Post-reading tasks:

Task 1. Answer the following questions.

1. What does the nervous system include?

2. What connects our brain to the rest of our body?

3. What are our nerves made up of?

4. What is axon?

5. What is the difference between the central and peripheral nervous systems?

6. How do sympathetic and parasympathetic systems function?

7. What does the brain look like?

8. Why is the human brain wrinkled?

9. How is cerebrum organized?

10. What role does the cerebellum perform?

Task 2. Say if the following statements are correct. If not, give the right variant.

1. Our nervous system includes the nerves in our brain.

2. Our brain is connected to the rest of our body by the spinal column.

3. Nerve cells in our spinal cord can be replaced.

4. All parts of the nervous system is known as the peripheral nervous system.

5. Cardiac muscles, smooth muscles and glands contract and function under voluntary control.

6. The human brain is rather small and hard.

7. Most people are left-handed because the right side of the brain is generally used more than the left side.

8. The brain is responsible for many skills.

9. Vision is interpreted at the back of the dendrites.

10. Our behavior is controlled by the spinal cord.

Task 3. Put the words in the right order to make up sentences:

1. Includes / in / and / our /the nerves / nervous / our / brain / system / the nerves / in / body.

2. Made / neurons / up / are / of nerves.

3. The / nervous / spinal / brain / the / central /cord / and / compose / system.

4. The / under / nervous / is / voluntary / system / control / somatic.

5. The / and / parasympathetic / function / in / to / another / sympathetic / one / systems / opposition.

6. Is / body / the / control / the / center / of / brain / is.

7. Like / the / jelly / brain / looks / a / mass / grey.

8. Two / of / sections / brain / the / consists.

9. The / one / more / used / left / side / of / the / brain / than / the / right / is.

10. Mainly / with / cerebellum / the / is / balance / concerned.

Task 4. Match the following terms with their definitions.

Brain	the short parts like threads at the edge of a nerve cell that carry messages to the cell.
Spinal cord	a large part at the back of the brain that controls your muscles, movement and balance.
Dendrite	the front part of the brain, which is involved with thought, decision, emotion and character.
Cerebrum	the bones of the head, which surround the brain and give the head its shape.
Cerebellum	the organ inside the head that controls thought, memory, feelings and activity.
Skull	an area in the brain located at the front of each cerebral hemisphere.
Frontal lobes	the set of nerves inside the spine that connect the brain to other nerves in the body.

TRANSLATION: Translate the sentences into English.

1. Нейрон – это нервная клетка, состоящая из тела и отходящих от него отростков: дендритов и аксона.

2. Серьезное повреждение спинного мозга может быть вызвано замещением в нем нервных клеток.

3. В результате воздействия на чувствительные нервные окончания происходит возбуждение нервных тканей, которое делает возможным сокращение мышц.

4. Рефлекс – это непроизвольное движение какой-либо части тела в ответ на раздражение.

5. Автономная нервная система состоит из двух частей, которые выполняют противоположные функции.

6. Мозг участвует в том, что мы делаем и думаем, а также в том, что мы чувствуем.

7. Клетки мозга могут накапливать информацию.

8. Наш мозг интерпретирует импульсы и может определить, откуда они идут и к чему относятся.

9. Отростки клеток, называемые дендритами, получают импульсы от нервов, а аксоны передают их.

10. Участок передней части больших полушарий, который называется передними долями, контролирует наше поведение.

SPEAKING: Discuss the following problem in pairs: The nervous system plays the leading role in the regulation of all physiologic processes in a complex organism.

WRITING: Write an essay “The brain as a body’s control center”.