必修4 Unit 2 A PIONEER FOR ALL PEOPLE
Although he is one of China's most famous scientists, Yuan Longping considers 1. (him) a farmer, for he works the land 2. (do) his research. Indeed, his sunburnt face and arms and his slim, strong body are just like those of millions of Chinese farmers, 3. whom he has struggled for the past five decades. Dr Yuan Longping grows 4. is called super hybrid rice. In 1974, he became the first agricultural pioneer in the world 5. (grow) rice 6. has a high output. This special strain of rice makes7. possible 8. (produce) one-third more of the crop in the same fields. Now more than 60% of the rice 9. (produce) in China each year 10. (be) from this hybrid strain.
Born into a poor farmer's family in 1930, Dr Yuan graduated from Southwest Agricultural College in 1953. Since then, 11. (find) ways to grow more rice has been his life goal. 12. a young man, he saw the great need for 13. (increase) the rice output. At that time, hunger was a 14. (disturb) problem in many parts of the countryside. Dr Yuan searched 15. a way to increase rice harvests without 16. (expand) the area of the fields. In 1950, Chinese farmers could produce only fifty million tons of rice. In a recent harvest, however, nearly two hundred million tons of rice was produced. These 17. (increase) harvests mean that 22% of the world's people 18. (be) fed from just 7% of the farmland in China. Dr Yuan is now circulating his knowledge in India, Vietnam and many other less 19. (develop) countries to increase their rice harvests. Thanks 20. his research, the UN has more tools in the battle to rid the world 21. hunger. 22. (use) his hybrid rice, farmers are producing harvests 23. (two) as large as before.
Dr Yuan is quite 24. (satisfy) with his life. However, he doesn't care about 25. (famous). He feels it gives him less 26. (free) to do his research. He would much rather keep time for his hobbles. He enjoys listening 27. violin music, playing mah-jong, 28. (swim) and reading. Spending money on himself or 29. (lead) a comfortable life also means very little to him. Indeed, he believes that a person with too much money has more rather than 30. (few) troubles. He therefore gives millions of yuan to equip others for their research in agriculture.
Just 31. (dream) for things, however, 32. (cost) nothing. Long ago Dr yuan had a dream about rice plants as tall as sorghum. Each ear of rice was as big as an ear of corn and each grain of rice was as huge as a peanut. Dr Yuan awoke from his dream with the hope of producing a kind of rice 33. could feed more people. Now, many years later, Dr Yuan has another dream: to export his rice so that it can be grown around the globe. One dream is not always enough, especially for a person 34. loves and cares for his people.
CHEMICAL OR ORGANIC FARMING?
Over the past half century, 1. (use) chemical fertilizers has become very common in farming. Many farmers welcomed them as a great way 2. (stop) crop disease and increase production. Recently, however, scientists 3. (find) that long-term use of these fertilizers can cause damage 4. the land and, even more 5. (danger), to people's health.
What are some of the problems 6. (cause) by chemical fertilizers? First, they damage the land by killing the helpful bacteria and pests as well as the harmful 7. . Chemicals also stay in the ground and underground water for a long time. This affects crops and, 8. , animals and humans, since chemicals get inside the crops and cannot just be washed 9. . These chemicals in the food supply build 10. in people's bodies over time. Many of these chemicals can lead 11. cancer or other 12. (ill). In addition, fruit, vegetables and other food 13. (grow) with chemical fertilizers usually grow 14. fast to be full of much nutrition. They may look beautiful, 15. inside there is usually more water 16. vitamins and minerals.
17. these discoveries, some farmers and many customers are beginning to turn 18. organic farming. Organic farming is simply farming 19. using any chemicals. They focus 20. keeping their soil rich and free of disease. A healthy soil reduces disease and helps crops grow strong and healthy. Organic farmers, therefore, often prefer using natural waste from animals 21. fertilizer. They feel that this makes the soil in their fields 22. (rich) in minerals and so more fertile. This also keeps the air, soil, water and crops free from chemicals. Organic farmers also use many other methods to keep the soil fertile. They often change the kind of crop in each field every few years, 23. example, growing corn or wheat and then the next year peas or soybeans. Crops such 24. peas or soybeans put important minerals back into the soil, 25. (make) it ready for crops such as wheat or corn 26. need rich and fertile soil. Organic farmers also plant crops to use different levels of soil, for example, planting peanuts that use the ground's surface 27. (follow) by vegetables that put down deep roots. Some organic farmers prefer planting grass between crops 28. (prevent) wind or water from carrying 29. the soil, and then 30. (leave) it in the ground to become a natural fertilizer for the next year's crop. These many different organic farming methods have the same goal: to grow good food and avoid 31. (damage) the environment or people's health.