I Mechanization of Agriculture

At the dawn of history man practiced the most elementary methods of improving soil structure. He used the most primitive cultivating devices: a sharpened stick, a simple hoe, a primitive plow.

In agriculture the use first of water power and then of steam had stipulated the invention of machinery supplementing or replacing manual labor: a threshing machine, a mowing machine, a self-binder, and a potato-digger.

In the middle of the 18 th century farmers tried a moldboard plow. The mechanical corn planter and the self-binding reaper were designed in the 19 th century.

In 1897 Rudolf Diesel invented a new engine known as diesel. The most far-reaching invention for agriculture was the gasoline engine mounted on a farm tractor at the beginning of the 20 th century.

Modern agriculture is known for its full-scale mechanization of jobs requiring more intricate agricultural machinery.

Nowadays farmers use electric power to operate the electronic and automated equipment. Electric motors are used to run milking machines, irrigation pumps, and many other farm machines.

 

II Farm Machinery

A farmer has a wide range of machinery to plow and disk, and harrow, and plant, and fertilize, and harvest faster, easier and more profitably today.

The machine is a device that uses force to accomplish some work. Agricultural implements and machines may be divided into 4 main groups: tillage equipment, planting equipment, fertilizing equipment, harvesting equipment.

The aim of tillage is to prepare the seedbed for planting. The primary tillage equipment used for that includes ploughs, sub- soilers; the secondary tillage equipment encompasses harrows, rollers and tools for mulching and fallowing. Cultivation machinery is used to break down the soil, to cover seeds, to hoe out weeds. There are several types of cultivators: beet and bean cultivators, rod weeders, rotary hoe cultivators, and others. Planting equipment is introduced to place seeds or plant parts. It is classified as row crop planters, broad cast planters, grain drill etc. Such fertilizing equipment as manure spreaders, fertilizer distributors, and sprayers are used for applying fertilizers. Crops are harvested with the use of combine-harvesters, potato- diggers, etc.

A tractor is the most important machine on the farm. The power of the tractor is transmitted to an implement by means of power-take-off-shaft. The tractors can be divided into the wheeled tractors and crawlers. Wheeled tractors may be further subdivided into standard and row-crop types.

Every implement or machine has many component parts such as engine, transmission system, hydraulic system, clutch, gearbox, differential, filter, pump, cylinder, and others.

 

Text Based Assignments

Language Study

(А) Упражнение 1. Найдите в каждой группе слов слово, которое объединяет остальные.

a) Plow, tool, harrow, sub-soiler, roller, agricultural implement;

b) Wheeled tractor, crawler, machinery, combine harvester;

c) To plow, to disk, to do some agricultural work, to harrow, to plant, to harvest, to fertilize.

 

(А) Упражнение 2. Выберите английский эквивалент для следующих слов.

1) Вспашка: plow, plowing, plowed, plough;

2) Навесной: mounted, mounting, mount, mountain;

3) Плодородный: fertilizer, fertilization, fertilize, fertilizing, fertile;

4) Дифференциал: differential, different, differ, difference.

 

(А) Упражнение 3. Переведите следующие словосочетания, образованные по модели N+N (чего), N of N (чего), N+N (какой).

The use of water power, the invention of machinery, farm tractor, mechanization of jobs, irrigation pump, the aim of tillage, beat cultivator, grain drill, manure spreader, the power of a tractor, transmission system.

 

(А) Упражнение 4. Переведите следующие словосочетания, образованные по модели Adj+N (какой).

 

Primitive devices, manual labor, new engine, electric power, agricultural implement electronic equipment.

 

(А) Упражнение 5. Образуйте существительные от глаголов и переведите их, используя модель.

Модель: To plant – planting (посадка)

 

To improve, to cultivate, to plow, to supplement, to replace, to mow, to fertilize, to harvest, to fallow.

(А) Упражнение 6. Образуйте слова разных частей речи, используя модель. Переведите их на русский язык.

Модель: to plant (сажать) – plant (растение) – planter (посевная машина) - planting (посадка) – planted (посаженный).

To plow, to till, to fertilize, to dig, to transmit, to roll, to cultivate, to distribute, to apply, to spray.

 

(А) Упражнение 7. Образуйте слова при помощи суффикса - er. Какой частью речи они являются, что они обозначают.

To farm, to bind, to reap, to plant, to roll, to weed, to harvest, to dig.

 

(В) Упражнение 8. Найдите.

в части 1 текста А:

а)существительные, образованные от глаголов:

to farm, mechanize, to equip, to pump, to invent, to plow;

b)прилагательные образованные от существительных:

mechanic, agriculture, electricity;

в части 2 текста А:

а)глаголы, от которых образованы следующие существительные:

plow, plant, harrow, hoe, fertilizer;

b)существительные, образованные от глаголов:

to farm, to till, to cultivate, to plant, to distribute, to spread, to transmit.

