Unit 4
Task 1
【答案】
A.
1) They are farms that grow vegetables for city people to eat fresh.
2) It’s a farm that grow plants and flowers to sell.
3) They protect the plants from the cold in the winter but let them get plenty of light, so the plants can be grown all through the year.
B.
1) canned, frozen
2) flowers, garden plants, home gardens, yards, window boxes
3) buildings, furniture, firewood
【原文】
Grain, vegetables and fruits are found on most farms. All of them are food for animals and people.
Grain can be fed to animals just as it is harvested. But before people use them grains are usually made into flour or breakfast cereal. Bread, macaroni, and cereals all come from grain.
Tomatoes, beans, potatoes, beets, lettuce, carrots and onions are field and garden vegetables. Can you think of any others? Vegetables are good for people and for some animals such as pigs and rabbits.
Farms that grow vegetables for city people to eat fresh are called truck farms. Truck farms are usually close to big cities. Each day hundreds of loads of fresh vegetables are brought to stores on the farmers' trucks. Without the truck farmers people in cities would not eat well. And without city people who eat fresh vegetables, the truck farmers would have no work.
There are many kinds of fruit. Apples, pears, peaches, cherries, oranges, grapefruit, and berries are a few kinds. You will be able to think of other kinds that you like. Most fruit is grown on specialized farms. But many general farms have some fruit to use and sell also.
Like vegetables, fruit is sold fresh in markets. But a large part of both fruit and vegetable crops is sent to factories to be canned or frozen.
In warm parts of our country farmers grow cotton, rice, tobacco, sugar cane, and peanuts.
Specialized farms raise flowers and garden plants. They are sold to florists and to families for home gardens, or yards, or window boxes. A farm that grow plants and flowers to sell is called a nursery. Most nurseries have glass buildings, called hothouses or greenhouses. The hothouses are heated to protect the plants from cold in the winter but let them get plenty of light, so they can be grown all through the year.
Some farms grow only trees. Some of these are Christmas tree farms. Others are large forests where trees are grown for their wood. The wood is used for buildings, furniture and firewood. Some tree farms grow only nut trees.
Task 2
【答案】
A.
Problems Concerned The safety of some pesticides used to kill insects, especially in developing countries:
1. poor quality pesticides, which often contain harmful chemicals
2. the poor quality of pesticide containers and product information on the containers
Advantages of Pesticides 1. pesticides kill insects and other organisms that threaten arops.
2. pesticides also are used for public health. They control insects that spread disease, such as mosquitoes that spread malaria.
Possible Causes of Low Quality P
esticides Production problems and failure to use the right chemicals.
B.
1) The UN agencies report that the market value of pesticides in developing countries last year was about three thousand million dollars.
2) The agencies called for worldwide acceptance of Food and Agriculture and World Health Organization pesticide rules. They say this would help guarantee the safe production of and trade in pesticides.
【原文】
Two United Nations agencies are expressing concern about the safety of some pesticides used to kill insects. They report that about thirty percent of all pesticides sold in developing countries fail to meet widely accepted rules for quality. They say these products are a serious threat to human health and the environment.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization gave the warning.
In developing countries, pesticides are used mainly for agriculture. Pesticides kill insects and other organisms that threaten crops. Pesticides also are used for public health. They control insects that spread disease, such as mosquitoes that spread malaria.
The UN agencies report that the market value of pesticides in developing countries last year was about three thousand million dollars. They say the estimated market value of pesticides worldwide was thirty-two thousand million dollars.
Officials say poor quality pesticides often contain harmful chemicals. These chemicals often are banned or restricted in some countries.
Possible causes of low quality in pesticides include production problems and failure to use the right chemicals. Officials say the active chemicals in many pesticides are stronger than those permitted by many governments. They also say poor quality pesticides may contain poisonous substances or substances that are not pure.
Officials say the quality of pesticide containers and product information on the containers are other concerns. They say information on the containers often fails to explain the active chemicals and how to use the product safely.
The WHO says products listing false information have been sold for years in some areas. The agencies say the problem of poor quality pesticides is widespread in parts of Africa south of the Sahara Desert. They called for worldwide acceptance of Food and Agriculture and World Health Organization pesticide rules. They say this would help guarantee the safe production of and trade in pesticides.
Officials say the agencies' rules are especially important for developing countries. They say developing countries often lack systems for testing pesticides.
Task 3
【答案】
A.1) c) 2) d) 3) b)
B.
That’s because they’re making an investment all the time, but are still not sure whether or not they can make profits.
【原文】
Interviewer: Cattle raising and beef in the US is big business, isn't it?
Bob Beck: Yes, it's the largest business—cattle business.
Interviewer: It must be a very profitable business then.
