Report

Read the following texts and answer the questions that follow.

Dates
Botanically, dates are the fruits which grow on the palm tree belonging to the family of
Arecaceae. Its genus is phoenix, and it is scientifically named as phoenix dactylifera. The tree is
believed to originate in the lands on the banks of Nile and Euphrates Rivers of ancient Egypt and
Mesopotamia. Date palm is now grown extensively for its edible fruits under warmer climates
across all the continents.

The date fruit is a "drupe", in which its outer fleshy part (exocarp and mesocarp) surrounds the
seed inside. The fruit is oval to cylindrical in shape, 3–7 cms long, and 2–3 cms diameter, and
ripe dates range from golden-yellow, amber, bright-red to deep-brown depending on the cultivar
type.

There are many varieties of date palm cultivated. ‘Amir Hajj’, ‘Saidy’, 'Khadrawy' and 'Medjool'
are some of the important varieties popular for their rich taste, flavor, and superior quality.
Wonderfully delicious, dates are one of the most popular fruits packed with an impressive list of
essential nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that are required for normal growth.

Questions

1. Find the following facts about dates

a. family : ___________
b. genus : ___________
c. scientific name : __________

2. Write down the description of date fruits.

3. What vital substances do dates contain?

Cats are similar in anatomy to the other felids, with a strong, flexible body, quick reflexes, sharp
retractable claws, and teeth adapted to killing small prey. Cat senses fit a crepuscular and

Page 1
predatory ecological niche. Cats can hear sounds too faint or too high in frequency for human
ears, such as those made by mice and other small animals. They can see in near darkness. Like
most other mammals, cats have poorer color vision and a better sense of smell than humans.
Cats, despite being solitary hunters, are a social species and cat communication includes the
use of a variety of vocalizations (mewing, purring, trilling, hissing, growling, and grunting), as well
as cat pheromones and types of cat-specific body language.

Cats have a high breeding rate. Under controlled breeding, they can be bred and shown as
registered pedigree pets, a hobby known as cat fancy. Failure to control the breeding of pet cats
by neutering and the abandonment of former household pets has resulted in large numbers of
feral cats worldwide, requiring population control. This has contributed, along with habitat
destruction and other factors, to the extinction of many bird species.

Cats have been known to extirpate a bird species within specific regions and may have
contributed to the extinction of isolated island populations. Cats are thought to be primarily,
though not solely, responsible for the extinction of 33 species of birds, and the presence of feral
and free ranging cats makes some locations unsuitable for attempted species reintroduction in
otherwise suitable locations.

Questions

4. Find out in the text what cats

a. have…………

b. can do………..

5. How do cats communicate with one another?

6. What makes cats’ population grow quickly?

7. What is the effect of the cats’ overpopulation on other animals?

8. Find the following meanings for feral; extirpate; and neuter

A mobile phone (also known as a wireless phone, or cellular telephone) is a very small portable
radio telephone.

The mobile phone can be used to communicate over long distances without wires. It works by
communicating with a nearby base station (also called a "cell site") which connects it to the main
phone network. As the mobile phone moves around, if the mobile phone gets too far away from
the cell it is connected to, that cell sends a message to another cell to tell the new cell to take
over the call. This is called a "hand off," and the call continues with the new cell the phone is

Page 2
connected to. The hand-off is done so well and carefully that the user will usually never even
know that the call was transferred to another cell.

As mobile phones became more popular, they began to cost less money, and more people could
afford them. Monthly plans became available for rates as low as US$30 or US$40 a month. Cell
phones have become so cheap to own that they have mostly replaced pay phones and phone
booths except for urban areas with many people.

Questions

9. Find out the definition of mobile phone.

10. How does a mobile phone work?

11. What is hand-off?

12. What has made cell-phones become cheaper and cheaper?

Passive Voice

Passive voice is used when the focus is on the action. It is not important or not known,
however, who or what is performing the action.

Example: My bike was stolen

In the example above, the focus is on the fact that my bike was stolen. I do not know,
however, who did it.

Sometimes a statement in passive is more polite than active voice, as the following
example shows:

Example: A mistake was made

Page 3
Change these active sentences into passive.

1) Ms. Sullivan teaches us grammar.

2) The firemen took the injured to the hospital.

3) Everyone will blame us.

4) The police caught the thieves.

5) Do they make cars in Korea?

6) Will the king inaugurate the new bridge?

7) How did your host family treat you?

8) When did they hijack the airplane?

9) Is a doctor going to examine you?

10) Did the bull kill the matador?

Page 4
Change these active sentences into two ways of passive.

Example : The assistant handed me a note.

I was handed a note by the assistant
A note was handed to me by the assistant

1. The waitress will bring you your drinks in a minute

a.
b.

2. He gave me a present
a.
b.

3. The waiter is bringing us the bill.

a.
b.

4. Mother bought Mary some sweets.

a.
b.

5. Bob has sold Ted a second-hand car.

a.
b.

Rewrite these passive sentences into active ones

Page 5