Class 12 English Unit 9: Reading: Living in a Redwood Tree by Grace Wyatt

                    Unit 9: Reading: Living in a Redwood Tree by Grace Wyatt

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyLiOnmBZLw

Reflection of the Essay

Julia Butterfly Hill who lived in a 200-fit-tall redwood tree in Northern California for more than two years (738 days), drew the attention of clear cutting of remaining redwood forests. She was cold and wet for those two years and spent her life in the absence of electricity, heat, and artificial lights. She had a sleeping bag, a cell phone for media interviews, and a single-burner stove to cook and heat water. She lived on two platforms of 6x8 ft and 4 x 8 ft built from scraps and covered with traps to keep away from rain. She had occasional visitors such as fellow tree-sitters who bring supplies and other celebrities and rest spiders, birds, and mice. She had a car accident in Arkansas in 1996 that lost her short-term memory. It took a year to return her lost memory. After her recovery, she visited spiritual sites around the world. A stranger on the way told her group to see the redwoods in California. As soon as they reached the redwood forest, Hill started to sob because of the devastating scenario of that forest. Therefore, Hill tried to protect the remaining majestic redwoods that were less than three percent of the original trees. Soon, she made a plan to save those rest trees. Because a hillside was already clear-cut and mudslides also carried away the trees leaving seven families without homes. Some social activists tried to stand against the tree-cutting campaign despite the winter season.  

Hill announced for commitment to stay a long time. She knew that Luna, the best tree of hers would be cut if they left the forest. So, she continued to stay in the forest to draw attention to the plight of redwood forests. Some activists supported her by supplying food and necessities. She climbed up Luna, the tree on December 10, 1997. Early on, the logging company hired 24-hour security guards to harass her and stop supplies for her. She was threatened with a helicopter, verbally abused, threatened with rape and death, and kept awake with floodlights, and air-horns through the night. She compared herself to Loggers who did not pity nature. She talked about the power and support of CREATION to human beings.  She decided to take a stand like the redwood tree and not back down. Her rivals were not only the logging company but also the scariest windstorm (16-hour, 70 mph). She prayed to Luna for help as she heard the voice of Luna, ‘Julia, think for trees in the storm…..they allowed themselves to bend and be blown with the wind. They understand the power of letting go.’

Since then, she realized the reality of nature. She transformed herself tolerating the obstacles of thick smoke around her. Good Housekeeping Magazine nominated her as one of the most admired women in America. Since then, everybody supported her campaign and finally, an agreement was signed with the logging company on December 18, 1999, and she climbed down to once again walk on the earth.

Working with words

A.   The words/phrases in the box are from the text. Check their meanings in a dictionary and use these words to complete the given sentences.

redwood, propane, occasional, wake-up call, logging, detrimental, stint, resolution, transformation, debris

a.       …………… is one of the main reasons behind the rapid deforestation in the world.

b.     That's one example of how the pandemic should be a ……………

c.      …………… is a gas used as a fuel for cooking and heating.

d.     Emergency teams are still clearing the …………… from the plane crash.

e.      What a ……………! You look great.

f.       My father made a New Year …………… to give up smoking.

g.     He has worked in the Army for two years. He hates that two-year ……………

h.     Emissions from the factory are widely suspected of having a/an …………… effect on health.

i.       My father is an …………… smoker. He doesn't smoke often.

j.    …………… is a very tall type of tree that grows especially in California and Oregan. 

    Answers: 

a.  Logging      b. wake –up call   c. propane        d. debris      e. transformation     f.       resolution    g.. detrimental      h. stint            i. occasional       j. Redwood

B.  The words redwood, barefoot, single-burner, short-term, fast-paced, mudslide, windstorm, and childhood from the above text are made of two words and they yield a new meaning. Compound words can be written in three ways: open compounds (spelled as two words, e.g., ice cream), closed compounds (joined to form a single word, e.g., doorknob), or hyphenated compounds (two words joined by a hyphen, e.g., long-term). Choose one word from each box to make sensible compound words.

rattle, sun, touch, moon, day, fire, water, basket, pass, wash, weather, grand, cross

down, port, light, snake, cloth, mother, walk, flower, dream, man, ball, works, melon

Compound words

Rattle: Rattlesnake     Sun: Sunflower     Touch: Touchdown           Moon: Moonlight

Day: Daydream          Fire: Fireworks   Water: Watermelon             Basket: Basketball

Pass: Passport           Wash: Washcloth   Weather: Weatherman    

Grand: Grandmother Cross: Crosswalk

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQGopAz4D_I

C.    Match the following words/phrases related to ecology with their meanings. 

Answers:

