A Talk with an Experienced Gardener

A:	I’ve heard you’re an experienced gardener. You see I’ve bought some pear-tree saplings. Can you give me some pieces of advice?
B:	With pleasure. Where would you like to plant them out?
A:	Just near my weekend house.
B:	Are there many fruit trees there?
A:	Five apple-trees, three cherry-trees, two apricot-trees and a plum-tree.
B:	While choosing the place remember about the distance between the trees. It shouldn’t be less than three metres.
A:	What garden tools are necessary for this work?
B:	You just need a spade to dig a hole. Don’t forget about fertiliser and water.
A:	Is it a favourable time for planting trees now?
B:	Exactly.
A:	Thanks a lot.
B:	Good luck. I hope in a few years you’ll taste your own pears.

 

b) You’re going to plant out some seedlings of tomatoes. You ask your neighbour for some pieces of advice. Role play the conversation.

 

sPEAKING TASK

Speak about your experience in gardening.

LANGUAGE FOCUS

Past Simple Tense

Put the verb in brackets in the correct Simple Past form (regular verbs).

My grandfather had a very exciting life. When he was young, he _____ (live) on a farm in the country. His parents _____ (raise) cattle, and he _____ (look) after the cows. When he was eighteen, he went to university, where he _____ (study) Philosophy. He also _____ (play) the trumpet in a jazz band. When the war started, he _____ (try) to join the Air Force, but he _____ (end) up in the Navy. In the Atlantic, a German torpedo _____ (rip) a hole in the side of his ship, and the ship sank. Only five men _____ (escape). They _____ (sail) in a lifeboat back to England. Then he met my grandmother, and they _____ (marry) after only three weeks.

 

Put the verb in the Past Simple tense (irregular verbs).

1) My little nephew _____ (wake) me up at 6 o'clock in the morning.

2) Our football team _____ (lose) its last match.

3) We _____ (spend) last summer holidays in the Crimea.

4) Is Sam in? Sorry, she _____ (leave) the office about 15 minutes ago.

5) My new gold watch _____ (cost) a fortune.

6) Her mother once _____ (see) Marilyn Monroe in Los Angeles.

7) Last year I _____ (go) to England on holiday. It _____ (be) fantastic.

8) His wife _____ (teach) English at school when they lived in Glasgow.

 

Change these present tense sentences into the Past Simple tense replacing words underlined by the words inside brackets.

1) The flight leaves Birmingham airport every morning at 9.45am. (yesterday)

2) John goes to see Mary at weekends. (last weekend)

3) We see them every week. (a month ago)

4) We love going on holiday to the beach in summer. (last summer)

5) He has English three times a week. (last Tuesday)

Make the sentences negative.

1) I drank milk for breakfast yesterday.

2) She sold her house last week.

3) They swam in the river many times last summer.

4) Tom worked as a sales manager for a year.

5) It rained here last autumn.

6) She ate all my chocolates yesterday.

7) My friends were at the Picasso exhibition in Paris last month.

8) Her sister taught me how to drive two years ago.

Change these Past Simple affirmative sentences to questions.

1) They went to see the new film last night

2) The Town Hall sold all their official cars last week

3) The hypermarket was open every Sunday during December.

4) The computer worked perfectly this week.

5) I caught the bus to work today.

6) It was wet and cold again.

7) I had a lovely shower in the hotel this morning.

8) The world was a better place a hundred years ago.

Write questions for the following answers.

1) _____________________? He got up at 8.20 am.

2) _____________________? She bought a present.

3) _____________________? No, we were at the disco.

4) _____________________? They went to the cinema.

5) _____________________? Because it was very hot.

6) _____________________? They had lunch in a restaurant.

7) _____________________? I saw John in the park.

8) _____________________? Yes, because I was sick.

9) _____________________? No, they didn’t.

10) _____________________? Yes, we were.

Fill in the gaps (use the verbs in parentheses in Past Simple).

1) I _____ (work) in a bank ten years ago.

2) Where _____ (you/live) when you were young?

3) She _____ (not/study) French at university.

4) He _____ (travel) through the Middle East last year.

5) _____ (they/visit) the Louvre in Paris?

6) She _____ (not/watch) TV yesterday.

7) What _____ (you/eat) for lunch?

8) He _____ (try) to lift the box but he couldn't.

9) He _____ (not/think) that he was right.

10) _____ (she/swim) in the sea in Greece?

 

Unit 9 Modern Farm
	Vocabulary in Use Modern Farm Language Focus Future Simple Tense. Will/Be going to

Vocabulary In Use

Match the name of the farm and crops or animals raised there.

