instead we spent three days in a hall listening to talks about soil and rainfall. I know now that it was important, but at the time I was bored and a bit annoyed. Things improved enormously once we were out on the hills. Still, if you asked me what I'll remember most, it wouldn't be the trees. It would be the evenings, when we cooked together over a fire, swapped stories about our countries and tried to teach each other songs. I've stayed in touch with almost everyone from those evenings, and three of us are meeting up again next summer.

1. Which person was disappointed by the way the project began?

2. Which person found the physical work much harder than they had expected?

3. Which person admits that they did not join the project for environmental reasons?

4. Which person mentions a plan made by local people as a result of the volunteers' work?

5. Which person changed their opinion of another member of the group?

6. Which person hopes to take on a new responsibility in the project?

7. Which person has used something they learned on the project in a different place?

8. Which person valued the social side of the trip more than the work itself?

9. Which person thinks the project should have lasted longer?