Antonym Cloze

BUSHFIRES: The geographical processes involved

Student Instructions:
Read the following passage and as you are reading circle the correct word/antonym out of
the two provided in each case.
A range of geographical processes combine to make Australia particularly vulnerable to
bushfires.
The drying of the Australian climate
When Australia was part of Gondwanaland, the climate was cool / warm and wet, despite
the supercontinent being located in the high / low latitudes. The subsequent separation of
the Australian continent and its northward drift carried it into the latitudes characterised
by dry, subsiding air. The dominance of high-pressure systems over the continent
produced fine, sunny conditions. Thus, Australia became characterised by low, unreliable
rainfall / heat and prolonged rainfall / droughts associated with El Nio events. The
Australian climate is generally hot / cool, dry / wet and prone to floods / drought. Such
conditions parch the country and increase / decrease the bushfire threat.
The evolution of Australian flora
(Use the following words to fill in the blanks)
water nutrients leaves ignite
sclerophyll burn oils fuel
drying drought combustibility soils
The __________________________ of the climate resulted in vegetation types adapted to aridity
and the continents relatively infertile __________________________. Many plants developed
__________________________ characteristics; for example, small, thick, leathery leaves, which
need to be replaced less often. They require fewer __________________________ and less
__________________________, and therefore tend to survive better in infertile or arid habitats.
During times of __________________________ Australian eucalypts modify their transpiration
rates. This is done by shedding __________________________. The dead leaves accumulate on the
forest floor creating __________________________.
LTNS HSIE-J.Awkar and G.Bobin- Patrician Brothers Fairfield, 2010
In dry conditions the rate of decomposition slows significantly. Sclerophyll
leaves also have aromatic __________________________ and waxes, which inhibit insect
attack. The presence of these compounds, and lower water content, result in
high levels of __________________________. This explains why so many of these plants
__________________________ explosively. Even the vapour above the tree crowns is volatile and
will __________________________.
LTNS HSIE-J.Awkar and G.Bobin- Patrician Brothers Fairfield, 2010
The Aboriginal use of fire
(Fill in the blanks using a word of your own choosing)
Bushfires have always been part of the Australian biophysical __________________________.
Many were started by lightning __________________________. When Aboriginal people
__________________________, more than 50000 years ago, they adapted their lifestyle to the
prevailing conditions. They also learned to manage the land in ways that met their
__________________________. Their main tool was low-intensity fire.
Aboriginal people made frequent and purposeful use of fire: to keep the country more
open and easy to traverse (or travel through); to promote the __________________________
of fresh green grass and herbs that would restore biodiversity and attract animals; as
a means of signalling and hunting; and for the more obvious purposes of warmth and
cooking.
Their patterns of burning were quite __________________________. They deliberately used
fire to clear out some heavy bush areas and burnt the areas around fire-sensitive
vegetation communities as a form of protection for fire-sensitive plants. The main
__________________________ of the widespread use of fire was to favour those plants
__________________________ adapted to fire or which were best able to regenerate in its wake.
European settlement and bushfire management
(Complete the following sentences with words of your own choosing)
The Australian environment was considered difficult and hostile by
the European settlers, and they were
____________________________________________________________________________________________________.
The explosive infernos in the Australian bush were
____________________________________________________________________________________________________.
There was no understanding that the bush in Australia
____________________________________________________________________________________________________.
Bushfires, for the most part, were terrifying. They killed people and stock and
____________________________________________________________________________________________________.
The response was to try to extinguish bushfires or to
____________________________________________________________________________________________________.
Fires, being part of the natural cycle in Australia, were inevitable, and
with more fuel to burn they
____________________________________________________________________________________________________.
LTNS HSIE-J.Awkar and G.Bobin- Patrician Brothers Fairfield, 2010