THE BLOOD SYSTEM. BLOOD.

PRE-READING AND READING TASKS

1. Study the vocabulary to avoid difficulties of understanding:

affect (v) [q'fekt] воздействовать
clot (v) [klPt] свертываться
invade (v) [In'veId] вторгаться
survive (v) [sq'vaIv] выживать, продолжать существовать
withstand (v) [wID'stxnd] противостоять
clot [klPt] сгусток
germ [dZE:m] микроб, бактерия
liquid ['lIkwId] жидкость
mammal ['mxm(q)l] млекопитающее
means [mi:nz] средство
particle ['pQ:tIk(q)l] частица
platelet ['pleItlIt] тромбоцит
removal [rI'mu:v(q)l] удаление
rupture ['rAptSq] разрыв
scab [skxb] корка
web [web] сеть
pulsatile ['pAlsqtaIl] пульсирующий
sufficient [sq'fIS(q)nt] достаточный

2. Try to guess the meaning of the following words and word combinations:
pumping action aquatic environment
pathogenic organism self-preservation system
alkalinity to propel
non-aqueous surroundings circulatory system
acidity watery medium
bleeding right ventricle
fibrin carbon dioxide
capillary left atrium

3. Read the text carefully to fulfil the tasks that follow.

THE BLOOD SYSTEM
Our blood acts as a transport system, carrying substances around the body. It is
rather like a road network, with large arteries as main roads and very small vessels
as lanes. Blood itself is made up of a liquid called plasma and two main types of
cell – red cells and white cells. Red cells contain a chemical called hemoglobin,
which is responsible for carrying oxygen to all the body’s cells. White cells are far
fewer in number than red cells. Their job is to attack invading germs. There are
also small particles in blood called platelets, which help the blood to clot when we
cut ourselves.
When we cut ourselves, blood vessel walls break. The bleeding stops when
enough platelets have stuck to the broken walls and signalled other substances to
come. These substances form strands called fibrin, which form a web over the red
blood cells to create a clot. The scab is the clot on the skin.
The walls of arteries and veins are made up of three layers. Arteries carry
blood away from the heart and are thicker than veins because they must withstand
the heavy pumping action of the heart. Veins carry blood back to the heart. Small
arteries and veins are linked by tiny tubes called capillaries.
The heart is the muscular organ that causes the blood to circulate in the body.
The heart of birds and mammals is a pulsatile four-chambered pump composed of
an upper left and right atrium and a lower left and right ventricle. The atria
function mainly as entryways to the ventricles, whereas the ventricles supply the
main force that propels blood to the lungs and throughout the body.
All cells, in order to survive, must obtain the necessary raw materials for
metabolism, and have a means for the removal of waste products. In small plants
and animals living in an aquatic environment, these needs are provided for by
simple diffusion. The cells of such organisms are very near the external watery
medium, and so nutrients and wastes do not have a large distance to travel.
However, as the size of the organism increases, more and more cells become
further removed from the media bathing the peripheral cells. Diffusion cannot
provide sufficient means for transport. In addition, without internal transport,
organisms are restricted to watery environments, since the movement to land
requires an efficient system for material exchange in non-aqueous surroundings.
Therefore, larger animals have developed a system of internal transport, the
circulatory system. This system, consisting of an extensive network of various
vessels, provides each cell with an opportunity to exchange materials by diffusion.
Blood is the vital tissue in the circulatory system, transporting nutrients and
oxygen to all the cells and removing carbon dioxide and other wastes from them.
Blood also serves other important functions. It transports hormones, the secretions
of the endocrine glands, which affect organs sensitive to them. Blood also acts to
regulate the acidity and alkalinity of the cells via control of their salt and water
content. In addition, the blood acts to regulate the body temperature by cooling
certain organs and tissues when an excess of heat is produced (such as in
exercising muscle) and warming tissues where heat loss is great (such as in the
skin).
Some components of the blood act as a defense against bacteria, viruses, and other
pathogenic (disease-causing) organisms. The blood also has a self-preservation
system called a clotting mechanism so that loss of blood due to vessel rupture is
reduced.

COMPREHENSION CHECK
1. Provide evidence from the text to support or disprove the following
statements:
1. The blood system is like a road network.
2. Hemoglobin is responsible for carrying oxygen to the lungs.
3. The main function of white cells is to destroy germs.
4. Arteries are thinner than veins.
5. The ventricles propel blood to the lungs.
6. Metabolism and the removal of waste products are provided for by simple
diffusion in plants and animals.
7. The circulatory system of larger animals is an efficient system for material
exchange.
8. Blood regulates the body temperature.

2. Use the information from the text to answer the questions:

1. What is blood made up of?
2. What are platelets and what do they help to do?
3. When does the bleeding stop?
4. How is a clot created?
5. What are capillaries?
6. What does the heart of mammals consist of?
7. What must all cells have in order to survive?
8. What is the circulatory system?
9. What are the main functions of blood?
10. How is blood loss reduced?