Прочтите текст и выполните следующие за ним упражнения.

Text B

Plant growing

1. Prehistoric people lived by hunting, fishing, and gathering wild plants. Then about 8000 B.C. they took the first steps toward agriculture. Some of them discovered that plants could be grown from seeds. They also discovered that they could raise crops during most of the year if they used river water for irrigation, then they developed new farming methods, e.g. systems of crop rotation, they began to grow new varieties of crops due to voyages and discoveries.

2. Since the early 1900s, plant breeders have developed a great number of hybrid crops that produced high yields. This period was called the Green Revolution.

3. Almost since the beginning of agriculture, farmers have used various substances to enrich the soil and to kill insect pests. Since 1700s, scientists have produced many kinds of synthetic chemicals for use in the agriculture: fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides, and chemicals to control plant and animal diseases.

4. Crops differ in the amount of nutrients and water they require for healthy growth. A farmer must make sure that the soil and water resources meet the needs of each crop, must plan measures to control pests which could damage or ruin a crop. Most farmers plan their methods of soil and water management and pest control well in advance of the growing season.

5. To be fertile, the soil must consist of the right mixture of minerals, organic matter, and helpful microbes, and have the proper amount of air and water. The richest soil lies at and just below the surface. If it is not protected, it may be blown away by winds or washed away by rains- a process called erosion.

6. Crops can not grow without water. In dry areas farmers must irrigate their crops; fields that tend to collect water must have a drainage system.

7. Most farmers control pests with chemicals called pesticides. Each one is designed to fight certain types of weeds, plant diseases, or harmful insects. Plant scientists have developed the varieties of crops that are more resistant to diseases and insects.

8. Crop farming involves at least five separate operations: preparing the soil, planting, cultivating, harvesting and processing and storage.

9. The main purpose of soil preparation is to make a seedbed where a crop will sprout, take roots, and grow. Most farmers make the seedbed by a process called tillage.

10. Some fertilizers and pesticides are applied to the soil during planting. Farmers control weeds which may develop with crops during the cultivating. Crops are harvested with special machines.

11. Many crops tend to spoil quickly, and so farmers ship these crops to the market as soon as possible after harvesting. Some of them can be stored in large storage bins or in airtight structures called silos.

12. Crops raised to supply food for human beings are called food crops. They are subdivided into eight groups. The main group is cereal grains (or cereals): barley, corn, millet, oats, rice, sorghum, wheat, rye. Various root crops make up the second group: beets, carrots, turnips, etc. Pulses (peas and beans), fruit and vegetables, oil-bearing crops (soybeans, coconuts), sugar-bearing crops (sugar beets, sugarcane), nuts, cocoa bens, coffee, and tea are the six remaining groups.

13. Crops raised to supply feed for livestock are called feed crops: corn, sorghum, soybeans, wheat, oats, and forage crops including alfalfa, clover, and many grasses.

14. Industrial crops are those that provide raw materials for further processing. Flax and cotton together with some tropical plants are the chief plant fibers.

(А) Упражнение 2. Определите, обсуждается ли данная ин­формация в тексте.

ü Группы продовольственных сельскохозяйственных культур.

ü Формула плодородной почвы.

ü Методы обработки и улучшения почвы в доисторический пе­риод.

ü Типы минеральных удобрений.

ü Проблема орошения почвы.

ü Типы сельскохозяйственных операций.

ü Проблема хранения и переработки сельскохозяйственной про­дукции.

ü Борьба с сорняками.

ü Борьба с насекомыми-вредителями.

(А, В) Упражнение 3. Подберите английские эквиваленты следующих слов и словосочетаний.

· Green revolution;

· To enrich the soil;

· Nutrients;

· Water management;

· Mixture of minerals, microbes, organic matter;

· To irrigate the soil;

· Drainage system;

· Soil preparation;

· To make a seedbed;

· To control weeds;

· To provide raw material;

· Plant fiber.

(А, В) Упражнение 4. Найдите в тексте названия профессий связанных с растениеводством и сельским хозяйством.

