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Forests and woods
WORDS
Nouns Forest, jungle, woodland, trees, treetops, trunks, branches, roots, logs
Sky, ceiling, canopy, umbrella, blanket
Floor, carpet, paths, tunnels
Leaves, buds, berries, blossoms, flowers, petals, stems, vines, creepers,
ivy, brambles, thorns, twigs
Bluebells, snowdrops, daffodils, poppies, gorse, heather, hawthorn,
rhododendrons
Sun, wind, dew, icicles, mist, fog, shadows
Adjectives Tall, huge, vast, towering
Beautiful, majestic, stunning, spectacular, magnificent
Brown, yellow, green, emerald, pink, red, scarlet, crimson, fiery, orange,
bronze, purple, blue, white, silver
Bright, vivid
Dark, black, gloomy, shadowy, misty, eerie, ghostly
Thick, dense, spidery, impenetrable
Rough, sharp, thorny, spiky, barbed, gnarled, twisted, bent
Dead, rotting, decaying
Verbs Stood, rose, spread, stretched, arched
Knotted, tangled, twisted, choked, strangled
Blocked, trapped, grasped, scratched
Burst, erupted, crept, wriggled, writhed
Hung, swayed, tossed, danced, hopped, floated, fluttered
Lit, painted, covered, cloaked, shrouded
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1 Landscapes: forests and woods
PHRASES – NOUNS AND ADJECTIVES
Magnificent forest of tall trees
Like a crowd of vivid green umbrellas
Huge canopy of treetops like a green blanket
Emerald green leaves
Fiery scarlet autumn leaves
Vivid green stems
Beautiful, green cloaks
Like fluttering, emerald ribbons
Brightly coloured creepers like party streamers
Blazing carpet of bluebells
Clumps of snowdrops
Clusters of purple blossoms
Red and orange berries
Spikes of quivering, yellow petals
Bright red rhododendron flowers
Like a carpet of jewels – rubies, sapphires and opals
Glistening icicles
Dew-soaked grass like a field of liquid diamonds
Thick jungle of dense forest
Dark, tangled maze of tunnels and secret paths
Spidery knot of trees and bushes
Thick, gnarled trunks
Huge, thick limbs
Bleached skeletons of dead trees
Roots like enormous, wooden tentacles
Like ghostly, stooped figures
Like feathery shadows
Sharply pointed tips like fingernails
Carpet of decay
Rotting leaves and dead branches
Writhing carpet of buzzing, crawling insects
Blanket of fog
Eerie, greenish gloom
PHRASES – VERBS
Spread out above him
Stretched as far as the eye could see
Framed the deep blue sky
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Landscapes: forests and woods 1
Impossible to find a way through
Couldn’t tell one part of the forest from the rest
Formed dark tunnels
Created secret paths
Hid many secrets
Swayed to the rhythm of the wind
Danced on gusts of frosty air
Tossed their branches
Flung their leaves up to the sky
Arched in the wind
Trailed their leaves on the ground
Hung like swaying feathers
Waved like hundreds of tiny hands
Floated to the ground
Creepers hung between the branches
Alive with splashes of red and orange berries
Covered in butterflies
Stretched like a carpet of jewels
Lay like a carpet of confetti
Cloaked with purple heather
Dotted with red poppies
Sun danced on the leaves
Bathed in light
Dripped stalactites of colour
Shone with patches of misty light
Painted the ground with flickering shadows
Branches spread and twisted together like a prehistoric beast
Ivy choked the twisted tree
Thorns knotted amongst the trees and bushes
Twisted and grated against each other like rusty hinges
Blocked the path
Strangled the paths
Littered the ground
Burst from the ground
Wriggled across the forest floor
Shrouded in mist
Cloaked in a blanket of darkness
Tore at their arms and legs
Grasped at her ankles like bony fingers
Pressed in on him on all sides
Trapped her in its thorny grasp
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1 Landscapes: forests and woods
SENTENCES
The majestic trees stood tall and proud.
