英語(yǔ)播客 A Cup of English Oh my gosh, the crazy pruning.

Just opposite where we live is a cherry orchard. It must be about four or five acres. In the late winter or early spring, the trees get pruned. Excess branches are cut off in order to make the trees more productive. That system works, and is understood by everyone around here. It is part of being effective when growing fruit. The trouble is, that habit of seriously pruning fruit trees has crept into the rest of Wenatchee. Although Wenatchee is a dry valley, people over the years have made the effort to plant quite a number of trees. We also, thankfully, have quite a few very large trees that were planted by the first settlers. In a hot climate you need your shade. Most of the oldest trees have been left alone. They are splendidly huge, and spread out nicely. Of course, every now and then a limb must be cut off if it is diseased, or weak enough to blow off in a wind storm. However, if you look at the photo in the blogpage, you will get an idea of the crazy pruning that I have seen in quite a few places here in town. It alll started when I saw, in the main outside mall area, a shocking sight of big trees that have been cut in half; their top halves have been chopped off. It looks like a war zone! What were these pruners thinking? Who gave the instructions? Were these people actually licensed? Ever since then, as I drive around town, with my camera at the ready, I have noticed more and more butchered trees. Then, about two weeks ago, a tree expert wrote in to the daily newspaper to comment on how unnecessary the pruning is, how it weakens the roots of a tree, and makes it more of a hazard. Being a tree lover myself, I am very alarmed, and I will certainly send in my thoughts to the towns newspaper, along with a number of photos of the disfigured trees of Wenatchee.

Grammar notes.

Related vocabulary: productive, to creep, a settler, a limb.

1. There are many methods of making an orchard productive; pruning is one of them.

2. The cat crept into the pantry and started sniffing around for food.

3. The first settlers who came here planted fruit orchards, and also many shade trees.

4. That limb needs to be cut off of the tree. It looks weak, and could be dangerous in a storm.