Text b. Agriculture of Britain.

1.Read and translate.

Great Britain is an industrial country. But agriculture is also well-developed. It provides about 5 per cent of the gross national product. Four fifth of the land is devoted to agriculture. About one million people work on farms. Britain produces nearly two-thirds of its total food requirements. Britain is self-sufficient in milk, eggs, to a very great extend in meat, potatoes, wheat. However, it needs to import butter, cheese, sugar and some other agricultural products.

The climate of Great Britain and soils are not very favourable for the development of agriculture. It is developing thanks to modern technology and scientific research. The most productive area is Lowland Britain, which has fertile soil. In this part of the country they have arable lands. Britain is famous for world’s best pedigree cattle and the highest yield of grain crops.

The cereals wheat takes the lead. It is cultivated on over 40 per cent of the total cropland. The crop is mainly concentrated in the eastern parts of the country. The potatoes crop is widespread all throughout the country. Sugar from home-grown sugar beet provides about 55 per cent of the requirements. In England and Wales the chief crops are wheat and barley. In Scotland the leading crop is oats. In Northern Ireland vast area is under oats, flax and potatoes.

Horticulture produces a wide variety of fruit, vegetables and flower crops. The land utilized for horticulture is about 251,000 hectares. Scotland is known for the largest concentration of raspberry plantation in the world. Strawberries are the most popular soft fruit in Britain. 60 per cent of full-time farms are devoted mainly to dairy or beef cattle and sheep. Pig production is carried in most areas but it is particularly important in eastern Yorkshire and southern England, north-east Scotland and Northern Ireland. In the later 1990s there were twelve million heads of cattle, about 8 million pigs and 38 million heads of sheep. Poultry industry is growing rapidly and is becoming more important.

Britain’s second major source of food is the surrounding sea (the fishing industry). Woodland covers an estimate 2 million hectares (about 9 per cent of the total land area of the country).

At present most farms in Britain are large, commercial farms. There is a number of traditional family farms, but they are not characteristics.

The level of agricultural productivity in Britain is high. Britain obtains about half of the food from its own soil.

2.Find the equivalents to the following Ukrainian words and word combinations. Translate the sentences with them.

Забезпечувати, валовий національний продукт, присвячувати(ся), самозабезпечений, сприятливий, завдяки, племінна худоба, широкорозповсюджений, широкий вибір, ягода, молочна худоба, отримувати.

3.Answer the questions.

1.What part of the gross national product does Britain agriculture provide?

2.How much land is devoted to agriculture?

3.Britain is self-sufficient in milk, eggs, meat, potatoes, isn’t it?

4.What are the chief crops in England (Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland)?

5.What are the most popular fruit and vegetables?

6.What parts of Great Britain is pig production carried in ?

7.What is the second major source of food in Britain?

8.What farms are typical at present?

4.Translate the English proverbs; find the Ukrainian or Russian equivalents.

1. As you sow you shall mow.

2. Everything is good in its season.

3. Make hay while the sun shines.

4. Don’t kill the goose that lays the golden eggs (Aesop).

5.Recall the names of grain crops, fruit, vegetables and livestock and fill in the table.

grain crops	fruit	vegetables	livestock
wheat …	strawberry …	potato …	cow …

6. Compare the agriculture of Britain with that of Ukraine.