HISTORY'S INFLUENTIAL PLANTS Have you ever taken a close look at what kinds of plants are growing in your school garden? Have you ever tried to name some plants that you see on the street or on a mountain??? Though plants are found everywhere, we don't usually pay much attention to them. There are affected... some plants, however, that have greatly influenced human history.,., Bamboo Bamboo has had a great influence on Asian culture. China is known as a kingdom of bamboo where more than 400 species of bamboo grow. 400 affect = have an effect[impact / influence] on Bamboo has played an important role in the development of traditional Chinese culture. For-example, Ling Lun, the founder of Chinese music, invented one of the earliest musical instruments in China, the bamboo popes. By cutting 12 different lengths of bamboo pipes, he set the standard tune for traditional Chinese music.,,. 12,. making(x)... Bamboo was also used to make brushes for the art of calligraphy. used to: ~( ; ) / be used to do (:~; )/ be used(accustomed) to N(~; ). 1
The strong but light bamboo brush let the artists make quick movements freely on paper. Moreover, bamboo was a role model for the ancient Chinese for centuries. People were encouraged to be as upright and strong as bamboo..,. in addition = besides, moreover, what's more, furthermore, plus,to top it off S + V : / in addition to, besides + : ~.. Just like bamboo is hollow inside, they were told to were(x) keep an open mind. Lots of literature was written about admiring the tall and graceful plant.,.. White Mulberry For thousands of years, silk was one of the most making (X) valuable products made by the Chinese. People was (X) from other from other parts of the world were eager to trade for it.,.. But did you know that silk has a close connection with the white mulberry? The silkworm usually feeds on fresh mulberry leaves and then produces silk.?. 2
It takes almost 30,000 silkworms to produce 12 pounds of raw silk. In fact, the Chinese could not have manufactured silk if it had not been for the white mulberry tree. 12 3.,,. without N, S +would / would have pp = If it were not for N, If it had not been for N Thanks to it, China became a center of silk trade. The white mulberry surely is one of the most influential plants in all of Asian history.,.. Sunflower This large, brightly colored flower was first raised by ~ Native Americans. In addition to their golden beauty, incredible (X) sunflowers are incredibly useful. No part of the sunflower goes to waste. ( ),,.. no = not -any For example, Native Americans used the root of the sunflower to heal cuts and snake bites. The leaves and stems are still used to make baskets. used to: ~( ; ) / be used to do (:~; )/ be used(accustomed) to N(~; ),.. 3
Its seeds are used to make flour and dyes. The seeds have also been used to make oil for cooking purposes. Natural sunflower oil is known to provide oils (X) more vitamins than any other vegetable oil.. used to: ~( ; :, = would: ) / be used to do (:~; )/ be(get) used(accustomed) to N(~; ) The dried or roasted seeds are popular as a snack, too. But maybe the most amazing way to use sunflowers is making them into a device for saving lives... are(x) The material in the center of sunflower stems is similar to cork, and therefore floats quite well. For this reason, it has been used to make the safety devices on ships.,, In fact, many people who survived the Titanic disaster of 1912 owed their lives to life jackets made from sunflowers., 1912 Titanic. 4
English Oak Called the king of the forest, the English oak is famous for its strength, size, and long life. These large trees can live for hundreds' of years and grow as tall as 40 meters.,,. 40. Due to their strong and long-lasting wood, they have been used for construction throughout Europe. In building ships, no plant was more valuable than the English oak. (),,. The Mary Rose, one of the most powerful battleships of the 15th century, was made of English oak. consist of = be composed of = be made up of / be composed of: 15 Mary Rose Surprisingly, the ship was able to survive for more than 400 years under the sea until it was pulled up to the land and placed in a museum., 4 Until the middle of the 19th century, when iron began to be used in building ships, thousands of oaks had been cut down every year. 19,. It is estimated that it took 2,000 trees to make a ship. If it had not been for the English oak, England could not have ruled over colonies in one fourth of the world. 2,000., 4 1. without N, S +would / would have pp = If it were not for N, If it had not been for N 5
Cotton Last but not least, here is another important plant that led to historic change., lead to = cause, bring about, result in, give rise to do, generate, trigger Industrious (X) The Industrial Revolution in the 19th century brought about the development of the textile industry. 19 As the demand for raw cotton, the material to produce soft cloth, dramatically increased, / more labor was needed in the cotton fields.( ),. was(x) Many people from Africa were brought to cotton farms in the American South, where they were forced to work as slaves. be forced to do: ~,. However, the American North needed cheap labor to work in factories. So they urged the Southern States to set the slaves free. Eventually, the conflict between the Southern and Northern states led to the American Civil War in 1861.,.., 1861. lead to = cause, bring about, result in, give rise to do, generate, trigger 6
Supplement Reading Black pepper is one of the most widely used spices in world. At first, it was cultivated in India as a simple ingredient for cooking. However, it became a lot more important to some Europeans who also used it badly (X) for keeping meat from going bad..,, Until the 15th century, some cities in Italy were the center for trading black pepper. As the Ottoman Empire in the middle East grew stronger in the 16th century, however, it forced the European traders to pay them a high tax. This made black pepper so expensively (X) expensive that only a few rich people could afford it. In some parts of Europe, black pepper was even v a l u a b l y ( X ) considered as valuable as gold. 15,, 16,..,. The great demand for black pepper caused Europeans to search for new sea routes to India. It was during this time that Europeans first visited America. It is said that Christopher Columbus, who discovered America, thought it was India until he died. Europeans might never have found the New World if it had not been for black pepper...., 7