11. Get acquainted with text b and choose the heading to the text.

1. Plants and Nature.

2. Cultivation of Plants.

3. Plant Breeding.

Text B

Nature has always served to man. But with the development of civilization man's interference in nature began to increase. The pollution of air and the world's ocean, destruction of the ozone layer is the result of man's careless interaction with nature.

Environmental protection is a problem of global concern. Plant formations and their environment are natural resources which man always used and uses now.

Animals and man will not live without plants because the cycle of nature links them. Plants also play a very important part in conservation and protection of soil, water and animals. Crop plants have not always been productive and useful as they are today. Long ago they were growing wild. As civilization progressed, man began studying plants more carefully. He discovered many of the new functions of plants, their structure and requirements for growth.

Soon plant science appeared and great progress in the improvement and growing of plants followed. Compared to the long history of plants on the Earth the plant breeders have improved plants for only short time, but in this short period they have contributed much to agriculture.

By selecting the best types, man is able to bring about improvements in a few years that would require thousands of years if left to nature.

12. Answer the following questions.

1. What is the result of man's careless interaction in nature?

2. What is the problem of global concern?

3. What are natural resources which man always used and uses now?

4. What do plants play a very important part in?

5. Have crop plants always been as productive as they are today?

6. What did man discover?

7. Due to what is man able to bring about improvements in a few years?

13.Say it in English:

1)name long-day plants;

2)name plants referring to short-day plants;

3) characterize long-day plants and short-day plants;

4) name the group of plants to which cotton, sunflower and buckwheat refer;

5)where from plants obtain carbon dioxide and oxygen for respiration.

14. Find in the text the English equivalents of the Russian word combinations.

вмешательство человека в природу, виды растений, взаимодействие с природой, защита окружающей среды, растительные сообщества, природные ресурсы, дикий, сохранение и защита, функции растений, селекционер.

15. Find in each paragraph the key sentences and make up the plan of retelling the text.

16. Give the short summary of the text in 5-6 sentences.

17. Translate the text without using the dictionary.

Text C

All of the plants known today as cultivated varieties originally existed in the wild state. Plant culture began a great many years ago; where and when the beginning took place no one can say. It must have started at least 10 000 to 12 000 years ago. The earliest people of whom we have definite knowledge had made rather great progress as agriculturists. Nearly all of the food plants grown by man came under cultivation before the historical period. The most important food plants in the world were being grown and used at least 4000 years ago. There have been found evidences that some regions were once productive and were cultivated by man. Primitive man learned the value of food plants by experiment. As the supply of food provided by wild plants and animals became insufficient, primitive man began to grow wild plants. There can be no doubt that man`s progress has been closely associated with the cultivation of plants. Having started to grow plants, men had to settle down, as there were plantings to be made, weeds to be removed and harvests to be gathered. Thus, with the culture of plants there developed the building of homes. At first, plants were used by men for food and a number of other purposes. The cultivation of some plants may have begun independently in different places. The protection of plants from pests, diseases and weeds has become one of the most important factors of plant growing practices. The protection of harvest and environment is based on a scientific foundation.