English Vocabulary in Use Upper-intermediate » Unit 26: The natural world
A tulip is the national emblem of the Netherlands and a maple leaf represents Canada. What flower or animal is used as the national emblem of your country?
Find out what other plants or animals are national emblems of other countries.
Here are the English names of some creatures that you may not know.
Our apple tree flowers / blossoms in April.
Let’s pick some flowers.
These birds lay their eggs on the ground.
Bees collect pollen from flowers to make honey.
Some verbs can be intransitive (no object) or transitive (with an object):
These flowers grow very quickly. We grew some tomatoes in our garden last year.
These animals breed in the spring. My neighbour breeds Burmese cats and sells them.
Remember, we pick flowers / fruit; we don’t say pick up.
We picked some flowers and put them in a vase. (NOT picked up)
We pick something up when it has fallen from its normal position or someone drops it.
A woman dropped her purse so I picked it up and gave it back to her.
The words you need to communicate with confidence. Vocabulary explanations and practice for elementary level (A2) learners of English. Perfect for both self-study and classroom activities. Quickly expand your vocabulary with 60 units of easy to understand explanations and practice exercises.
The words you need to communicate with confidence. Vocabulary explanations and practice for pre-intermediate and intermediate level (B1) learners of English. Perfect for both self-study and classroom activities. Quickly expand your vocabulary with 100 units of easy to understand explanations and practice exercises.
The words you need to communicate with confidence. Vocabulary explanations and practice for advanced level (C1 to C2) learners of English. Perfect for both self-study and classroom activities. Quickly expand your vocabulary with over 100 units of easy to understand explanations and practice exercises.