Words/Phrases	Meanings
a.      sustainability	to keep in existence; maintain. To supply with necessities or nourishment
b.     tree line	the height of a mountain above which the climate is too cold for trees to grow
c.      precipitation	water that returns to the earth as rain, hail, sleet, or snow
d.     tropical zone	the region between latitudes 23.5 degrees S and 23.5 degrees N
e.      Kyoto Protocol	an agreement between countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. It was established in Japan in 1997 but didn't become international law until 2004
f.       Pollutants	substances that destroy the purity of air, water, or land
g.     Geosphere	the soils, sediments, and rock layers of the Earth's crust, both continental and beneath the ocean floors
h.     Deciduous	a plant that sheds all or nearly all its leaves each year
i.       Ephemeral	an organism that has a short life cycle
j.       Trash	items that are discarded

D.   Pronounce the following pairs of words and notice the differences. (e/ ei)

/e/       /ei/                   /e/       /ei/                /e/   /ei/                /e/     /ei/

men: main                  gem: game            sell: sale                dell: dale

pen: pain                    bell: bail                well: wale             knell: nail

met: mate                   hell: hail                shed: shade            fell: fail

fed: fade                     bed: bade              bet: bait                 pet: pate

set: sate                      get: gate                let: late                  cell: sail

Comprehension

A.   Choose the best answer. (Answers only)

a.      The author of the text above has the opinion that Julia Hill made her pastime in a tree for two years more.

b.     The sentence ‘Julia had occasional visitors’ indicates she had a few visitors now and then.

c.      The logging company managed 24 hour security service around the tree to discourage her from her campaign.

d.     Ms. Hill began to respond the loggers with songs and conventional conversations because she had unconditional love for all nature’s creations.

e.      Julia Hill climbed down the tree after 738 days when her demands were about to be fulfilled.

B.    Answer the following questions.

a.      Who was Julia Butterfly Hill? How did Hill’s campaign gain popularity?

Julia Butter Jill was a person who lived in a 200-ft-tall redwood tree for more than two years to draw attention to the continued clear cutting of California’s remaining redwood forests. Her campaign gained popularity when she started to have occasional visitors.

b.     What made Hill start her mega campaign to save redwood trees?

When she arrived in the redwood forest, she was gripped by the spirit of the forest. She dropped to her knees and began to sob seeing the clear cutting of redwood trees. She sat and cried for a long time and finally decided to start her mega campaign to save redwood trees.

c.      What kinds of amenities were there to support Hill’s life in the tree?

Hill had a sleeping bag, a solar-powered cell phone for media interviews, and a single-burner propane stove to cook and heat water to support her life in the tree. She had few necessities, and no luxuries.

d.     Did Hill’s value of life change after her car accident? How?

Yes, Hill’s value of life changed after her car accident. She said the experience was a wake-up call. Before accident her main focus had been work but later on she became clear that value as people is not in their stock portfolios and bank accounts, but it is in the legacies they leave behind.

e.      Deforestation causes natural calamities. What evidence do you have in the text to prove this?

Yes it’s true that deforestation causes natural calamities. In the text we can see that the cutting of redwoods destabilized the hillside and caused the mudslide which carried trees, stumps and debris from that hillside down into the town, leaving seven families without homes.

f.       How did the logging company try to discourage Hill in the early days of her sit-in?

The logging company tried to discourage Hill in the early days of her sit-in by hiring 24-hour security guards to harass her and to ensure her support team couldn’t deliver her supplies. She was menaced with a helicopter at a dangerously close range. A neighboring tree was felled, hitting Luna’s outer branches and nearly causing Hill to fall. She was verbally abused, threatened with violence, rape and death, kept awake with floodlights, and bugles and air horns were blown through the night.

g.     How were the vagaries of nature unwelcoming to Hill?

The logging company wasn’t her only problem. One of her scariest times was a 16-hour, 70-mph windstorm that shredded the tarps that surrounded her, and even ripped huge branches off the tree. When lightning struck nearby during an electrical storm, her hair stood straight up. In this way the vagaries of nature were unwelcoming to Hill.

h.     What is the purpose of the author to write a review on Hill’s book? Do you think the author stands for ecological sustainability? Give reasons.

The purpose of the author to write a review on Hill’s book is to bring a spotlight to the issue of deforestation. He wants people to learn about the deforestation and its ill effects through his review and make people know about what a person should do to prevent from this should. Yes I think the author stands for ecological sustainability.

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