Always Optimistic

But like all true-to-life dreams, not all is idyllic. Those who depend upon the land for their livelihood know that it can deliver the greatest highs and, occasionally, the most devastating lows. We have the illusion of controlling our own destiny, but it can be quickly undermined by countless factors, most notably the weather. For moments like these, we possess a sense of optimism, self-confidence and self-reliance.

I feel a part of nature in the country. I’ve watched a deer rear up on its hind legs to nibble from a bird feeder and chuckled as a strutting tom turkey displayed himself to his reflection in a chrome hubcap.

I’ve witnessed the drama of a bald eagle eating its kill as a half dozen brazen crows harass and encircle it to no avail…listened to the plaintive wailing of a baby raccoon under my bedroom window as it became temporarily separated from its mamma…and observed skunks and woodchucks make their homes under my house.

Good Neighbors

Country living fosters good friends and neighbors. When a toddler follows her kitten into a field of tall corn, friends, neighbors and even strangers spend hours searching. Child and kitten are found, tired and hungry, but well.

A calf born in the dead of winter, an injured baby pig or orphaned lamb may become temporary house guests. The family dog, brave enough to protect me from the threats of a dangerous bull, cowers under the kitchen table during a thunderstorm. These, too, are sensations that make life in the country so special.

But most important of all are the feelings of faith, hope and expectation of each new day as the sun rises over my country place. Country living is a life that simply fills me up.

No wonder Thomas Jefferson was inspired to write, “Those who labor in the earth are the chosen people of God.”

It is interesting to know

& Reading

1. You are going to read the text about Kew Gardens. Could you find gardens like this in your country? What would you expect to find there? In what ways are plants and flowers important to us?

Listening

2. First underline the correct item by guessing, then listen to the text and find out if your guesses were correct.

Kew Gardens is a botanical garden and plant research/sales centre. 500/5,000 people work at Kew. They start work at ten past/to eight. Matthew Ford is trying to save the Plymouth pear, the tallest/rarest tree in Britain. Growing orchids/fruit is vital to conserve species under threat. Some plant hunters go abroad, dig up rare species and post/smuggle them back home to sell. Gatekeeper and ticket/staff officer Jackie Howard says everyone at Kew sis friendly, whether they are labourers/cleaners or experts. Kew Gardens will always be special for lovers of animals/plants and gardens.

3. In a magazine article ‘Kew Gardens’ eight paragraphs have been removed. Choose from the paragraphs A-I the one which fits each gap (1-7). There is one extra paragraph which you do not need to use. There is an example at the beginning (0).

Kew Gardens

Kew Gardens is the word’s finest botanical garden and plant research centre.

D

500 people are employed at Kew Gardens, from scientists doing the latest medical research, to weather-beaten maintenance men, digging the flowerbeds. For student Sarah Wilson, training for the Kew Diploma in Horticulture, it’s a long working day. “We start work at ten to eight in the morning with watering as the first job of the day. People think you can do it all by machine nowadays but every plant has different needs. Then it’s sweeping up the dead leaves, pruning and top-dressing until the public starts to arrive.”

“I knew I couldn’t get better training anywhere else. This is the leading botanical centre in the world and it has people in every country where plants are in danger.”

“All life ultimately depends on plants, and we don’t know what’s in them all or what we may be losing if a species is allowed to die out,” says Matthew.

His work has been instrumental in saving the British lady’s slipper orchid, and he is currently hoping to do the same with the Plymouth pear, the rarest tree in Britain.

The inside of the orchid is a world of delicate lushness. John Sitch cares for the exotic pink and purple blooms here and tender loving care.

Growing orchids is vital to conserve species which are under threat, both from farmers and developers who are destroying their tropical homes, and from plant hunters who travel abroad, dig up rare and valuable species, and smuggle them back home to sell.

“I’m quite hopeful,” says Elaine, “and I feel that if we find something, it will probably be a mixture rather than a single chemical.”

“Some plants have valuable chemicals we can’t make artificially. And it’s not just tropical rainforest specimens we need, as many people think. Right now I’m working on a chemical from a European species, so it’s vital to protect our own plants, too.”

As gatekeeper and ticket officer Jackie Howard says, “Everyone who works here is friendly, whether they are labourers or high-powered experts.” Perhaps that, as much as its long history and international prestige, explains why Kew will always be a special place for lovers of plants and gardens.

A	This is where scientific officer Matthew Ford fits into the picture. He is working as part of a team to identify, propagate and re-establish colonies of endangered plants in Britain and abroad.
B	Educating the public about the way in which all life depends on plants is certainly one of Kew’s most valuable functions. And the approachable attitude of the staff is what makes this possible.
C	“Many plants contain life-saving products. I view all living things as interrelated, and if we lose one species it has a huge effect on all the others.”
D	It grows more than 40,000 different kinds of plants, grows one in eight of all the flowering plants in creation, and researches and protects over six million other species.
E	She points out that there aren’t as many AIDS researchers using plants as people might think. Many pharmaceutical companies prefer to use synthetic materials but it is important to work with real plants as well.
F	However, Kew has come under serious financial strain lately. This has caused the loss of over 200 jobs.
G	With 900,000 people visiting Kew every year, Sarah and the staff are kept on their toes. But she is quick to point out that Kew is more than just a public pleasure park.
H	Kew Garden plays a medical role as well. Elaine Porter and her colleagues in the Jodrell Laboratory spend the working day researching plants which may combat the effects of the HIV virus and AIDS.
I	He has been working at Kew since leaving school at 17 but insists he still has a lot to learn about plants. Although there are 5000 different species of orchids being cultivated here, new discoveries are still being made.

Exercise 1

Look at the following words in the text and try to explain them:

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