4. Fill in the synonyms:

wanted, tender, food, grasing animals, to eat, to damage, to raise, pest

to consume ......................................... fragile ................................................

parasite ............................................... desirable ............................................

forage ................................................. livestock ...........................................

to spoil .............................................. to grow .............................................

5. Use the following verbs to speak about

a) bad effects of weeds:

damage, weaken, kill, harm, spoil, poison, compete, parasitize, infect;

b) beneficial effects of weeds:

serve, prevent, retard, stabilize, conserve, increase, break up, provide, have

Speech exercises

1. Read the text again and answer the following questions:

1. What plant can the term weed be applied to?

2. What are the main features of a weed?

3. Can any plant be called a weed?

4. In what way do weeds damage cultivated plants?

5. How can they harm livestock?

6.What benefits for agriculture can weeds provide?

7. Can weeds be a sourse of food for people?

8. What valuable properties do many weeds have?

TYPES OF WEEDS

Weeds, like many plants, are usually divided into three categories: annuals, biennials, and perennials. This division is based on how long a single generation lives. Annuals complete an entire life cycle in one growing season. They germinate, flower, and fruit between the spring and winter of the same year. The seeds, however, may live buried in the soil as long as 70 years. Repeated plowing and cultivating may be necessary to control annual weeds.

Biennials live through two growing seasons, producing only greenery the first year, and bearing flowers and fruits in the second. Biennial plants usually have strong root systems that send up new shoots when the original tops are removed.

Perennial weeds are often the most troublesome weeds to control because they have strong, well-developed underground parts and produce large numbers of seeds. Perennials live for at least three years, flowering and producing fruit each year after reaching maturity.

Vocabulary

germinate – давати паростки

bury – заривати в землю

plowing – оранка

troublesome – клопітливий, що завдає клопоту

Vocabulary exercises

1. Practise the pronunciation of the following words:

annuals, bienials, perenials, entire, germinate, buried, plowing, necessary, troublesome, maturity

2. Give the English equivalents to the following words and word combinations from the text:

однолітні, дворічні та багаторічні рослини; повний життєвий цикл; дають паростки, квітнуть і плодоносять; протягом 70 років; посилають вгору нові паростки; щонайменше три роки

Grammar exercises

1. Fill in the missing preposition:

in, after, through, into, between, for, on

Weeds are divided .............. three categories.

This division is based .................. how long a single generation lives.

Annuals germinate, flower, and fruit .................... the spring and winter.

The seeds may live buried .................... the soil as long as 70 years.

Biennials live ..................... two growing seasons.

Perennials live ................ at least three years.

They produce fruit each year .................. reaching maturity.

Speech exercises