Autumn means different things to different people. "It all depends on your personality," said British naturalist Richard Mabey. "Personality shapes your view of the season," he said. "You may see it as a fading-away,a packing-up ,or as a time of packing in another sense--the exciting gathering of resources before a long journey."

If this is true,perhaps it tells us a little about,for instance,Thomas Hood,the 19th Century English poet. About November,he wrote:

No warmth,no cheerfulness,no healthful ease

No shade,no shine,no butterflies,no bees

November!

On the other hand,another English poet John Keats,already sensing he was seriously ill,was inspired by a late September day to pen one of the most famous poems in the English language,To Autumn. He wrote to a friend afterwards that there was something comforting and healing about it.

According to Richard Mabey,Keats has the biological evidence on his side. Autumn is not a time of slowing down,but a time of new beginnings and great movements of creatures. For example,just at the moment that Keats's "gathering swallows" ( in To Autumn)are departing for Africa,millions of creatures are fleeing from the frozen north like Iceland,Greenland and Russia to winter along the east and south coasts of Britain. According to scientists,before falling,the leaves transfer their chlorophyll and carbohydrates into the woody parts of the tree for safe keeping over winter. What remains is the natural antioxidants in the leaves: the yellow and orange carotenoids ,and another protective chemical specially produced for autumn,the bright-red anthocyanin .High colour is not a signal of deterioration and decline,but of detox ability and good health.

A century after Keats,the American poet Loren Eiseley wrote in his journal:

"Suppose we saw ourselves burning-like maples in a golden autumn. And that we could break up like autumn leaves...dropping their substance like chlorophyll. Wouldn't our attitude towards death be different?"

What are the answers to this following set of questions:

1. What season is being talked about?
2. What does Richard Mabey do?
3. What is his nationality?
4. Who wrote about November?
5. What was his occupation?
6. What was his nationality?
7. What time period did he live?
8. Who is the next poet mentioned?
9. What was his nationality?
10. Was his writing well known?
11. What was the name of his famous poem?
12. What inspired the poem?
13. Was he in good health when it was written?
14. Do things slow down in Autumn?
15. What happens to leaves before they fall?
16. What is left behind?
17. Is high color a bad thing?
18. What is it a sign of?
19. When did Loren Eiseley live?
20. What is his nationality?
21. What kind of evidence does Keats have on his side?
1. Autumn
2. he's a naturalist
3. British
4. Thomas Hood
5. poet
6. English
7. 19th Century
8. John Keats
9. English
10. Yes
11. To Autumn
12. a late September
13. No
14. No
15. leaves transfer their chlorophyll and carbohydrates into the woody parts of the tree
16. natural antioxidants
17. No
18. detox ability and good health
19. A century after Keats
20. American
21. biological