1) market garden 2) orchard 3) vineyard 4) stable 5) dairy farm 6) poultry farm 7) apiary 8) fish farm 9) plantation

a) grapes b) cows c) vegetables d) cotton, tobacco, sugar cane e) chickens, ducks, turkeys f) salmon, cod, carp g) fruits or nuts h) horses i) bees

There are many different types of farms. But they all may be grouped into three. Match farms and their descriptions.

Crop (arable) farms Livestock farms Mixed farms

... use land for growing crops (vegetables, fruit, cereals). ... have both livestock and crops. ... involve raising and caring for farm animals.

 

What do different farm animals produce? Complete the table.

Cattle	Farm birds	Sheep	Bees
beef	...	...	...

 

Beef, eggs, wax, poultry, hide, mutton, honey, milk, feather, veal, wool.

Match the words and their definitions.

1) pasture 2) breed 3) cattle 4) herd 5) silage 6) nutrients

a) animal feed that can be stored during winter; b) vitamins, minerals, and natural chemicals that living things need to grow and be healthy; c) a large area of fenced-in land for grazing animals; d) a type of animal that is different from the rest of its kind, and passes these unique characteristics on to its offspring; e) number of animals (esp. cattle) feeding or going about together; f) cows and bulls that are kept as farm animals for their milk or meat

 

Use the words below to fill in the gaps.

milk pastures nutrients

crops herds breeds

milking machines cheese, butter, yogurt

1) Cattle are often raised in _____.

2) Cattle often graze on _____.

3) Many farmers grow _____ to feed their cows.

4) Dairy farms are farms where cows of certain _____ are raised to make _____.

5) Milk can be processed into products like _____.

6) Many farmers add extra _____ (vitamins and minerals) to the cows’ feed.

7) Farmers milk their cows with _____.

 

READING AND speaking

Match the verbs with their Ukrainian equivalents.

1) to manage 2) to pasteurize 3) to homogenize 4) to refrigerate 5) to process 6) to affect

a) переробляти b) охолоджувати c) пастеризувати d) впливати e) управляти f) гомогенізувати

 

Read the text.

Modern Farm

Tony Clark is a farmer. He owns a cattle farm where he raises dairy cows. Tony has been in business for forty years and has many satisfied customers. His dairy farm is a family farm and the whole family work there. There are about sixty cows on the farm. Tony manages his herd to get a high quality product for his customers.

The Clarks milk their cows twice a day with the milking machines. The milk never touches the air in the barn. It is drawn through glass pipes into a large refrigerated tank in the milk house. Every other day, a tractor trailer comes to pick up the milk and take it to the processing plant. At the processing plant, the milk is pasteurized, homogenized and packaged, or processed in different dairy products like butter, cheese, cream or yogurt.

Each of Tony’s cows gives about fifty to sixty pounds of milk a day. Tony needs to know when a cow will give birth, because that affects milk production. A cow produces the most milk about four months after giving birth. Then she produces less and less until the milk stops six weeks or so before her next calf is born. A cow can live to be ten years old and may have seven or eight calves in her lifetime.

The family stay busy in many ways. Milking equipment, the barn and the cows must be maintained and kept very clean. Visitors from the health department make visits to the farm to ensure that the farm’s milking system and milk meet the high quality standards.

Tony Clark raises corn, red clover and alfalfa hay for his herd to eat. It helps him save some money. The farmer feeds livestock with grazing and giving them feed. When he feeds his cows, he tries very hard to feed them things that help them grow. He adds vitamins, minerals, and protein so that the animals stay healthy and produce larger amounts of good quality milk.

A cow’s health is watched more closely than the health of most people. The veterinarian visits the farm monthly to check the herd.

As one can see farming is a full-time job. Farmers cannot just leave for a vacation and have someone else take up their responsibilities. Tony says, “I don't think that we've had a good vacation for at least two or three years. We've only had a few days here and there - but just get up and go somewhere different.”

Answer the questions.

1) What is Clark’s business?

2) How many cows are there in the herd?

3) How does Tony Clark manage his herd?

4) How often do the Clarks milk their cows?

5) What do they do with the milk?

6) How much milk does each cow give?

7) Why is it important to know when a cow will give birth?

8) In what way does the calf’s birth affect milk production?

9) Why is cleanliness very important to dairy farmers?

10) What does Tony feed his cows with?

11) How often does the veterinarian visit Tony’s cows?

12) Does dairy farming take much time?

9. Find in the text the words and word combinations which mean:

молочні корови, сімейна ферма, високоякісний продукт, доїти двічі на день, скляні трубки, охолоджена цистерна, переробний завод, впливати на виробництво молока, корівник, відповідати високим стандартам якості, вирощувати кукурудзу, конюшину та люцерну, заощадити гроші, оглядати стадо, брати відповідальність.