The Spark of New Life
Introduction
The texts show some different views of forest fires and their effects.
In England, forest fires are rare and can be destructive. In many other parts of the world, where they happen quite frequently, they can have a beneficial effect.
A forest fire can burn for days, or even weeks, through many square kilometres of land. Newspapers and television reports show dramatic pictures of whole forests ablaze.
But the news reports do not mention that these huge fires can have good effects as well as bad. Although they destroy much of the forest, they also help it to grow again more healthily.
Would you believe that the effects of a forest fire can be beneficial as well as destructive? The fire is part of a cycle that helps new life to grow.

Circle the correct option to complete the sentence below.
(a)      Many forest fires are caused by
 
 (b)      A forest fire can help plants to grow by
 
 (c)      As soon as the new plants start to grow,
 
         begin to feed on them.
 (d)      Gradually, different plants grow and
 
move into the area so that in time there is
 (e)      
than before.
Why does the fire pine need heat to release its seeds?
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How did the macaque monkeys of Borneo adapt after the fire?
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How were the forests of Alaska different:
(a)     shortly after the fires?
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(b)     a few years after the fires?
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