Coconuts

Familiarcoconutproducts

IfyoumentioncoconutstopeoplefromWesterncultures，theymaythinkaboutalarge，brownshellwithalayerofhardwhitefleshinside.ShoppersinWesternsupermarketsmayalsobefamiliarwithpacketsofdriedcoconutusedformakingcakes，orcansofcoconutmilkusedinsomekindsofcurry.Butnotmanypeoplewillknowhowversatilecoconutsareintheirnativetropicalandsubtropicalregions.

Usefulaftersport

Younggreencoconutsprovidearefreshingdrink.Justchopthetopoffayoungcoconut，andyouwillfindaclear，sweetjuicewhichisanaturalisotonicdrink.Thisiswhycoconutwaterisnowpopularwithathletes，whobelieveitisagoodwaytoreplacewater，carbohydratesandothermineralsusedduringexercise.Whenyouhavedrunkthejuice，useaspoontoeatthesoft，jelly-likefleshinsidethegreenshell.

Otheruses

Butcoconutsarenotjustforeatingordrinking.Insomecountries，theoutergreenskin—orhusk—isusedasakindofsoilforflowersandhouseplants.Huskscanbeusedtomakebrushes，floormatsorrope，ortheycanbemixedwiththehardbrownshellstocreateafuelforwood-burningovens.Peoplemakespoonsandsoupbowlsfromthehardshells，andevenmusicalinstruments，suchasthesalorfromThailand.Coconutoilcanalsobeextractedfromthemeatofthecoconutand—ifnotusedforcooking—canbeusedinskincareproducts.

Coconuttrees

Andthereismoretothecoconuttreethanjustcoconuts.Atthetopofthetree，insidethetrunk，isthecoconut‘heart’whichcanbeeateninsalads.Theleavesfromthetreecanbeusedtomakebroomsandbaskets，skewersforbarbecuingmeatandevenroofsforsimplebuildingslikehuts.Thetreetrunkscanbeusedtobuildhouses，boats，furniture，containersanddrums.Andfinally，therootsofthetreecanbeusedasadyetocolourclothes，orevenasatoothbrush.

Fruitofthegods

It’snosurprisetofindthat，insomecultures，thecoconutisknownasthefruitofthegodsandthetreeitselfisknownasthetreewhichgrantsallwishes.

Activity1

Beforeyouread，matchthewordtoadefinition.

1.athlete2.extract3.isotonic4.shell5.skewer6.soil7.trunk8.versatile

a.containingthesameamountsofsaltandsugarasblood

b.removeortakesomethingout

c.someonewhotakespartinasport

d.thebigpartofatreethatconnectstherootstotheleavesandbranches

e.theearththatplantsgrowin

f.thehardoutsidepartofanut

g.thinpieceofmetalorwoodusedtoholdmeatandvegetables

h.usefulinmanyways

Activity2

Nowcompletethesentencesusingwordsfromthetext.Makeanychangestothewordsthatarenecessary.

1.（____）drinkscanhelptoreplacenutrientsinyourbody.

2.Althoughitispossibleto（____）goldfromseawater，itisaveryexpensiveprocess.

3.Hewasanatural（____）–agoodrunnerandaskilfulballplayer.

4.Pushtheseedsgentlyintothe（____）.

5.Sheisanextremely（____）employee.Shecandoalmostanyjobwell.

6.Soakallthe（____）inwaterbeforeyoucooktostopthemburning.

7.Theboyputaladderagainstthe（____）oftheappletree.

8.Youneedtoremovethe（____）beforeyoueatthenut.

Activity4a

Findexamplesoftheexpressionsinthecolumnontheleftinthetext.Whichwordsinthecolumnontherightfollowtheseexpressions？

usedfor+…verbsintheinfinitive（e.g.‘make’）

nounphrases（e.g.‘popularmeals’）

verbswith–ingendings（e.g.‘making’）

usedto+…

usedas+…

usedin+…

Activity4b

Chooseonewordtocompletethesentences.

1.Insomecountries，gingerisused[for/to/in]helppeoplewhohaveacold.

2.Limeleavesareused[to/as/in]manyThairecipes.

3.Somepeoplebelievethatgarliccanbeused[for/to/as]loweringcholesterollevels.

4.Spicesareused[for/as/in]severalAsiancuisinestoaddflavour.

5.Lemongrassisused[for/to/as]anaturalinsectrepellentinsomecountries.

Activity5

Howmanyofthedifferentusesofcoconutshaveyouheardaboutbefore？Canyouthinkofanyotherwayswecouldusepartsofthetreeornutthatarenotmentionedinthearticle？

Answers

Activity1""1.c;2.b;3.a;4.f;5.g;6.e;7.d;8.h

Activity2""1.Isotonic;2.extract;3.athlete;4.soil;5.versatile;6.skewers;7.trunk;8.shell

Activity3""1.tree;2.root;3.nut;4.nut;5.husk

Activity4a""usedfor+…verbswith–ingending;usedto+…verbsintheinfinitive;usedas+…nounphrases;usedin+…nounphrases

Activity4b""1.to;2.in;3.for;4.in;5.as