World News for Students of English

25-07-2024 07:00

Cork harvesting in Portugal is a skilled job. Workers like Carlos Feras do it every summer. They carefully peel the bark from cork trees without hurting them. The bark grows back slowly, and farmers can only harvest it every nine years. Portugal is the biggest cork producer in the world and cork farming is very important for the local economy. Cork is in high demand because it is good for the environment.

Antonio Jose Matos started harvesting cork 43 years ago. He says the job is hard but rewarding. People use cork for many things, from wine corks to insulation. Researchers are looking at cork as a green alternative to other materials. The industry needs more workers, but fewer people want to do this job.

Difficult words: bark (the hard outer covering of a tree), demand (when people want to buy a product or material), rewarding (pleasing, satisfying).

You can watch the original video in the Level 3 section.