2.2. Answer the following questions:

1. What class of animals does the cow belong to?

2. What farm animals chew the cud?

3. Why is the cow a valuable animal?

4. How many compartments are there in the cow's stomach?

5. Are enzymes secreted in the first compartment?

6. How long does a period of gestation in the cow last?

7. How long does the lactation period last?

8. In what season do the cattle consume more water?

2.3. Give the English for: корова, потреблять, удой молока, период стельности, молозиво, отел, испарение, доить, желудок теленка, корм, силос, период лактации, книжка, сычуг, рубец, сетка, молочная корова.

2.4. Translate the sentences into Russian:

1. Cows have a remarkable ability to store calcium, phosphorus and other minerals in their skeletons, and dry period gives them the opportunity to assimilate these reserves of minerals as well as vitamins. 2. In large ruminants, the rumen may store up to 95 litres of undigested food. 3. The cow is capable of utilizing a large quantity of coarse fodder and of converting huge amounts of pasture herbage and green forage crops into milk. 4. The milking cow must have water at least twice daily, and the heavy yielder must have access to it more frequently. 5. High-yielding cows give more milk if milked three times than when milked twice per day.

2.5. Complete the sentences with the words from the text:

1. A great quantity of … is necessary for growing animals.

2. The cow is a … animal with … stomach.

3. The … period in cows lasts 40 weeks.

4. The first milk after calving is called … . It has a … action on the calf’s stomach.

5. High-yielding cows require liberal … feeding.

2.6. Read the text and match the titles with the paragraphs:

A. Milk production

B. Dairy breeds of cattle

C. Domestication of cattle

D. Beef breeds of cattle

E. Feeding of cattle

1.Cattle were first domesticated over 6,000 years ago and have been very important animals, supplying us with milk, meat, fuel, draught (pulling) power, leather and fertilizer.

2. Different breeds of cattle are reared for different purposes. Dairy cattle, which in the UK are mainly of the black and white Holstein breed, have been bred specifically for milk production and are probably our hardest working farm animals. Other breeds include the British Friesian, Jersey, Guernsey, Ayrshire, Brown Swiss, Montbeliarde and Dairy Shorthorn.

3. In contrast, beef cattle breeds are bred mainly for meat production are much more muscular than dairy cattle. Beef breeds of cattle used for meat production include early-maturing British breeds such as the Aberdeen Angus and the Hereford, and later-maturing continental breeds such as the Limousin and the Charolais.

4. A typical dairy cow can produce 6,000 to over 12,000 litres of milk (10,650 and 21,000 pints) in a single lactation (milk producing period) of 305 days. Some cows are able to produce over 70 pints of milk per day. A cow of a beef breed, in comparison, will only produce enough milk to feed her calf, which is around 1,000 litres (1,760 pints) in a single lactation.

5. Cattle are grazing animals (i.e. they eat grasses and other low-down vegetation) that ruminate (chew the cud). They spend up to nine hours every day grazing/eating and long periods resting and ruminating. Modern dairy cattle breeds often need large amounts of high-energy food, as well as lots of water, to support their sometimes high levels of milk production.