AGRICULTURE IN THE USA

UNIT 18

1. Read the following disjunctive questions paying attention to the intonation.

1. It is one of the largest farms in the region, isn’t it?

2. Many crops are grown on the farm, aren’t they?

3. They cannot have high yields without application of fertilizers, can they?

4. The farm has large areas under grain crops, hasn’t it?

5. They train agronomists, veterinarians, stockbreeders and other specialists,

don’t they?

2. Change the statements into disjunctive questions. Mind your intonation.

1. Students must fill in their diaries during their practice on the experimental farm.

2. Next year scientists will meet at the conference to discuss different problems of agriculture.

3. There were different kinds of agricultural machinery at the exhibition.

4. The canal irrigated many thousands of hectares of land.

5. We haven’t solved the problem of environmental pollution yet.

3. Изучите материал по словообразованию и выполните упражнения:

Многие слова являются составными, т.е. образуются путем соединения двух и более слов, которые могут относиться к разным частям речи. Некоторые из них пишутся слитно, другие через дефис.

news + paper – newspaper (газета)

first + class – fi rst-class (первоклассный)

mother + in + law – mother-in-law (теща)

white + to wash – to whitewash (белить)

- Translate the following compound words into Russian.

Notebook, landowner, dark-blue, shoemaker, teacup, tea-rose, hardworking, sunfl ower, tooth-paste, forget-me-not, grasshopper, worldwide, restroom, sugarcane, pineapple.

- Match the two columns to make compound words.

tea

suit

work

ear

bare

rain

key

soy

farm

land

force

fall

board

beans

case

time

ring

foot

4. Прочитайте и переведите словосочетания и предложения:

to clear – расчищать, очищать, убирать to clear the streets of snow

to settle – поселять(ся), размещать(ся), обосноваться, устраивать(ся)

to settle in Canada; The nurse settled her patients for the night.

settler – поселенец white settlers in Kenya

to adopt – перенимать to adopt new technologies

to graze – пасти(сь) The village cattle grazed around a central fi eld.

to comprize – охватывать, включать, содержать

The island of Great Britain comprises England, Scotland and Wales.

to improve – улучшать(ся), совершенствовать(ся)

Your English has really improved since you arrived.

to cut (cut, cut) – резать, снижать, уменьшать to cut bread, to cut export

consumer – потребитель consumer goods

to own – владеть to own lands

owner – владелец owners of large farms

to hire – нанимать, давать напрокат

to work for hire – работать по найму; to hire seasonal workers

Owners of large farms hire seasonal workers.

to invest – вкладывать, помещать деньги to invest $30,000 in a business

to rent – сдавать, брать (в аренду), снять We don’t own our house, we rent it from Mr. Grey.

tenant – арендатор Housing tenants buy the houses they rent.

to pick – собирать, снимать (плоды); picking – сбор

If only I had a chance to start my life anew, I’d travel longer, I’d play games, I’d pick more daisies.

migrant – кочующий Seasonal workers are also called migrant workers.

to contribute – способствовать, содействовать Drink contributed to his ruin.

to receive – получать If you receive an invitation to dinner, it is a good idea to ask how you should dress.

to require – нуждаться, требовать(ся) We require extra help.

cash – деньги, наличные деньги It is sold for cash only.

to feed (fed, fed) – кормить(ся), пасти(сь) Have the pigs been fed yet?

5.Read the text and write down the names of the crops grown in the USA and the names of the states growing these crops.

USA Agriculture

Nearly 400 years ago European colonists came to America. The colonists began to settle. They cleared the land and transformed forests into croplands and pastures. The settlers lived in a group of houses around a central field. Here grazed the village cattle. In 1862 the government gave land away free. A settler had to clear it, build a house and live there for at least five years. There appeared family farms. Over time, farming methods and farming areas increased. Today the average farm in the USA comprises 187 ha (462 acres). American farms became more efficient. Many farms adopted new technologies. Computers helped them improve productivity and cut costs. By the mid-1970s a single farmer could grow enough food to feed himself, 45 other Americans and 8 foreigners. In the 1990s American farmers invested more than $ 400 billion in land, livestock, buildings and equipment. American consumers pay less for their food than the people of many other industrial countries.

Most of the farms in the USA are family farms. Only 3 percent of them are led by corporations that are owned by families. People who have small pieces of land cannot invest in modern equipment. Often they sell their land to other farmers. There are tenant farmers who rent this land for cash or give the owner a part of the crops they grow. Owners of large farms hire seasonal workers. Many of these seasonal workers travel from farm to farm. They stay only for the period of picking crops. They are known as migrant workers.

The Northeast region does not have large areas of good land. But you can find dairy and poultry farms in several areas. Maine is famous for potatoes.

The Great Lakes region is also an important area for farming. Corn, wheat and dairy products are the most important agricultural items. Farmers often rotate soybeans – that is, planting corn in a field one year and soybeans the next. The region has enough rainfall, which is very important for hay, grown to feed dairy cattle. Wisconsin is the most important dairy state in the region.

The South is famous for tobacco. The moist, warm climate contributes to the extensive growth of tobacco in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Cotton is another important crop for southern farmers, especially in Arkansas and Mississippi. Peanuts are grown in Georgia and citrus fruits, vegetables in Florida. Soybeans are an important crop in Arkansas.

The Great Plains region is considered the “American breadbasket”. It yields great quantities of crops, especially wheat. Wheat is important in Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, and the Dakotas. Iowa receives more rainfall than the states in the west, so corn is grown instead of wheat. It is the leading state in the USA in corn production. Texas leads the country in the number of cattle and sheep. Here vegetables and citrus fruit, wheat and cotton are grown too.