Bob Beck: Uh,
not necessarily.
Interviewer: It's not necessarily a profitable business?
Bob Beck: At times, it's not profitable. Your production costs get... it's a supply and demand market, and if your supply is larger than your demand...
Interviewer: So the price is fluctuating all the time...
Bob Beck: Right. It fluctuates, and it can get below production costs.
Interviewer: But you never know. For instance, next year, you don't know what it'll bring on the market.
Bob Beck: No, technically it takes a year and a half from the time you breed the cow, until you get the calf, until the calf's marketable.
Interviewer: Uh-huh.
Bob Beck: You've got a year, to a year and a half, tied up there.
Interviewer: So, you're making an investment all the time.
Bob Beck: Right. So you're not sure.
Interviewer: It sounds like it might be a very insecure kind of existence. Wonder why it is that people want to be farmers or ranchers then...
Bob Beck: I think the majority of it is you like it. It's one thing. It's a breed of people. They like it. If you don't like what you're doing, why...
Interviewer: What is there about it? You live essentially in a rural area. Doesn't that feeling of isolation ever bother you?
Bob Beck: No. It's getting too crowded.
Interviewer: Too crowded!
Bob Beck: Too many people!
Interviewer: I can see that, for instance, in a city, you have restaurants to go to, movie theaters—all kinds of things
available to people, a lot of conveniences which you don't have in the more rural areas. What do
people who farm and ranch do for recreation and relaxation, for instance... erm...
Bob Beck: Well, I think a lot of it is if you're a livestock raiser, you'll go check your cows in the evening instead of going to a movie.
Interviewer: Uh-huh.
Bob Beck: That's as much recreation as driving through a bunch or cows, and if you like them, you enjoy that.
Interviewer: In terms of the way of life, to a lot of people, it would seem that it's a very hard life. It means a lot of hard work. I mean, you have a schedule—whether you feel like it or not, you have to get out and feed animals, and so forth. Would you regard that as one of the difficult things about it, or is that...
Bob Beck: No.
Interviewer: …just sort of... part of it?
Bob Beck: For me, if I had to go to a desk every morning, that'd kill me.
Task 4
【答案】
A. paid off, fall back on, a security, operating expenses, complete disaster
B.
1) Some of them cook the meals, clean the house and take care of the kids every day.
2) Yes. That is especially so after they've had one or two bad years when they couldn’t make money.
3) When their children are small, they were with their parents to go out to work; when they are very small, Sharon didn’t go out as much as she would later.
4) She thinks that in this way the children are a lot more self-reliant. They learn to work and they learn responsibility. They learn a lot about life by being continually in life with animals.
【原文】
Bob Beck: I think, for a wife, the same as a husband, they like it or they wouldn't marry a farmer or a rancher.
Interviewer: Uh-huh.
Bob Beck: They'd get out. I think it's not at all wives. Some of them are just like suburban housewives.
Interviewer: Uh-huh.
Bob Beck: They cook the meals, and they clean the house and that's it... take care of the kids...
Interviewer: Have you known some situations like that?
Bob Beck: Oh, yeah, I know situations like that!
Interviewer: Sharon, is there a problem of the feeling of security?
Sharon Beck: What kind of security are you talking about—financial security?
Interviewer: Uh, yeah, financial security. Uh, the thing is up and down. You don't know what the market's going to bring, er... for beef. You work all year, and so forth... Is there any problem of that sort?
Sharon Beck: Sure, there's the problem of security. Especially, if you've had one or two bad years. You feel awfully insecure.
Interviewer: Uh-huh.
Sharon Beck: If you've borrowed money to buy a farm or to operate, and there's no money coming in, you feel awfully insecure.
Interviewer: Uh-huh.
Sharon Beck: But if you've got a fairly good amount of your ranch paid off, you've got that to fall back on. You can always think of that as a security. If everything else fails, if you can’t pay for your operating expenses…
Interviewer: Uh-huh.
Sharon Beck: ...you can always sell your equity in your ranch. So it isn't complete disaster.
Interviewer: But it's not something that bothers you terribly. I mean, it's a fact of life. It's sort of...
Sharon Beck: Something you live with, yeah...
Interviewer:... part of the thing. The role of the wife in this situation is quite different than that of a suburban housewife. You don't have much free time, do you?
Sharon Beck: No.
Interviewer: Because, essentially, you work in much the same way that your husband does.
Sharon Beck: Yes, I'm usually with him.
Interviewer: How do you handle the whole family-life situation—children? You're out almost as much as a working mother in the city, aren't you?
Sharon Beck: Yes. The only difference is we're together.
Interviewer: The children too...?
Sharon Beck: The children too. When they're not in school, when they were small, they were with us. When they were very small, of course, I didn't go out as much.
