Text study

(A) Exercise 1. Choose the correct answer. Consult the text if necessary.

1. Agriculture in Great Britain supplies … of the country’s food.

a) one-third

b) two-thirds

c) a half

2. Nearly … of the land is used for agriculture.

a) 30%

b) 50%

c) 80%

3. Arable farms are mainly in the … part of the country.

a) southern

b) western

c) eastern

4. The main cereal crops in Britain are …

a) rye, millet, and sorghum

b) wheat, barley, and oats

c) buckwheat, millet, and rye

(A) Exercise 2. Answer the questions on the text:

1. What is Britain self-sufficient in?

2. Are the farms large in Great Britain?

3. What is of the first importance in the structure of British agriculture?

4. What are the main grain crops in Great Britain?

5. Is rye grown in the country?

6. Where are sheep and cattle reared?

7. Is British agriculture efficient?

8. What do you know about cattle-breeding in Great Britain?

9. What is Britain’s second major source of food?

2. Exercise 3. Answer if the sentences are true or false. Correct the false ones.

1. British agriculture is not efficient.

2. Nearly 80% of the land is used for agriculture.

3. Britain does not need to import sugar, butter, and cheese.

4. The farms are large in Great Britain.

5. There are two main types of farming in Great Britain.

6. Modern machines are used on British farms.

7. Potatoes are grown only for fodder.

8. There are no private woods in Great Britain.

9. Small traditional farms are gradually disappearing.

10. The fishing industry is not developed in the country.

(B) Exercise 4. Complete the following sentences with suitable words or phrases given below:

1. Small traditional farms are disappearing because they cannot … with big industrial farms.

2. Britain’s second major … of food is the surrounding sea.

3. The fishing industry provides about 70% of British fish … .

4. The total agricultural … of Great Britain is about 45,000,000 acres.

5. Britain is … in milk and eggs.

6. The main … in Britain are wheat, barley and oats.

7. Rye is grown in small … .

quantities, self-sufficient, supplies, compete, cereal crops, acreage, source.

(B) Exercise 5. Put the words and phrases in the right order to make complete sentences.

1. farms, machines, modern, British, on, used, are.

2. and, fertile, soils, rich, vary, ones, poor, the, from, to.

3. seed, are, fodder, grown, sale, for, potatoes, and.

4. Production, milk, of, is, structure, the, of, agriculture, British, first, importance, in, the.

5. are, small, nowadays, farms, disappearing.

(B) Exercise 6. Find the key-sentences in the text. Read and translate them.

Dicussion

(A) Exercise 1. Answer the following questions:

1. Is agriculture one of Britain’s most important industries?

2. Is it based on modern technology?

3. Is British agriculture efficient?

4. Does the country import butter, cheese and sugar?

5. How many types of farming are there in Britain? What are they?

6. Does British agriculture specialize in milk and meat production?

7. What are the main cereal crops in Great Britain?

8. What is rye used for?

9. What kinds of fruit does Great Britain produce?

10. What is the main tendency in British agriculture today?

11. What is Britain’s second major source of food?

(B) Exercise 2. Fill in the chart.

Country	The Role of Agriculture	Branches of Agriculture	Size of the Farms	Rate of the Development	Main Crops	Major Livestock
Belarus
Great Britain

(B, C) Exercise 3. Discuss in groups:

1. Belarusian agriculture in the 21^st century: problems and prospects.

2. Belarusian agriculture needs reforming.

3. Agriculture is one of the main branches of the Belarusian economy.

(B, C) Exercise 4. Suppose you are taking part in the students’ conference. Speak on:

1. The agricultural development in Britain and in Belarus.

2. The difference between Belarusian and British agriculture.

3. The experience of successful agricultural practices in developed countries.

(B, C) Exercise 5. Discuss some interesting facts in groups.

- British agriculture is noted for its high level of efficiency and productivity?

- British agriculture engages only 2,1 per cent of the total workforce?

- In 1998 there were some 244,000 farm holdings?

- An average size of a farm is 70 hectares?

- About two-thirds of agricultural land is owner-occupied?