 

(В) Упражнение 9. В следующей группе слов найдите слова, которые не относится к тексту.

Tractor, engineer, department, family, soil, seeds, crops, component parts, filter, plant-growing, pig-breeding, clutch, engine.

(В) Упражнение 10. Дополните предложения недостающими словами, данными в рамке.

crawler, seedbed, combine-harvester, farm machinery, hoe, engine, gearbox

 

1) Примитивным орудием людей был простой...

2) Новый... был изобретен Рудольфом Дизелем.

3) Сложная... используется сегодня на фермах.

4) Главное в первичной обработке почвы – это подготовка...

5) Сельскохозяйственные культуры убираются...

6)... используется при сложных погодных условиях.

7)... одна из составных частей трактора.

 

Text Study

(А) Упражнение 1. Определите, верны ли следующие высказывания (да/ нет).

1) At the dawn of history a man used the most intricate devices.

2) Steam power has stimulated the invention of electronic equipment.

3) Modern agriculture uses electric motors.

4) There are many groups of farm machinery.

5) Diggers are used to plant seeds.

6) Crawlers may be divided into standard and row-crop.

7) Fertilizing equipment is used to apply manure.

8) A machine has many component parts.

 

(А) Упражнение 2. Выберите правильные ответы на следующие вопросы (используйте информацию из текста).

1) How many types of tractors are there?

a) 2

b) 3

c) 4

2) What is the most important machine on a farm?

a) tractor

b) mower

c) crawler

3) How many groups of agricultural implements and machines are there?

a) 2

b) 4

c) 6

4) Who invented diesel engine?

a) R. Diesel

b) James Watt

c) John Deer

5) When was a mechanical corn planter invented?

a) In the 18 th century

b) in the 19 th century

c) in the 20 th century

 

(В) Упражнение 3. Закончите следующие предложения, используя информацию из текста.

1) The power of the tractor is transmitted by...

2) Farmers use farm machinery to...

3) The aim of tillage is...

4) The aim of cultivation is...

5) The aim of fertilizing is...

6) The aim of planting is...

7) The invention of gasoline engine was...

8) The primitive cultivating devices were...

9) The first agricultural machines were...

 

 

(В) Упражнение 4. Назовите.

1) 4 groups of agricultural machinery;

2) The inventions of 18-19 th centuries;

3) Types of power;

4) Agricultural operations;

5) Types of tractors;

6) Component parts of machines;

7) Agricultural machines.

(В, С) Упражнение 5. Заполните таблицу, используя информацию из текста.

machine	function	sphere of application
plow	to prepare seedbed	tillage
sharpened stick
hoe
potato-digger
corn planter
tractor
beet cultivator
sprayer
grain drill
combine harvester

 

(С) Упражнение 6. Дайте определение следующим словам (используйте текст).

· Machine;

· Tillage;

· Beet cultivator;

· Bean cultivator;

· Potato-digger.

 

(С) Упражнение 7. Сравните.

1) Primitive devices and modern devices;

2) Water, steam power and electric power;

3) Tillage equipment and cultivation machinery;

4) Planting equipment and fertilizing equipment;

5) Combine-harvesters and potato-diggers.

 

(С) Упражнение 8. Дополните следующие утверждения. Объясните свое мнение.

Утверждение	Почему?
People began using more efficient devices and methods of work.	----

 

Утверждение	Почему?
New engine known as gasoline brought many changes in agriculture.	----
Modern agriculture is highly mechanized.	----
Different types of harvesting equipment are used.	----
Different types of fertilizing equipment are used.	-----
Different types of cultivating equipment are used.	-----

 

DISCUSSION

(А) Упражнение 1. К каким периодам в развитии сельскохозяйственного машиностроения относятся эти даты.

ü In the middle of 18 th century;

ü In 1897;

ü At the down of history;

ü In the 19 th century;

ü At the beginning of 20 th century.

 

(А, В, С) Упражнение 2. Расскажите о:

1) History of farm mechanization;

2) The types of power that were of the greatest significance for mankind;

3) Groups of agricultural machines;

4) The main machine on the farm.

 

(А, В, С) Упражнение 3. Ответьте на следующие вопросы.

1) What were the most primitive agricultural devices?

2) What were the first agricultural machines that used water and steam power?

3) How did the invention of Rudolf Diesel change the agriculture?

4) What type of power is used today in agriculture?

5) What agricultural operations does a farmer do?

6) What agricultural implements and machines does a farmer use today?

7) What machine is used to pull many kinds of agricultural implements?

 

(А, В, С) Упражнение 4. Составьте план текста и перескажите его по плану.

(В, С) Упражнение 5. Назовите факты из текста, которые:

а) Были вам известны;

b) Вас удивили;

c) Были для вас новыми;

d) Вы недавно узнали на занятиях по специальным предметам.

(С) Упражнение 6. Дополните своей информацией факты, описанные в тексте.