The Brain

Scientists consider that our brain is the most complicated mechanism which has ever been constructed.

The weight of the human brain is from one to two kilograms. It has a volume of about 3.21 litres and consists of about 12 billion cells. It has been determined by the scientists that each cell is connected to the other directly or indirectly by nerve fibers.

The brain is the centre of a wide system of communication. It has been found out that a constant flow of stimuli comes into the brain through the spinal cord. The stimuli come to the brain from our eyes, ears, and other sense organs for pain, temperature, smell and other feelings. When all the received stimuli have been summarized and analyzed the brain sends orders through the nerve fibers in the spinal cord to different parts of the human body. It is due to these orders that one eats, moves, hears, sees and does many other things.

To estimate the functions of different areas of the brain many experiments have been carried out by the investigators. It is due to such experiments that the investigators have been able to determine those areas of the brain which control vision, hearing, physical movements and even emotions.

Due to experimental studies it has been determined that the motor cortex controlling many body movements of the human being becomes tired rapidly. But the hypothalamus which controls such functions as blood pressure is almost never tired.

Task 11 Make up the plan of the text.

Task 12 Say the following sentences in the Past and Future Perfect Passive:

1 The work has been completed.

2 The important findings have been proved.

3 The number of leucocytes has been counted.

4 A female patient has been transferred to the hospital.

Task 13 Make the following sentences negative and interrogative:

1 The new methods of research had been included into my work.

2 The course of treatment has been prolonged.

3 The structure of the pancreas will have been described in the new book.

Task 14 Use the construction “it is (was) … that” to emphasize the parts of the sentence in bold type:

1 The motor cortex controls many movements of the human being.

2 During the systole both ventricles of the heart contract.

3 On deep respiration the vital capacity of the lungs may become 6 litres.

4 In 1538 Andreas Vesalius published his six-volume work “Tabulae Anatomicae”.

Task 15 Translate into Ukrainian:

1) constant communications between sense organs; 2) a complicated case; 3) in the heart area; 4) the feeling of pain; 5) to control a disease; 6) to examine hearing; 7) to analyze the disfunction of movements.

Task 16 Choose the nouns that can be used with the given verbs:

to control, to move, to send;

findings, head, disease, pain, hands, movements, patient, respiration, letter, heartbeat, order, vision, legs.

Task 17 Choose the verbs that can be used with the given nouns:

– the pain can (be discharged, be estimated, be controlled);

– the area can (be extended, be published, be pumped);

– the smell can (be covered, be entered, be felt);

– the vision can (be breathed in, be investigated, be complicated);

Task 18 Read the passage and say what interesting things you have learned:

If the human being has a bad headache he often feels pain within the skull. But really the nerves through which pain stimuli pass exist mainly in the blood vessels and nervous system, but not in the proper substance of the brain. So the brain itself does not feel pain.

Task 19 Memorize the words. Translate the sentences:

feed – годувати

feeding – харчування

The mother feeds her infant. Milk is the main feeding of an infant.

obtain – отримувати

During our life we obtain much experience.

develop– розвивати(ся), виявляти(ся), утворювати

The patient developed a bad pain in the stomach.

supply – забезпечувати; живлення

Blood supply may become decreased in some heart disease.

response – відповідь; реакція

The response to the treatment was rapid.

Task 20 Translate the words with the same root:

condition, conditioned, unconditioned; protect, protective, protection; production, productive, produce; add, addition, additional, additionally; developed, developing, development.

Task 21 Read, translate, and name the suffixes in the following words:

general, generalize; dependent, dependency; weak, weakness; insufficiency, insufficient; analysis, analyze; red, redness; infant, infancy.

Task 22 Read the text. Translate it. State the difference between conditioned and unconditioned reflexes.