                                        PASSAGE-14
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
                                        FORESTS
When most of us think of forests , we think of trees. True, trees are the most prominent form of life in a forest. But there’s much more to a forest than the eye can see. Each forest is a growing, changing community made up of many different plants and animals that interact with each other in a variety of ways.
Associated with trees are thousands of other kinds of plants- shrubs, vines, leaves, herbs, ferns and mosses. These use trees for support , for shade and for moisture to grow. It is all the green plants that make food for the animals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and insects. These, in return, pollinate flowers, distribute seeds, aerate the soil and carry out many other important functions. Even fungi, bacteria and other microscopic organisms play a vital role in the forest. They break down plant and animal material and turn it into a rich layer of soil called humus. Thus all are tied together in many ways- interdependent for food, living conditions and cooperation for survival.
The different kinds of plants in a forest make up layers of forest stores. The branches and leaves of the tallest trees make up the roof or the canopy. This is the food factory where photosynthesis takes place. Growing in the shadow under the canopy are the shorter trees and shrubs. These form the understorey. On the forest floor where it is darker and more humid grow the grasses, ferns, wild flowers, lichens and mosses. With the fallen leaves and rotting logs, these make up the forest floor.
Each layer has its own special set of residents- birds, animals, insects that find food and shelter there. Together they weave the rich tapestry of forest life.
1.1. On the basis of your reading of the above passage answer the following questions briefly:
(a)What is the most prominent form of life in a forest?
(b)How is humus formed?
(c)Name the three different layers in a forest.
(d)Who all are associated with trees?What do they use the trees for?
(e)How do the green plants and birds and animals help each other?
1.2. Find words from the passage which mean the similar as the following words indicated:
(a)Society (Para-1) (b) Depend on each other (para-2) (c) Wet soil (para-3)
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