English for today Class Eight, Unite 5, Lesson 4 : A man who loves trees

Unit Five

Making a difference

Lesson 4: A man who loves trees

Key words: profession   sapling   passion   gigantic mission

A. Read the text.

At the farthest corner of Bangladesh there is a village called Tarapur. In this village there lives a man named Kartik Poramanik. He is a hair dresser by profession, but a nature lover at heart. His passion is to plant saplings, which grow into gigantic trees. He started planting trees when he was only 10 years old. He remembers what his father once told him, "My son, you can earn the blessings of God by planting trees". He has never forgotten what his father told him. At present he is 63 years old. He has planted hundreds of trees in his village. Many of the trees are now 35-40 years old.

Once there were hardly any trees in this village. Kartik used to go to different houses for his job. At times he would get tired in the scorching sun, but there were no trees under which he could sit and rest for a while. Thinking how people suffer in the heat, Kartik began his tree-planting mission. Occasionally Kartik would wake up early in the morning, take one or two labourers with him and set out to plant trees. He would walk long distances to plant trees, carrying with him some dry food and water. He would pay all the expenses from his own pocket. Kartik has planted trees beside the roads, in and around the bazar, schools and colleges, open fields and many other places.

At times it so happened that Kartik would go to water his plants at 10 or 11 p m. People asked him, "Kartik, are you mad? What are you doing so late at night?" Kartik would smile and say, "What to do, sir. I have to work hard the whole day to earn money for my family. I don't get time during the day. But my trees would die if I don't water them. So I come late at night to look after them."

Even today this old man continues planting trees as many as he can. A man, who can hardly sign his name, is leaving his signature all around in nature.
(adapted from The Prothom Alo, December 2, 2003)

B. True or false? If false, give the correct information.

1. He planted the first tree 50 years ago.
2. Katrik borrowed money from others to plant trees.
3. He would plant trees around his hut only.
4. At times Kartik would water his trees at night because he felt lazy during the day.

C. Choose the best answer.

1. Kartik was a.......by profession.
a. cultivator
b. tree planter
c. day labourer
d. hair dresser

2. His mission is to make the village green by...... 
a. cultivating paddy in the fields
b. growing grass in all the fallow land
c. planting fodder for the cattle
d. planting many trees

3. Some of Kartik's trees are big and...... 
a. great
b. gigantic
c. enormous
d. kingly

4. Some of his trees are.......years old.
a. 15-20
b. 25-35
c. 35-40
d. 40-45

D. Read the text again and answer the following questions.

1. Who is Kartik Poramanik?
2. How do you understand that he is a nature lover?
3. Why did he plant trees?
4. What do you understand by the saying, "A man, who can hardly sign his name, is leaving his signature all around in nature"?