UNIT 6 LIVING THINGS AND HOW WE USE THEM (4º E.P.)

UNIT 6

LIVING THINGS AND HOW WE USE THEM

■ Human beings and other living things

• Primitive societies and other living things

 In primitive societies, human beings:

*  Collected fruit, roots, leaves, grain, etc.

*  Hunted and fished with simple tools.

*  Cut wood to make fire.

• The development of agriculture and fishing

Later, human beings..

*  They learnt to cultivate plants for food.

*  They domesticated animals for their meat, milk, eggs, wool, skin, etc.

*  They used animals for transport and for ploughing fields.

*  They invented more efficient ways of fishing with nets.

Fishing can take place in rivers, which is fluvial fishing, or in the sea, which is maritime fishing. Today, fish are also cultivated in special water farms; this is called aquaculture.

• Modern society and other living things

Today, the population of the world is very large and we cultivate on a massive scale.

We damage the environment and cause some problems. The problems of modern society are:

-  We cut down forests.

-  We cultivate land so intensively that the soil becomes infertile.

-  We use too many fertilizers and pesticides which pollute the soil and the water.

-  Agriculture and stock farming can change or destroy ecosystems.

-  We fish so much that in many places the fish are running out.

-  Some stocks farms produce waste which is very polluting.

■ Agriculture

• Types of crop farming

*  Cereals like wheat, maize and rice.

*  Fruit and vegetables. We cultivate fruit trees in orchards

*  Vines and olive trees.

*  Crops with industrial uses. We also cultivate sunflowers, sugar beet and cotton. They are used to supply the industries which produce oils, sugar and textiles.

■ Stock farming

• Types of stock farming

*  Sheep and goat farming (ganado ovino). We farm sheep and goats for their meat, milk, wool and skin.

*  Cattle farming (ganado vacuno). We farm cows and bulls for their meat, milk and skin.

*  Pig farming (ganado porcino). We farm pigs for their meat which we eat fresh or cured.

*  Poultry farming (ganado avícola). We farm chickens and ducks for their meat and eggs.

*  Other types of stock farming. We also farm rabbits, pheasants and even exotic animals like ostriches.