Модель: farmer- фермер, …

(В, С) Упражнение 5. Объясните.

Почему:

1) In dry areas farmers must irrigate their crops.

2) Farmers ship some crops to market as soon as possible.

3) Farmers use pesticides.

4) The soil must be protected.

5) Prehistoric people began to grow new varieties of crops.

 

Что:

1) Some prehistoric people discovered.

2) Some plant breeders developed since the early 1900s.

3) Some farmers used to enrich the soil and to kill insect pests.

4) Some scientists produced since 1700 s.

5) A farmer must plan.

6) Plant scientists developed.

7) Can be stored in silos.

 

Как:

1) Prehistoric people lived.

2) Crops raised to supply feed for livestock are called.

3) Industrial crops are used.

4) The soil is protected.

5) Crops are planted, harvested.

(В, С) Упражнение 6. Раскройте следующие понятия.

1) Soil = mineral + organic matter + helpful microbes;

2) Synthetic chemicals =...

3) Feed crops =...

4) Cereals =...

5) Industrial crops =...

6) Root crops =...

7) Farming methods =...

8) Farm operations =...

(А, В, С) Упражнение 7. Напишите, что вы узнали из текста о:

1) agriculture in 8000 B.C.;

2) farmers in 1900 s;

3) methods of farming in 1900s;

4) soil and its fertility;

5) controlling pests and diseases;

6) farming operations;

7) groups of crops.

 

 

(А, В, С) Упражнение 8. Выполните письменный перевод аб­зацев, информация которых вас больше всего заинтересовала.

Прочтите текст С и выполните задания к нему.

Text C

Livestock breeding

Livestock are raised in every country and supply nearly all the world’s foodstuff. Intensification of animal husbandry- better feeding and selection, introduction of the achievements of science and advanced methods, and greater mechanization- ensures a constant increase in the output of animal products.

Prehistoric tribes discovered that certain animals could be tamed and then raised in captivity. This discovery marked the beginning of the domestication of animals. The selective breeding of animals began in Europe during the Roman times. Many special-purpose livestock breeds were developed. During the early 1700s, a great change in farming called the Industrial Revolution began bringing advances in livestock breeding by means of developing new better breeds.

Livestock breeders have introduced many improved lines since the early 1900s. Nutrition specialists have developed better livestock feeds, and veterinarians have improved the methods of health care. All these advances continue to make livestock more and more productive.

The chief kinds of livestock raised throughout the world are cattle, hogs, poultry, sheep, and horses. The science of raising, breeding and caring for livestock is called animal science.

In most parts of the world the livestock provide such food products as meat, butter, cheese, eggs, and milk. The skins of some livestock provide such valuable by-products as fur, hair, leather, wool. Various organs of livestock supply drugs, animal fat can be processed into the livestock feed and soap, body wastes of livestock are used to fertilize the soil.

Feed, shelter, and the prevention of disease are the major concerns of livestock raisers. A balanced ration contains the nutrients that the animal needs for growth and good health: fats, minerals, protein, vitamins, and carbohydrates. Swine and poultry feed consists of various grains, concentrated plant and animal proteins, and by-products from food processing. Cattle and sheep eat grasses and legumes of pastureland, grain, hay and stalks of certain plants. Drugs called additives are blended with some feeds to increase their growth rate. Livestock requires the protection from severe weather so some of them need only a windbreak for shelter; others live in climate-controlled buildings. Scientists conduct many research programs to find the new ways of combating livestock diseases: bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses.

(В) Упражнение 1. Найдите в тексте предложения, подтвер­ждающие информацию о:

1) Зачатках животноводства в доисторический период;

2) Появлении селекции в эпоху Романской Империи;

3) Основных проблемах животноводов всего мира;

4) Разнообразии продукции животноводства;

5) Основных видах домашних животных.

 

(С) Упражнение 2. Прочтите следующее утверждение из тек­ста.

Livestock breeders have introduced many improved lines since early 1900s.