The trees were joined together like a crowd of vivid green umbrellas.
The magnificent trees flung their branches up to the sun to frame the deep blue sky.
A white blanket of snowdrops danced on gusts of frosty air.
They were welcomed by wave after wave of the gently nodding heads of daffodils.
The ground was painted with red poppies and yellow gorse.
The hedge was alive with splashes of red and orange berries.
Hanging from every branch were icicles that glistened like liquid diamonds.
The branches swayed to the rhythm of the wind and their leaves fluttered like graceful
butterflies.
The petals had been shaken off the bush and lay like a carpet of pink confetti on the floor.
As they entered the wood, they were greeted by the bowed heads of a blazing carpet of
bluebells.
It was impossible to move quickly through the spidery tangle of trees and bushes.
The brambles and thorns tore at their arms and legs.
The forest floor was a writhing carpet of buzzing, crawling insects.
An eerie, greenish gloom filled the clearing.
Patches of misty light shone through the gaps in the trees.
The leaves glowed in the early morning light like hundreds of tiny hands.
The bonfire blazed in the background. A thousand flickering shadows painted the
ground.
Rotting leaves hid the roots that wriggled across the ground.
The forest was a dark, tangled maze and it was impossible to find a way through.
The branches of the thick, tangled trees had spread and twisted to form dark, overhead
tunnels and created secret paths.
The ceiling of thick branches shut out the sky and covered the path in darkness.
The dead branches rose up and grasped at her ankles like bony fingers.
The branches twisted and grated against each other like rusty hinges.
Like some prehistoric beast, the huge, twisted limbs of the tree guarded the entrance.
Pressing in on her from all sides, it seemed that the forest was trying to trap her in its
thorny grasp.
As it drifted through the forest, the fog made eerie shapes and shadows.
Cloaked in mist, the trees looked like ghostly, stooped figures.
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2
Mountains
WORDS
Nouns Top, peak, summit
Slope, climb, drop, ascent, descent
Rock-face, rocks, slabs, boulders, pillars, arches, ridges, humps
Snow, ice, clouds, mist, fog, blanket, cloak, veil
Streams, waterfalls, valleys, meadows
Adjectives Tall, high, huge, soaring, enormous, massive, gigantic, towering
Amazing, majestic, magical, spectacular, breathtaking, enchanting,
magnificent, picturesque, snow-capped
Sharp, pointed, rough, stony, rocky, uneven, rugged, jagged, savage,
shark-finned
Steep, vertical, sheer
Dangerous, deadly, harsh, hostile, imposing, lethal, perilous,
threatening, ominous, menacing, treacherous
Black, dark, gloomy, inky, creepy, ghostly, shadowy, eerie, haunting
Slippery, polished, shimmering, glinting
Verbs Rose, fell, soared, towered, framed, surrounded
Burst, thundered, erupted, pierced, slashed, gashed
Carved, worn, sculpted, split, torn, ripped, cracked, shattered
Sparkled, shimmered
Covered, hidden, wrapped, enveloped, swathed, shrouded
Climbed, crawled, crept, edged, slid, scrambled, slithered
PHRASES – NOUNS AND ADJECTIVES
Majestic mountains
Huge, snow-capped mountains
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2 Landscapes: mountains
Magical world of shimmering snow
Spectacular views
Paths of shimmering pillars and arches
Cascading waterfalls
Lush, green meadows
Green valleys
Streams like silver ribbons
Wooden chalets
Picturesque mountain village
Black, deadly mountains
Huge, hostile mountains
Towering peaks
Savage summits
Bleak, perilous peaks
Shark-finned ridges
Snow-capped summit
Like gigantic spearheads
Like the humps of a gigantic dinosaur
Like menacing, black daggers
Enormous peaks like arrowheads
Hunched shoulders of the craggy mountain
Black boulders of jagged rock
Haunting maze of glinting ice and rock
Inky black maze of steep, rugged paths
Shattered, jagged boulders and unstable rock-falls
Steep, rocky slopes
Sheer drop
Veil of mist
Ghostly blanket of dark clouds
PHRASES – VERBS
Rose to meet the sky
Surrounded by breathtaking summits
Soared above her
Towered above the village
Framed by the mountain’s majestic peaks
Had a spectacular view
Split, cracked and carved by the magic of nature
Thundered towards the sky
Pierced the sky
Slashed the land
Loomed ahead
Burst out of the forest
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Landscapes: mountains 2
Rose like a black beacon
Erupted in sharp points
Huddled tightly together
Crowded in on them
Crushed them in its stony mouth
Walls glistened with damp
Polished into dangerous, slippery slopes
Shattered by nature into jagged blades
Blocked the path
Shrouded in mist
Enveloped in thick storm clouds
Hostile peaks jumped out of the mist
Gloomy, brooding summit lay in wait
Wound his way over
Edged their way to the top
Scrambled up the sheer, rugged slopes
Slithered down the bare slopes
Tore their hands and knees on the jagged rocks
SENTENCES
Towering, snow-capped mountains rose to meet the sky.
