Importance of Zoology

Animals play a big part in man's life. Ages ago primitive people hunted them for meat and hides to make clothing and footwear. Some of the animals were gradually tamed and domesticated. At present they provide us with meat and dairy produce as well as raw materials for making our clothes and wear.

Many of the wild animals are also of use to man. The seas and rivers are full of fish which we eat; in the woods there are fur-bearing animals whose pelts are very valuable; useful birds live everywhere, constantly destroying insects harmful to orchards and crops.

Some of the animals, however, are quite harmful. Many insects cause damage to plantations, orchards and woods. Wolves are known to attack domestic animals. Mice and rats are a grave threat to food stores. Flies and lice spread disease. Persistent struggle must be carried on against them.

To protect useful animals, to take proper care of domestic animals, and to combat harmful animals, it is necessary to know all about their habits and constitutions. This is exactly what zoology as a science is interested in. Zoology studies animal life.

All animals are divided into several large groups. Each large group of animals is called a phylum. For the purposes of elementary biology, we can divide animals into ten phyla, as follows:

Protozoa Echinodermata

Porifera Annelida

Coelenterata Mollusca

Platyhelminthes Arthropoda

Nemathelminthcs Chordata

Tasks

1. Write down whether the following statements are true or false. Give extensive answers.

1. Animals are found all over the world.

2. There are less different species of animals than those of plants.

3. Excavations have shown that there is no difference between animals which earlier inhabited our planet and ones that live nowadays.

4. The fossils prove that the animal kingdom has remained unchanged.

5. The structure of animals resemblesman.

6. Animals and plants are not similar at all.

7. There is no connection between animals and plants.

8. Wild animals aren’t of use to man.

9. It isn’t necessary to know about animals’ habits constitutions.

10. There is only one group of animals.

2. Complete the sentences using the text and translate them into Russian.

1. Some animals, like bacteria and one-celled algae … .

2. … three times as many.

3. … while brown bears like forests.

4. On many occasions the finds … .

5. Arising from primitive organisms … .

6. … that many of them resemble man in various way.

7. The animals having internal bones … .

8. Green plants grow by … .

9. … their nervous system and sense organs.

10. Animals, for their part … .

11. … to make clothing and footwear.

12. At present they provide us with meat and dairy … .

13. Many insects cause damage to … .

14. … a grave threat to food stores.

15. Each large group of animals … .

3. Answer the following questions on the text in written form.

1. Why is the animal kingdom more varied than that of plants?

2. Where do different animals inhabit?

3. What remains of animals were found during excavations?

4. What have you learnt studying the fossils?

5. In what way do animals resemble man?

6. What is the difference between animals and plants?

7. What is the similarity between animals and plants?

8. What are the distinctive features of animals? Do plants always lack them?

9. What is the connection between plants and animals?

10. What part do animals play in man’s life?

11. Why are wild animals of use to man?

12. What damage do some of animals cause?

13. Why is it necessary to know all about animal’s habits and their constitutions?

14. What is a phylum?