Today is our topic of discussion Reading reports 1

Reading reports 1

 

 

Read the following report on the “Government plans for extensive sericulture cultivation in Chittagong Hill Tracts”, to answer the questions that follow.

The State Minister for Textiles, who stayed in the hill districts for three days last week, told BSS yesterday that the region has vast opportunities to generate alternative employment through cultivation of mulberry trees and cocoons.
The trees and the cocoons are needed to produce silk yarn. The leaves of the trees are the food of silkworms.

A silkworm produces a cocoon which is the case for its body. This cocoon or case produces silk yarn. The Minister said the weather is very congenial there and the growers are very enthusiastic to resume sericulture cultivation which they gave up earlier due to shortage of seeds and cocoons.

He said that the growing of cocoons and the cultivation of mulberries do not need huge capital, manpower and a long period. They do not even require extra land and round-the-clock care. He said a cocoon becomes full-bloomed within 23 days to produce silk yarn.

One cocoon can generate 6 to 7 hundred metres of silk yarn. The Sericulture Board is now trying to produce better-quality cocoon eggs, each of which can produce about 1000 metres of silk yarn. He said the Board would supply cocoons and mulberry trees to the growers there.

 

 

Questions:

1. What are the two things that can be grown in the hill districts?

2. Why did the growers give up sericulture cultivation earlier?

3. Sericulture cultivation needs five things. But it does not need a lot of them. What are these five things?

4. What does a cocoon produce?

5. How can mulberry trees help produce silk yarn?

Study these words.

BSS (abbreviation of) Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (M ALDI); a news agency

generate (v) – to create; to produce

alternative (adj) – ‘Alternative’ is used to describe something that is different from the usual or traditional things of its kind, eg alternative health care, ……. alternative methods of travel, etc.

employment (n) – ‘Employment’ is the state of having a paid job. opp. ‘unemployment’

mulberry (n) – a tree with a dark purple fruit which can be eaten. Its leaves are the food of silkworms?

cocoon (n) – a protective case (egg-like) of silky threads in which a pupa (an insect in its inactive stage) is enclosed

 

Fig : A cocoon

yarn (n) – thread

congenial (adj) – pleasant; favourable

enthusiastic (adj) – greatly interested; showing strong feeling of likeness

resume (v) – to re-start; to begin again