Interviewer: Do you feel that there are advantages in growing up in this way?
Sharon Beck: Yeah, I definitely feel that there're advantages. There are disadvantages too, but I think the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages.
Interviewer: What are some of those advantages you think the children have?
Sharon Beck: The advantages?
Interviewer: Uh-huh.
Sharon Beck: Well, they're a lot more self-reliant. They learn to work. Erm, they learn responsibility.
Interviewer: Uh-huh.
Sharon Beck: They learn a lot about life by being continually in life, with animals, and... I think it makes them... erm... They grow up!
Task
5
【答案】
A.
1) 75 percent, half, in the east and south of England, in eastern Scotland, cereals, in hilly areas, on the richer grass of the lowlands
2) 173, 70
3) The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the National Farmers' Union, 2 percent, 25 percent
4) 1973, the European Community
B.
1) First, farmers complain that their work is made more difficult by rules and regulations that have been introduced. Second, they also claim that quota systems, which limit the amount of produce they can sell, make it impossible to make a profit.
2) Many farmers let farm cottages, offer bed and breakfast to tourists, and grow strawberries in order to gain some extra money.
3) Because the CAP’s set-aside policy is seen as helping farmers ge4t rich for doing nothing.
4) Farmers are often criticized for destroying woods and hedges and for poisoning the environment with fertilizers and pesticides. Farmers may also be accused of cruelty towards their animals.
【原文】
About 75 percent of Britain is farmed, and British farms supply over half the country's food. Arable farms are mainly in the east and south of England and in eastern Scotland. The main crops are cereals, for example, wheat and barley, and potatoes, sugar beet and oilseed rape. Livestock, mainly sheep and cattle, are reared in hilly areas, though dairy cows are kept on the richer grass of the lowlands. Many cattle farmers have had a difficult time recently because of the BSE crisis. Kent, often called "the garden of England", and the Vale of Evesham are famous for horticultural produce.
The average size of a British farm is 173 acres (70 hectares). Most farms are managed like other modern businesses. The word agribusiness describes the commercial aspects of farming. It is also used to refer to all the industries, including farming, which are associated with food production.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food is the government department responsible for agriculture. Farmers' interests are represented by the National Farmers' Union. Agriculture only employs about 2 percent of the British workforce, though this figure rises to 25 percent when food processing industries are included.
In 1973, Britain's entry into the European Community led to many changes in farming. The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) provides help for farmers through subsidies. Originally, farmers were encouraged to produce as much as they could, and any surplus was put into storage. The cost of this policy was passed on to customers, who had to pay higher prices for food. Many people are still unhappy about the CAP. Farmers complain that their work is made more difficult by rules and regulations that have been introduced. They also claim that quota systems, which limit the amount of produce they can sell, make it impossible to make a profit. In recent years many farmers have tried to find additional ways of making money, e.g. by letting farm cottages, offering bed and breakfast to touris
ts, or by growing strawberries.
But farmers do not get much sympathy from other people, mainly because of the money they receive in subsidies. The CAP’s set-aside policy, which pays farmers to leave some fields uncultivated, is seen by some people as helping farmers get rich for doing nothing. Farmers are sometimes called "custodians of the countryside", but they are often criticized for destroying woods and hedges and for poisoning the environment with fertilizers and pesticides. Some farmers practise organic fanning without chemicals, but, although people approve of this, most are unwilling to pay higher prices for organic produce. Farmers may also be accused of cruelty towards their animals: In battery farming, for instance, chickens are reared in crowded cages.
Task 6
【答案】
A.
1) over 22 million, about 2.5 percent, in the 1950s, in the 1980s, 470, 190, 174 ,70, 1940, 1996, $51 billion
2) 36 percent, 47 percent
3) $200 billion, $60 billion-worth
B.
1) Midwest, corn, soybeans
2) Canada, southern Texas on the eastern side
3) the Great Lakes
4) Florida, Southern California and Hawaii
5) the southeast
C.
1) The US Department of Agriculture spends a lot of its budget on buying surpluses and paying subsidies to farmers for them not to grow certain crops.
2) It will gradually end these subsidies and give farmers more freedom to respond to public demand and grow what they want.
3) The Federation is involved in agricultural research, but it also protects farmers' rights and tries to influence government policy.
4) They think factory farming is bad and are in favor of organic produce, but they are unwilling to pay the extra cost.
【原文】
Agribusiness in the United States employs more people than any other industry, over 22 million, but only about 2.5 percent of the American workforce are farmers. Many people got into debt and left their farms in the 1950s, and in the 1980s many more farmers sold out and moved to the cities. The average size of a farm is now 470 acres (190 hectares), compared with 174 acres (70 hectares) in 1940. In 1996 farm income was more than $51 billion, the highest ever, but despite this many farmers had large debts.
