Post-reading tasks:

Task 1. Answer the following questions.

1. Why was A. Van Leeuwenhoek’s research so important?

2. Where are Paramecium commonly found?

3. In what way does a Paramecium resemble a plant cell, and what is the difference between them?

4. How does a Paramecium move from one place to another?

5. What do Paramecia feed on?

6. How do they respire?

7. How do they reproduce?

8. How do they withstand unfavorable conditions?

Task 2. Find sentences with the following phrases in the text.

Was astonished to find; the tiny living things; which has soft, transparent body; is a one-celled organism; with a nucleus inside; by the action of little hair-like cilia; at the broader end of the animal’s body; two contractile vacuoles; “daughter” cells; withstanding drought.

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

1. More, than 300 years ago Anton van Leeuwenhoek had seen were tiny living animals no one had even heard of before.

2. Leeuwenhoek called them Protozoa.

3. A Paramecium doesn’t have any particular shape.

4. The Paramecium is a one-celled living organism with a nucleus.

5. Like plants, they respire through their body surface.

6. If the water in the pond where the Paramecia live dries out suddenly, they die.

7. The cysts are not capable of withstanding drought, low temperatures, and other unfavorable conditions.

Task 4. Match the first half of a sentence in column A with the appropriate second half in column B.

1. A Paramecium is easier to detect in a drop of fresh water	a) and is incapable of absorbing carbon dioxide from the air.
2. The Paramecium is made up of protoplasm	b) which draws the bacteria into a depression called the vestibule.
3. Like all other animal cells it has no chlorophyll	c) propelled by the action of little hair-like cilia, which cover its body and act like tiny oars.
4. In its search for food the Paramecium swims rapidly about,	d) viewed under a microscope than other Protozoa.
5. By beating its cilia, the Paramecium sets up a current	e) takes a round shape and forms a hard resistant wall, a cyst.
6. If the drying out process is slow the body of the Paramecium	f) and surrounded by a somewhat tough outer layer.

Task 5. Correspond the terms and definitions, label the amoeba.

Cell membrane	a jelly-like material that fills most of the cell; the organelles (like the nucleus) are surrounded by it.
Contractile vacuole	the amoeba "eats" by surrounding bits of food with pseudopods that form around the food; the amoeba then incorporates the food into the cell, forming a food vacuole.
Cytoplasm	the thin layer of protein and fat that surrounds the amoeba; it allows some substances to pass into the cell, and blocks other substances.
Food vacuole	temporary "feet" that the amoeba uses to move around and to engulf food.
Food being engulfed by pseudopods	the major organelle of the amoeba, located centrally; it controls reproduction (it contains the chromosomes) and many other important functions (including eating and growth).
Nucleus	a cavity within the amoeba that excretes excess water and waste; the waste is brought to the cell membrane and is then eliminated from the amoeba.
Pseudopods	a cavity within the amoeba in which food is digested (broken down in order to be absorbed by the amoeba).

TRANSLATION: Translate the sentences into English.

Обыкновенная амеба встречается в иле на дне прудов с загрязненной водой. Она похожа на маленький студенистый комочек, постоянно меняющий форму. Тело амебы состоит из полужидкой цитоплазмы с заключенным внутрь нее небольшим ядром. Амёба состоит из одной клетки, но эта клетка - целый организм, ведущий самостоятельное существование. Цитоплазма клетки находится в постоянном движении. Если ток цитоплазмы устремляется к одной какой-то точке поверхности амёбы, в этом месте на ее теле появляется ложноножка. У амёбы одновременно может образовываться несколько ложноножек, и тогда они окружают пищу - бактерии, водоросли, других простейших. Из цитоплазмы, окружающей добычу, выделяется пищеварительный сок. Образуется пузырек - пищеварительная вакуоль. Пищеварительный сок растворяет часть веществ, входящих в состав пищи, и переваривает их. Нерастворенные остатки выбрасываются наружу в любом месте тела амёбы. Амёба дышит растворенным в воде кислородом, который проникает в ее цитоплазму через всю поверхность ее тела. Осенью при наступлении холодов амеба перестает питаться, тело ее становится округлым, на его поверхности выделяется плотная защитная оболочка - образуется циста. То же самое происходит при высыхании пруда, где живут амебы. В состоянии цисты амеба переносит неблагоприятные для нее условия жизни.

SPEAKING: Divide into two groups and prepare reports about Amoeba or Hydra.

WRITING: Sum up the information that you’ve learnt.