I. Translate the following tow texts into Romanian.

MAYAPPLE

The umbrellalike leaves of the Mayapple are a common sight in woodlands, where
the plant is native. It was well known to North American Indians, who valued it for its
powerful laxative effect, as a treatment for intestinal worms, as a cure for warts, and even
as an insecticide for use on their crops. Apparently the Indians recognized Mayapple’s
toxic qualities; it is said that they sometimes ate the roots and shoots to commit suicide.
Indians also ate the Mayapple’s fruits (the only part of the plant that is no
poisonous), as many people do this day. Some, however, say they are insipide. One 19 th
century botanist dismissed them as ‘somewhat mawkish, beloved of pigs, racoons and
small boys’.
The plant’s creeping rhizome, pencil-thin and up to 6 feet long, is the part that is
used for medicinal purposes. Gathered in autumn as the plants are dying down, the
rhizomes are dried and crushed into a powder. Although the remedy has traditionally been
used to treat conditions ranging from liver ailments to cancers, Mayapple remains best
known as a laxative. But its purgative action is so strong that the U. S. Food and Drug
Administration lists this use of the plant as ‘unsafe’.
All parts except the ripe fruits are poisonous.
Habitat: From Quebec to Minnesota south to Florida and Texas.
Identification: A perennial herb 6-18 inches high, usually found growing in patches. The
single, forked stem is topped by two deeply lobed, umbrellalike leaves. A solitary waxy
white flower (May), 1 ½ inches across, dangles at the fork of the stem.
The fruit, a pulpy lemon-yellow oval berry, ripens in July-August. Nonflowering plants
have an unforked stem and a single leaf.
Uses: Fully ripe fruits can be eaten raw in moderation. The powdered rhizomes have a
potent laxative effect. The rhizomes also contain potent anticancer substances, and a
derivative of one of these is used to treat human cancers. But extracts of the rhizomes are
much too poisonous to be used for self-medication.
Mayapple is listed in the U. S. Pharmacopeia.

COMMON BARBERRY

The yellow wood of Common Barberry most likely was a sign to physicians long
ago that the plant was useful for jaundice, a condition (usually caused by liver disease or
gallstones) in which the skin turns yellowish. They concluded this on the basis of a theory
called the doctrine of signatures, which held that a plant’s appearance or other
characteristics were a divine sign of the type of disease or injury it would cure.
The root bark and stem bark of the plant contain tannin and a substance known as
berberine, which may account for the plant’s effectiveness in treating diarrhea. Common
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Barberry’s employment for bloodshot eyes appears palid, for modern pharmaceutical
products use the berberine it contains in eye preparations.
In ancient Egypt a syrup made of Common Barberry mixed with fennel seed was
used against plagues. Modern research indicates that this remedy was probably effective
because the plant has antibacterial properties that would help ward off infectious diseases.
The berries have been used in cooking, and the wood is favoured for marquetrey
work.
Habitat: Thickets, pastures, waste places.
Range: Introduced from Europe, Common Barberry now grows wild in North America
from Nova Scotia south to Delaware.
Identification: A bushy, deciduous, upright shrub growing up to 10 feet tall. Oval to
oblong spiny-toothed leaves are pale green above, grayish green below. Small yellow
flowers (May – June) bloom in drooping clusters and are followed by clusters of oval
orange-red to scarlet-red fruits.
Uses: Researchers investigating Common Barberry’s traditional use for liver and
gallbladder ailments find that preparations from the plants may improve liver function by
stimulating the production of bile by the liver. Scientists have found however, that
barberry is more likely effective as an antiseptic and antidiarrheal agent. Berberine salts,
derived from Common Barberry and other plants are used in eyedrops and eyewashes.

II. Put the verbs in brackets into the appropriate form

Harry and Sarah, a husband and wife, are talking.

H: Shall I make the children something to eat?
S: I wouldn’t bother. You know how much they eat when they visit their grandparents.
H: That’s true. If they…1(at) all afternoon, they…2(not want) anything when they get
home.
S: Are we going to pick them up soon?
H: No, my parents are bringing them over. We agreed that if I …3(take) them there, they
…4(bring) them back.
S: O, good. Well, if we…5(not collect) them, I…6(go back) upstairs and do a bit more
work. I’ve nearly finished that report now. If I …7(do) another half hour,s work, I
….8(finish) it by the time the children get home.
H: Why do you always have to bring work home with you? If you …9(not agree) to take
on that job, we…10(have) much more free time now.
S: Yes, and if I…11(not take on) that job, we…12(not have) much money now.
H: That’s true, but I don’t like you working so much.
S: Well, never mind. We’ve got a week’s holiday soon. Just think! In two weeks’ time,
we…13(lie) on a warm sunny beach – that’s if I …14(can get) the time off work of course.
H: What do you mean “if”?
S: Well, everything’s very busy at the moment. And if we…15(get) any more orders, I just
….16(not see) how I can leave the office.
H: What? But that’s ridiculuos!

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