The flower

All seed plants are alike in that they all produce flowers. The flower is the part of the plant which is formed for seed production. A flower always precedes a seed. The seeds are the means by which most plants reproduce and in addition they are sources of food for man and feed for livestock. Consequently, it is highly important that the flower develop and function properly so as to assure a good yield of seeds. It is necessary that you be familiar with the parts of the flower and the role of each in the reproduction process.

Parts of the Flower. A complete flower is made up of four principal parts, namely a) sepals, b) petals, c) stamens and d) the pistil. The number and position of the floral parts vary in different species and it frequently happens that one or more of them are missing. In this case the flower is incomplete.

The flowers of the small grain lack both petals and sepals, and thus they are incomplete.

Neither sepals nor petals are directly involved in seed production. The former comprise the outermost part of the flower, protecting and supporting the other parts. They are usually green and leaf like. Sometimes, however, they are brightly coloured rather than green but it is not true of common cereals. The petals are located immediately to the inside of the sepals and unlike the latter they are generally brightly coloured but it is not true for grasses, including the common cereals. When taken together the petals are referred to as the corolla. The two remaining parts of the flower, namely, the stamens and the pistil, form the reproductive organs of the flower and are both absolutely essential for reproduction and seed production. It is in the stamens that the pollen grains which are necessary for fertilization are produced. The pistil should be looked for in the centre of the flower. It consists of the style bearing on its top the stigma and a swollen base which is referred to as ovary. Within the ovary there are the egg cells.

ВАРИАНТ 11

1. Перепишите следующие предложения. Определите по грам­матическим признаках, какой частью речи являются слова, оформ­ленные окончанием s, и какую функцию это окончание выполняет.

Переведите предложения на русский язык.

1. No news is good news.

2. There are three principal parts of a plant.

3. Shakespeare’s works are masterpieces.

2. Перепишите следующие предложения и переведите их, обра­щая внимание на особенности перевода на русский язык определений, выраженных именем существительным.

1. Student library is on the ground floor.

2. There are great numbers of weed species used in agriculture.

3. Plant nutrients absorbed by the roots are transferred to the other parts of the growing plant.

3. Перепишите следующие предложения, определите в них функ­цию инфинитива и письменно переведите предложения на русский язык.

1. To know the structure of the plant is as important as to know the functions of its parts.

2. It all sounds too good to be true.

3. He wasn’t strong. He couldn’t support the man.

6. I remarked that if there was . . . leak in . . . gas pipe there might be . . . explosion while he was reading . . . meter.

7. He said, 'As . . . matter of . . . fact, there was . . . explosion in . . . last house I visited; and Mr. Smith, . . . owner of . . . house, was burnt in . . . face.

8. Mr. Smith was holding . . . lighted match at . . . time of . . . explosion.

9. To prevent . . . possible repetition of this accident, I lent him . . . torch.

10. He switched on . . . torch, read . . . meter and wrote . . . reading down on . . back of . . . envelope.