Professional Documents
Culture Documents
an introduction
Before you read
Discuss these questions with your partner.
A Vocabulary
Match these words with their definitions.
Reading 1
1 life cycle
2 observation
A characteristic
B from birth to death
Biology
3 property C develop an idea A short history
4 successor D what you see
5 formulate E sb who follows Biology means the study of life and it is the
science which investigates all living things. For as
6 pollen F a fine yellow powder
long as people have looked at the world around
found in flowers
them, people have studied biology. Even in the
7 contribution G sth given to help progress days before recorded history, people knew and
8 foundation H what is passed down passed on information about plants and animals.
from one generation to Prehistoric people survived by learning which
the next plants were good to eat and which could be used
9 treat I give medical help for medicine. Farming would not have developed
10 classify J process according to if they had not begun to understand which
which only the strongest animals could produce food like milk and eggs.
species survives
11 inheritance K academic
In the past, more than 2000 years ago, people in
the Middle East understood the part that insects
12 natural selection L put into groups
and pollen played in the life cycle of plants. The
13 field M basic idea ancient Egyptians studied the life cycle of insects
14 principle N academic area and were particularly interested in the changes
15 advance O improvement they went through as they grew from larvae to
adult insects. The ancient Mesopotamians even
16 scholar P basis
kept animals in what were the earliest zoological
17 genetics Q t he study of how gardens. The ancient Greeks, too, were greatly
characteristics are interested in understanding the world around them.
passed from one Aristotle recorded his observations of plants
generation to another
and animals, and his successor, Theophrastus,
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Written by Elena Kozharskaya, Kevin McNicholas, Angela Bandis, Natalia Konstantinova, Joanne Hodson and Joanne Stournara
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Written by Elena Kozharskaya, Kevin McNicholas, Angela Bandis, Natalia Konstantinova, Joanne Hodson and Joanne Stournara
N TO
O
D Vocabulary
Complete the sentences with words from
the box.
mammal threatened
species adapt
cell diseases
environment crops
composition building blocks
1U
nfortunately, the growth of cities
often means wildlife is ……..…….
Reading 2
with extinction.
2A
……..……. is an animal that feeds its
babies milk.
Biology today
3F
armers that grow ……..……. like Dear Students,
cereals and vegetables normally have
to work very hard. I am writing this letter to welcome all of you
4T
he smallest basic structural and functional who are about to begin your first year course in
unit of life is a ……..……. . biology here at the university. You might think
5 Serious illnesses are known as ……..……. . it is a little early for me to ask you to think
about what you will do when you leave here in
6 What something is made of is its ……..……. .
three years’ time. However, our science, like
7 I t’s amazing how animals can ……..……. any other, has so many different areas it is
to changes in their living conditions.
impossible for you to study them all. The first
8T
here are many different ……..……. thing you will need to think about is
of butterfly. specializing. This letter is to offer you some
9H
umankind’s actions have often had a suggestions to think about for your future.
negative effect on the ……..……. .
10 T
he most basic parts of something can be As you know, there are four main areas of
called ……..……… . biology that we shall concentrate on in the
coming years. Biology can be divided into
zoology, the study of animal life, and botany,
the study of plant life. We shall also study
molecular biology, the study of how the
building blocks of living things, the cells, work.
Another topic of interest is genetics, how
biological information is passed on from one
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Written by Elena Kozharskaya, Kevin McNicholas, Angela Bandis, Natalia Konstantinova, Joanne Hodson and Joanne Stournara
N TO
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Written by Elena Kozharskaya, Kevin McNicholas, Angela Bandis, Natalia Konstantinova, Joanne Hodson and Joanne Stournara
N TO
O
There are four main areas: (your full name: first name + surname)
……………………. is about ……………………. .
……………………. is about ……………………. .
Molecular biology is about ………………….. .
Write 100-150 words.
……………………. is about inheritance.
Biologists work in ……………………. ,
……………………. and ……………………. .
In conclusion, biology is about ……………… .
Remember to:
● read the texts again
● select information that is relevant
● add examples where you can
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Written by Elena Kozharskaya, Kevin McNicholas, Angela Bandis, Natalia Konstantinova, Joanne Hodson and Joanne Stournara
N TO
O