He was surrounded by the soaring summits of the majestic mountains.
A magical world of shimmering snow towered above the wooden chalets of the
mountain village.
From high up on the summit of the mountain, they had a spectacular view of green
meadows and streams like silver ribbons.
Split, cracked and carved by the magic of nature, the rocks had created a path of
shimmering pillars and arches.
The huge, hostile mountain pierced the sky.
Mountains, like gigantic spearheads, towered above her.
The top of the mountain was covered by a ghostly blanket of dark clouds.
The steep slopes rose towards the shark-finned ridges of the huge mountain.
The snow-capped summit of the mountain soared above her and to reach it she knew
she would have to climb the sheer, deadly slopes.
Enormous boulders of jagged rock blocked the path and he had to wind his way over and
through the inky black maze.
Like huge black daggers, the savage summits burst out of the trees.
The mountains loomed ahead like a giant black shadow, their peaks like huge, pointed
black teeth waiting to crush him in their stony mouth.
The steep path glistened with damp – polished by nature into dangerous, slippery slopes.
He was faced by a haunting maze of ice and rock, glimmering white, stark and hostile.
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3
Caves
WORDS
Nouns Mouth, opening, entrance
Hill, rock, path, tunnels, maze, labyrinth, gallery
Ceiling, roof, walls, floor
Crystals, diamonds, icicles, stalactites, stalagmites
Adjectives Giant, enormous, amazing, spectacular, magnificent
White, shimmering, glittering
Dark, black, gloomy, shadowy, ghostly, eerie
Slippery, damp
Verbs Bent, wound, twisted, turned, coiled
Hung, rose, covered
Glistened, shimmered, polished
PHRASES – NOUNS AND ADJECTIVES
Entrance to an enormous cave
Huge, shimmering stalactites
Stalagmites like giant spikes
Glittering gallery of white crystals
Entrance to the cave was like a ghostly, black hole
Like a silent, screaming mouth
Inky black maze of dangerous, slippery paths
Low, dark tunnels
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Landscapes: caves 3
PHRASES – VERBS
Wound underground
Tunnels twisted and turned
Hung from the roof
Floor covered in stalagmites
Crystal spikes rose from the gloom
Hidden behind thick, tangled vines
Glistened with damp
Polished into dangerous, slippery paths
Lit only by the narrow beam of light from the torch
SENTENCES
The tunnel suddenly opened out into a glittering gallery of white crystals.
Hidden behind thick, tangled vines was the mouth of a low cave.
The cave was a winding, underground maze of low, dark tunnels.
Stalagmites, like giant crystal spikes, covered the floor and rose out of the gloom.
Hanging from the roof, like enormous diamonds, were huge, shimmering stalactites.
The cave was a black hole – a silent, screaming mouth in the face of the rocky hill.
Lit only by the narrow beam of light from the torch, the cave was a ghostly, black hole.
Where water had leaked in from the rocks, the walls and floor glistened with damp.
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