Post-reading tasks:

Task 1. Answer the following questions.

1. What is the root?

2. What is the most common type of root?

3. What are root hairs?

4. How would you define the stem?

5. How does a stem usually develop?

6. What types of stems do you know?

7. What is the leaf?

8. Describe the structure of the leaf.

9. Which plant has the longest leaves?

10. What is the primary activity of green leaves?

Task 2. Complete the following sentences.

1. Roots have two major functions…

2. Absorption of water and nutrient materials…

3. The tip is usually covered with…

4. The root hairs are…

5. The midrib is several times …

6. In the lower epidermis there are openings called …

7. A stem develops from …

8. Leaves and branches occur only at certain places on the stem called…

9. The part of the stem between two nodes is …

10. In some species slender stems end in thick structures known as…

Task 3. Say if the following statements are correct. If not give the right variant.

1. Roots have two major functions – to anchor the plant and to carry on photosynthesis.

2. A typical root usually possesses a single main root and numerous lateral roots.

3. Elongation of the root occurs in absorbing region with the help of hairs.

4. Under certain conditions roots may appear on stems and leaves.

5. Tap root usually grows directly downward, but lateral roots grow horizontally.

6. During dormant periods one can easily see leaves on the stem.

7. In some species of plants such slender stems end in thick structures known as tubers.

8. Between the upper and lower epidermis there are several layers of the mesophyll.

9. After the opening of the buds, leaves double their size within five hours.

10. The primary activity of green leaves is the manufacture of food from certain simple inorganic materials.

Task 4. Match the terms with their definitions.

1. node	a) undeveloped leaf
2. leaf scar	b) stems that use support for growth
3. runner	c) an enlarged underground root or stem
4. dormant period	d) a scar left on a stem after leaf
5. root cap	e) a hair-like outgrowth from the epidermis of roots
6. twining stems	f) a structure found at the apex of all root (except those of many water plants)
7. tuber	g) a long, slender stem running along the surface of the ground
8. midrib	h) the part of the shoot of vascular plants from which are produced leaves at regular intervals (nodes) and reproductive structure
9. root hair	i) a period in which seeds and underground stems reduce their metabolic activities to a minimum level during unfavorable conditions
10. stem	j) the part of a plant stem where leaves are attached or may develop from buds
11. photosynthesis	k) large vein near the middle of the blade
12. bud	l) the process by which plants convert carbon dioxide and water into organic chemicals using the energy of light, with the release of oxygen

Task 5. Put the following words and word-combinations in the sentences below

aerial plants

penetrate

root hairs

nutrients

root systems

1. … are less extensive in compact soils.

2. Most land plants possess roots which branch freely and … the soil in all directions.

3. The root provides anchorage for the …, absorbs water and mineral salts from the soil, conducts water and water and …to other parts of the plant.

4. … occur in large numbers in a zone behind the growing tip, are sort-lived, and greatly increase the absorbing area of the root.

TRANSLATION: Translate the sentences into English.

Основными органами растений, связывающими их с окружающей средой, являются корень, стебель, листья и цветы. Корень служит для закрепления растений в почве и усвоения из почвы воды и питательных веществ. Состоит из главного и боковых корней, на кончиках которых имеется большое количество корневых волосков, всасывающих питательные растворы из почвы. Стебель служит опорой для всех надземных частей растения, а также является проводником воды и питательных растворов от корней к листьям, и выработанных листьями органических веществ - от листьев к корням и всем другим частям растения. На стебле находятся почки, листья, цветки и плоды. Лист - это орган фотосинтеза, газообмена и испарения. Кроме того, он может служить хранилищем запасных питательных веществ, органом размножения и движения. Состоит из листовой пластинки и черешка, иногда без него, бывает простой и сложный, разнообразен по форме, окраске. Цветок для растения — это орган размножения.

WRITING: Plants are composed of three main body parts–not arms, legs, and a head like humans, but instead leaves, stems, and roots. Work in groups and write an essay on one of the following topics:

• Define and describe roots;

• Define and describe stems;

• Define and describe leaves.