The Rocky Mountains region lacks water. So many farmers raise livestock. The cattle and sheep require a lot of land to graze. Many of the ranches are very large. Their sizes can be over 900 hectares.

California leads the Pacific region in farming. It is the leading grower of fruits and vegetables. The farms produce cattle, dairy products, cotton, grapes, tomatoes, and citrus fruits. In Washington cherries and apples are major fruits. Farms in Hawaii grow sugarcane and pineapples.

Now USA agriculture is big business and is a part of the country’s economy.

Agribusiness includes farmer cooperatives, rural banks, shippers of farm products, fi rms that manufacture farm equipment, food-processing industries and many other businesses. American agriculture exports its crops to Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America. The United States produces half of the world’s soybeans and corn for grain, and from 10 to 25 percent of the world’s cotton, wheat, tobacco and vegetable oils.

6.Use these letters to write the names of the crops grown in the USA.

• sapelp

• otcocba

• csehierr

• sperga

• rcaangeus

• tncoot

• ssonyabe

• spielnepap

3. Find in the text synonyms to the underlined words.

To decrease costs, a part of land, the main states, to produce great quantities of crops, to get much rainfall, the leading producer of fruits, to make productivity higher, to consist of many businesses.

8. Use the synonyms from the previous exercise to fill in the blanks.

1. New technologies will help us … costs.

2. The first American settlers cleared … of land and lived in a group of houses.

3. The leading … of tobacco is the South region.

4. … productivity of farm animals the owner of the farm … new technologies.

5. The Great Plains region … many crops such as wheat, corn, cotton and many others.

6. Iowa is known … more rainfall than the states in the west.

9. Fill in the necessary prepositions.

1. Farmers had to live on a piece of land … five years.

2. This farm is led … a family corporation.

3. If you cannot invest … modern technology sell your business.

4. The USA is famous … its multinational population.

5. The region leads the country … production of fertilizers.

6. The moist warm climate contributes … the growth of rice in Japan.

10. What states lead the country in growing crops using one of the models.

Models a) What is the leading state in growing wheat in the USA?

The leading state in growing wheat in the USA is Kansas.

b) What state leads the country in growing wheat?

Kansas leads the country in growing wheat.

11. Fill in the names of the regions, using the text. Translate into Russian.

1. … is famous for soybeans and tobacco.

2. Wheat is the most important crop in ….

3. Cotton is another important crop in ….

4. Wisconsin is the main dairy state in ….

5. Iowa is the leading state in … in corn production.

6. Many farmers in … raise livestock.

7. California leads … in farming.

8. In several areas of … you can fi nd dairy and poultry farms.

12. Correct the following statements.

1. In the 13th century European colonists who came to America lived in a group of houses.

2. In the second half of the 19th century settlers paid large sums of money to buy a piece of land.

3. Tenant farmers are known to be called migrant workers.

4. Florida is considered to be the American breadbasket.

5. State farms are the most widely spread in the USA.

6. The Rocky Mountains region receives enough rainfall to grow tobacco.

7. Kansas is the leading grower of tobacco in the South region.

9. Make up questions to which the following answers may be given.

1. ……….?

Migrant workers are people who work on different farms only for the period of picking crops.

2. ………?

The Great Plains region is the “American breadbasket” because it is the leading grower of wheat in the USA.

3. ……..?

Crop growing depends on climate.

4. ……..?

Yes, most of the farms in the USA are family farms.

5. ……..?

Tenant farmers rent a piece of land and give the owner a part of the crops they grow.

6. ……..?

The USA exports its crops to Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America.

10. Use the words to make sentences.

1. Farm, what, average, is, a, the, of, size?

2. The, growing, region, crops, does, lands, not, good, have, for.

3. Tenant, crops, farmers, picking, of, hire, period, seasonal, the, for, workers.

4. Region, dairy, Mountains, farms, Rocky, are, the, situated, in.

5. The, cotton, and, South, is, tobacco, for, famous.

11. Answer the questions.

1. When did European colonists come to America?

2. Did the settlers live in a group of houses?

3. When and how did family farms appear?

4. How do American farmers improve productivity?

5. What kind of farms is the most typical in the USA?

6. The USA is divided into six main regions, isn’t it? Name them.

7. What crops are grown in the South?

8. Do all states in the USA grow the same crops? What does it depend on?

9. Where are dairy farms situated?

10. Is agriculture a part of the US economy?

12. Be ready to speak on one of the topics.

a) A short history of American agriculture.

b) Agriculture is one of the biggest and most productive enterprises in the USA.

c) The six agricultural regions.

13. Match the proverbs and sayings.

1. If ifs and ans were pots and pans.

2. If it were not for hope, the heart would break.

3. If there were no clouds, we should not enjoy the sun.

4. If things were to be done twice, all would be wise.

5. Barking dogs don’t bite.

a) Задним умом всяк крепок.

b) Чем ночь темнее, тем ярче звезды.

c) Если бы, да кабы.

d) Сердце надеждой живет.

e) Кто много грозит, тот мало вредит

14. Read the story and fi ll in the gap with the suitable proverb from exercise 5.

One day a Frenchman went to visit his American friend. When he came up to his house, a big dog ran out and began to bark at him.

The Frenchman was frightened and stopped. At that moment the American came out and saw his friend.

«Don’t be afraid!» he said. «Don’t you know the proverb ‘……………………...’?»

«Oh, yes,» was the quick answer. «I know the proverb, and you know the proverb, but the dog – does the dog know the proverb?»

Дата добавления: 2015-11-16