Task 22. Read, translate and analyze the text.

THE CAT FAMILY

Family Felidae, a group of carnivorous mammals, includes true cats – lion, tiger, jaguar, leopard, puma, and domestic cat – and the cheetah. Cats typically have soft fur, often strikingly patterned.

The history of the cat family dates back to the Late Eocene Epoch (43.6 to 36.6 million years ago). The early cats were already typical cats at a time when the ancestors of most other modern mammalian types were hardly recognizable.

In 1916 R.I.Pocock divided the living cats into two groups. In one group of cats the epihyal fails to develop and is represented only by a threadlike ligament, so that tongue and larynx are loosely attached to the base of the skull. The representatives of this group are tiger, lion, jaguar, leopard, and ounce (snow leopard), which are placed together in the genus Panthera. These cats are unable to purr; their voice is a roar. The pupils of their eyes are round.

The representatives of the second group (the genus Felis) are characterised by the developed epihyal; all such cats can purr but do not roar. The pupil is usually vertical but may be round in a few species. This group includes the mountain lion and the numerous kinds of smaller cats including the domestic cats. Some authorities do not consider Panther and Felis to be distinct genera. The canada lynx and bobcat are often placed in a separate genus. Lynx. The cheetah differs from other cats in different ways – it is placed alone in the genus Acinonyx. The cats are well-coordinated animals – they almost always land on their feet when they fall. The brain is large and highly developed. The tongue in all cats has a patch of sharp, backward-directed spines near the tip. They help the cat lap up liquids and groom itself. Cats have no flat-crowned crushing teeth and thus cannot chew their food but instead cut it up. All cats (except the cheetah) have strong, sharp, retractile claws.

Cats can move very fast in a short dash but they are not built for sustained speed. The cheetah is considered to be the speediest of mammals, capable to develop speeds of 100-110 km per hour. Cats differ in their reaction to water: the lion and leopard are reluctant to enter it although they can swim when they must. House cats do not dislike water but react adversely to being chilled or doused with cold water.

Task 23 Answer the following questions:

1. What mammals does family Felidae include?

2. When did the history of the cat family start?

3. What two groups did R.I.Pocock divide the living cats into?

4. What are the cats?

5. What tongue does the cat have?

6. What mammal is the speediest?

7. How do the cats react to water?

CAT'S WEAPON

Aboard the first Roman galleys that brought the soldiers who invaded and conquered England were... CATS. They, too, invaded England, and eventually conquered the whole British Isles. But unlike the Romans, cats have never known a decline and fall. What was the secret weapon that gave the cats their victory? In a word... service. They served mankind, as nothing else could, in protecting food stores from the ravages of rodents.

This may sound trivial today, but in ancient times a plague of rats could mean starvation for whole communities. Rats are so clever and cunning that they could defy the efforts of men to hunt them down.

There were then no effective, safe-to-use poisons. The rats were dominant, with no natural enemies numerous enough to fight back their hordes. Until the cat, with sharper teeth and claws, with incredible speed and agility, with patience and cunning, came to the rescue.

The cats were brought by the Romans to protect food supplies aboard the galleys. When the colonization of England was complete, there was hardly a Roman villa, or granary without its cat. Even today, remains of Roman cats are sometimes found buried near the sites of ancient Roman camps and houses. It is certain that these original Roman cats, which were already domesticated and at least partially dependent on man for their food, strayed into the English forests, where they mated with English own native wild cats. This combination produced even better "ratters" and "mousers" and they are the ancestors of English present-day cats. Because of their service to men, cats have from time to time had the full protection of the law. To kill or harm one was a serious offence. In fact, the first written record of the introduction of domestic cats into the country was about the year A.D. 935, when Hywel Dda, Prince of South Wales, made laws to save them from being killed for their fur.

There were also laws about the price of a cat, which rose from a penny to twopence when it made its first kill. This was, possibly, about ￡4 of today's money.

To kill a cat, even accidentally, meant a fine of anything up to 50 bushels of corn... the amount it was estimated that it might save from rodents in a year. So when you see a cat basking in the glow of a warm fire, don't think of it as a lazy, good-for-nothing puss. Its forebears worked for men and saved men from starvation throughout the centuries, and earned the reward that English wellfed, often-stroked, mollycoddled and languid pets enjoy today.

Task 24 Answer the following questions:

1. How were cats brought to England?

2. What was the secret weapon that gave the cats their victory?

3. What could a plague of rats mean in ancient times?

4. What animals were dominant?

5. What cats are the ancestors of English present-day cats?

6. When was the first written record of the information about domestic cats?

7. What was the price of the cat?

8. What was the fine for killing a cat?

9. What did cats forebears earn?

PROGRESS CHECK

I. Read the text and find the sentences containing Par­ticiple I, Participle II, the Gerund, the Infinitive and state their function.

Animal husbandry is an important component of modern agriculture.

Animal husbandry is the agricultural practice of breed­ing and raising livestock. Livestock is the term used to refer to a domesticated animal reared in an agricultural setting to produce food or fibre, or for animal's labour.

The science of animal husbandry is taught in many uni­versities and colleges around the world. Students of animal science may pursue degrees in veterinary medicine following graduation, or go on to pursue master's degrees or doctor­ates in disciplines such as genetics and breeding, or repro­ductive physiology. Graduates of these programmes may be found working in the veterinary and human pharmaceutical industries, the livestock and pet supply and feed industries, or in academia.

The mission is to provide the community with high qual­ity services that will support the relationship between people and their pets. One of our key roles is to implement govern­ment policies aimed at preventing or managing outbreak of serious animal diseases and in doing so support the farming industry, protect the welfare of farmed animals and safe­guard public health from animal borne disease.

Points — 9.