17. Fill in the blanks with the following words:

“to vary, to vary in, to vary from, variety, various, variable, variation”.

1. The method of applying fertilizers … the crop grow and the type of fertilizers to be used.

2. The depth of corn seeding … … 1 … 3 inches, depending on the soil temperature.

3. The stem of corn plant is found to be more … in size and height than that of any other cereal.

4. The external factors influencing plant growth are moisture, suitable temperature, oxygen, plant … and light.

5. Water-holding capacity of different soils … greatly, being the highest in soil rich in organic matter.

6. The first step in the improvement of any crop is the selection of the best … for given conditions.

7. Fertilizing materials for this crop … … nature and rate of application, being determined to a great extent by the character of the soil on which it is grown.

8. Great … in the size of corn plant and in the time of its maturing is mainly due to the environment in which the crop is grown.

18. Find in the text and read the sentence about the aim of corn cultivation.

19. Say if corn and wheat can be grown on the same farm.

20. Agree or disagree with the following statements (True or False).

1. Corn is grown primarily for the production of grain.

2. There is a great number of corn varieties differing in certain characteristics.

3. Corn is usually planted to the depth of 1 to 1½ inches if the soil is rather cold.

4. Corn does not need much moisture, as a relatively small amount of water is required to produce one pound of dry matter of this plant.

5. For feeding livestock corn is usually produced on the same farm.

6. At the beginning of the growing season water requirements of corn are the highest.

7. Cool water accompanied by high precipitation is known to be favorable.

21. What new information have you learnt from the text?

22. Choose 5-7 key sentences from the text and use them as plan for retelling.

23. Translate text c. Try to do it without using a dictionary. Text c Maize

Some scientists consider that the cultivation of maize began in the New World and was introduced into Europe only at the end of the 15^th century after the discovering of America by Christopher Columbus. The word "maize" is generally used throughout Europe, Asia, Latin America and Caribbean Islands. In North America and in some countries associated with the USA the term "corn" is used.

According to another theory, however, maize was brought to Europe from Asia. They say it was introduced into Spain by the Arabs in the 13^th century.

The production of maize played a big part in the development of the North America. In the whole world maize is one of the most important cereals now.

In Russia cultivation of maize is also of great importance for the development of agriculture as well as for the food and light industries.

Various factors are responsible for the rapid successful expansion of the usage of maize. First, it is a plant which possesses remarkable adaptability and versatility because of its great diversity of forms. Unlike wheat and rice, the cultivation of which is limited by climate, maize flourishes under the most varied conditions. A second important reason for wide maize cultivation is the high yield of food energy it affords.

Maize is cultivated for three major purposes: as a human food, as feed for livestock and as raw material for many industrial products.

Notes:

toflourish– процветать

versatility – изменчивость, переменчивость