Many farmers live in the Corn Belt of the Midwest where corn and soybeans are grown. The US grows 36 percent of the world's corn and 47 percent of its soybeans. Others live on the prairies of the Great Plains, in what is known as the Wheat Belt, which stretches from Canada to southern Texas on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains. Most livestock farmers live around the Great Lakes in the Dairy Belt, or further south in states like Texas where cattle are bred for meat on ranches. In the South many live in the Cotton Belt. Citrus fruits, such as oranges, are grown in Florida, Southern California and Hawaii, and tobacco is grown in the southeast. In 1996 the total value of agricultural products was $200 billion, of which $60 billion-worth, mostly grain and soybeans, was exported. F
armers and ranchers are usually well respected by other people.
The US Department of Agriculture spends a lot of its budget on buying surpluses and paying subsidies (in this case, money for not growing certain crops) to farmers, though in 1996 Congress passed a "Freedom to Farm" law that will gradually end these subsidies and give farmers more freedom to respond to public demand and grow what they want.
Farmers are represented by the American Farm Bureau Federation and county farm organizations called Farm Bureaus. The Federation is involved in agricultural research, but it also protects farmers' rights and tries to influence government policy. Agricultural colleges attached to universities are highly respected. Extension officers act as a link between research departments and farmers.
As in Britain, many people in the United States think factory farming is bad and are in favor of organic produce, but they are unwilling to pay the extra cost.
Task 7
【答案】
A.
Agroecology The Green Revolution
Land used Use less land and grow more kinds of plant. Use land intensively and grow the same crop on the same land year after year.
Fertilizer used Use organic materials and compost Use chemical fertilizer.
The way to water crops Reduce the need for irrigation. Use irrigation intensively.
The method to control pests Use helpful insects to kill harmful ones. Use insecticides.
B.
1) Agroecology and the Green Revolution both want to increase productivity,
2) Often the same crop is grown on the same land year after year. Soil breaks down and washes away. Also, fewer varieties of the same plant are grown. This can limit the number of varieties that may have useful genetic qualities.
3) Because irrigation systems can use up groundwater faster than nature can replace it. And there are costs to taking water from other areas.
4) Pesticides do destroy harmful insects, but they also kill helpful ones, and can cause pollution and health problems. Also, pests can develop the ability to resist chemicals.
【原文】
Agroecology is a field of ideas about how to farm productively while also protecting natural resources. It is seen in many ways as an answer to the Green Revolution that has given us modem farming methods.
Agroecology and the Green Revolution both want to increase productivity, but they work toward this common goal in different ways. Many agroecologists question how long modem farming methods can continue.
Modem farming uses land intensively. Often the same crop is grown on the same land year after year. Soil breaks down and washes away. Also, fewer varieties of the same plant are grown. This can limit the number of varieties that may have useful genetic qualities.
Another issue is fertilizer. Agroecologists say they would use organic materials and compost in place of chemicals. The Green Revolution has shown that chemical fertilizer can greatly increase crop productivity, but it can also pollute water supplies.
To water crops,
agroecologists say they would use methods that reduce the need for irrigation. Irrigation is an ancient idea. Water is drawn up from the ground or brought from another place. Irrigated crops are highly productive: 16 percent of all farmland in the world is irrigated, but this 16 percent of the farmland produces 40 percent of all food. Yet irrigation systems can use up groundwater faster than nature can replace it. And there are costs to taking water from other areas.
To control pests, agroecologists say they would use helpful insects to kill harmful ones. In the last 50 years, however, farmers have increased the use of insecticides. These chemical poisons do destroy harmful insects, but they also kill helpful ones, and can cause pollution and health problems. Also, pests can develop the ability to resist chemicals.
Task 8
【原文】
Farming changed very little from early times until about 1700. In the 1700s an agricultural revolution took place which led to a large increase in the production of crops. This increase of crops came about in a large part by little more than the final destruction of medieval institutions and the more general adoption of techniques and crops which had been known for a long time. Included in some of these changes was also the adoption of crops from the "new world" such as corn and potatoes which produced a very large yield.
In the 1850s, the industrial revolution spilled over to the farm with new mechanized methods which increased production rates. Early on, the large changes were in the use of new farm implements. Most of these early implements were still powered by horses or oxen. These new implements combined with crop rotation, manure and better soil preparation led to a steady increase of crop yield in Europe.
The advent of steam power and later gas powered engines brought a whole new dimension to the production of crops. Yet, even as recently as 100 years ago, four fifths of the world population lived outside towns and were in some way dependant on agriculture