E n g L i s h jenni Currie Santamaria

part of a letter he wrote about saving the Sequoia trees.
Sequoias (also called redwoods) are very large, very old trees that grow in 
the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California. The wood from Sequoias isn’t good 
for building—it breaks easily—but many of the trees were cut down in the late 
1800s anyway. Because of the work of John Muir and others, these trees are 
now protected and can be enjoyed by visitors today.

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12
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Better Reading English
B.
Words to know before you read
Match the words to their definitions.
____ 1.
fool 
a. large; having great power
____ 2.
aboriginal 
b. having many things happening
____ 3.
mighty 
c. a long time with not enough water
____ 4.
eventful 
d. a factory where trees are sawed into 
wood
____ 5.
drought 
e. original inhabitant; native
____ 6.
sawmills 
f. a person who is silly or stupid
C. Reading strategy
Quickly read the following paragraph. Then answer the question.
How old are the oldest Sequoia trees? ________________
II. READ
Read the paragraph. Mark the words you don’t know, but don’t stop reading to 
look them up.
Any fool can destroy trees. They cannot defend themselves or run away. And few 
destroyers of trees ever plant any; nor can planting avail much toward restoring our 
grand aboriginal giants. It took more than three thousand years to make some of 
the oldest of the Sequoias, trees that are still standing in perfect strength and 
beauty, waving and singing in the mighty forests of the Sierra. Through all the 
eventful centuries since Christ’s time, and long before that, God has cared for these 
trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand storms; but 
he cannot save them from sawmills and fools; this is left to the American people.
Source: “Save the Redwoods,” John Muir. 
Sierra Club Bulletin,
Volume XI, 
Number 1: January 1920, pp. 1–4, http://www.yosemite.ca.us/john_muir_writings
III. COMPREHENSION CHECK
Circle the letter of the sentences with the same meaning.
1.
Any fool can destroy trees. They cannot defend themselves or run away.
a. 
It’s easy to destroy trees because they can’t protect themselves.
b. 
Only stupid people destroy trees.
2. 
. . .nor can planting avail much toward restoring our grand aboriginal 
giants. It took more than three thousand years to make some of the oldest 
Sequoias.
a. 
People who destroy trees should plant new ones.
b. 
Planting new trees doesn’t help because the Sequoias are so old.

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Nature in the United States
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13
3.
. . . .
trees that are still standing in perfect strength and beauty, waving and 
singing in the mighty forests of the Sierra.
a. 
The trees can move their arms and sing.
b. 
The trees move and make pleasing sounds in the wind.
4.
Through all the eventful centuries since Christ’s time, and long before that, 
God has cared for these trees,
a. 
The trees have lived for hundreds of years.
b. 
The trees have always had protection.
5.
. . .
but he cannot save them from sawmills and fools; this is left to the 
American people.
a. 
No one can save the trees from the people who want to cut
them down.
b. 
The American people need to save the trees.
IV. VOCABULARY BUILDING
A.
Natural disasters and other problems
Read the following natural disaster words and their deinitions.
drought