Woods, Forests and Jungles
2023-05-20
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1Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question about the difference between "woods," "forests," and "jungles."
2Hello Teacher!
3This is Sumaira from Pakistan.
4I have been listening to the podcast since August 2022.
5I am so glad that it helps me to improve my listening skills.
6I want to ask you about the difference between the words "woods," "forest" and "jungle."
7Thanks,
8Sumaira
9Thanks for writing to us, Sumaira.
10I love this question because I grew up playing in the woods a lot as a child.
11Let's start with the word "woods"
12Woods are areas covered with tall growing trees.
13They are smaller than a forest.
14The word appears in the singular form, "a wood," especially in British English.
15The main difference between "woods" and a "forest" is the size of the land area and the amount of ground fully covered by trees called the canopy.
16There are several definitions for a forest.
17The U.S. National Vegetation Classification system classifies a forest as having 60 to 100 percent of the land covered by the tree canopy.
18The same system says "woods" are classified as having only 25 to 60 percent of the land covered by the tree canopy.
19A wood can be small so long as it is bigger than a grouping of trees.
20A "forest" is a larger area where tall trees grow close together largely covering the ground below.
21There are three main kinds of forests found around the world.
22The first are temperate deciduous forests.
23Deciduous means that the trees' leaves turn different colors and fall off each year.
24These forests exist where the climate has four seasons and the temperature changes throughout the year.
25Many forests in Europe, the United States and parts of Canada are temperate deciduous forests.
26Animals that you would find in these forests include bears, deer, squirrels, owls and snakes.
27Boreal forests are found in colder climates that often have freezing temperatures.
28They are found in places around the Baltic Sea, Siberia, Northern Canada and Alaska.
29Animals you would find in a boreal forest include reindeer, moose, Artic hares, wolves and wolverines.
30Tropical forests are found near the equator in warmer, more humid climates.
31These forests experience two seasons, a rainy season and a dry season.
32In some tropical forests, the trees' leaves will fall off in the dry season just like deciduous forests.
33Tropical forests are found in places like India, Northern Australia, parts of Mexico and Bolivia and and in northwestern South America, on the Pacific Coast.
34This brings us to our next word, which is "jungle."
35The word "jungle" is a common term, not a scientific one, for forests found in the tropics.
36They are very dense and have a lot of undergrowth which means many of the plants and vegetation grow close to the ground.
37This undergrowth becomes tangled together and is extremely difficult to walk through.
38Animals you would find in a tropical jungle include primates like gorillas and monkeys; birds like parrots; and reptiles like tropical snakes and lizards.
39Sometimes the word "jungle" is used to describe a rainforest.
40But a rainforest is another kind of forest.
41It has high rainfall throughout much of the year.
42The largest tropical rainforest is the Amazon Rainforest in South America.
43There are also temperate rainforests in the Pacific Northwest in the United States.
44Please let us know if these explanations and examples have helped you, Sumaira.
45What question do you have about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com
46And that's Ask a Teacher.
47I'm Faith Pirlo.
1Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question about the difference between "woods," "forests," and "jungles." 2Question: 3Hello Teacher! 4This is Sumaira from Pakistan. 5I have been listening to the podcast since August 2022. I am so glad that it helps me to improve my listening skills. 6I want to ask you about the difference between the words "woods," "forest" and "jungle." 7Thanks, 8Sumaira 9Answer 10Thanks for writing to us, Sumaira. I love this question because I grew up playing in the woods a lot as a child. 11Let's start with the word "woods" 12Woods 13Woods are areas covered with tall growing trees. They are smaller than a forest. The word appears in the singular form, "a wood," especially in British English. 14The main difference between "woods" and a "forest" is the size of the land area and the amount of ground fully covered by trees called the canopy. There are several definitions for a forest. The U.S. National Vegetation Classification system classifies a forest as having 60 to 100 percent of the land covered by the tree canopy. The same system says "woods" are classified as having only 25 to 60 percent of the land covered by the tree canopy. A wood can be small so long as it is bigger than a grouping of trees. 15Forests 16A "forest" is a larger area where tall trees grow close together largely covering the ground below. There are three main kinds of forests found around the world. 17The first are temperate deciduous forests. Deciduous means that the trees' leaves turn different colors and fall off each year. These forests exist where the climate has four seasons and the temperature changes throughout the year. 18Many forests in Europe, the United States and parts of Canada are temperate deciduous forests. Animals that you would find in these forests include bears, deer, squirrels, owls and snakes. 19Boreal forests are found in colder climates that often have freezing temperatures. They are found in places around the Baltic Sea, Siberia, Northern Canada and Alaska. Animals you would find in a boreal forest include reindeer, moose, Artic hares, wolves and wolverines. 20Tropical forests are found near the equator in warmer, more humid climates. These forests experience two seasons, a rainy season and a dry season. In some tropical forests, the trees' leaves will fall off in the dry season just like deciduous forests. Tropical forests are found in places like India, Northern Australia, parts of Mexico and Bolivia and and in northwestern South America, on the Pacific Coast. 21This brings us to our next word, which is "jungle." 22Jungle 23The word "jungle" is a common term, not a scientific one, for forests found in the tropics. They are very dense and have a lot of undergrowth which means many of the plants and vegetation grow close to the ground. This undergrowth becomes tangled together and is extremely difficult to walk through. 24Animals you would find in a tropical jungle include primates like gorillas and monkeys; birds like parrots; and reptiles like tropical snakes and lizards. 25Sometimes the word "jungle" is used to describe a rainforest. But a rainforest is another kind of forest. It has high rainfall throughout much of the year. The largest tropical rainforest is the Amazon Rainforest in South America. There are also temperate rainforests in the Pacific Northwest in the United States. 26Please let us know if these explanations and examples have helped you, Sumaira. 27What question do you have about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com 28And that's Ask a Teacher. 29I'm Faith Pirlo. 30Faith Pirlo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 31__________________________________________________________________ 32Words in This Story 33classify - v. to organize things into groups by their type, size, or qualities 34temperate - adj. moderate climate that lacks extremes 35boreal - adj. of or relating to northern areas and regions 36tropical - adj. of or occurring in the tropics 37equator - n. an imaginary line drawn around the earth equally distant from both poles, the parallel of latitude 38vegetation - n. plants in general: plants that cover a particular area 39tangle - v. to become or cause (something) to become twisted together 40__________________________________________________________________ 41Do you have a question for the teacher? We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 42Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.