Unit 2 Working the land
Part I a Pioneer for all People
Although he is one of China’s most famous scientists, Yuan Longping considers himlf a farmer, for he works the land to do his rearch. Indeed, his sunburnt face and arms and his slim, strong body are just like tho of millions of Chine farmers, for whom he has struggled for the past five decades. Dr Yuan Longping grows what is called super hybrid rice. In 1974, he became the first agricultural pioneer in the world to grow rice that has a high output. This special strain of rice makes it possible to produce one-third more of the crop in the same fields. Now more than 60% of the rice produced in China each year is from this hybrid strain.
Born in 1930, Dr Yuan graduated from Southwest Agricultural College in 1953. Since then, finding ways to grow more rice has been his life goal. As a young man, he saw the great need for increasing the rice output. At that time, hunger was a disturbing problem in many parts of the countryside. Dr Yuan arched for a way to increa rice harvests w
ithout 元宵节内容expanding the area of the fields. In 1950, Chine farmers could produce only fifty million tons of rice. In a recent harvest, however, nearly two hundred million tons of rice was produced. The incread harvests mean that 22% of the world’s people are fed from just 7% of the farmland in China. Dr Yuan is now circulating his knowledge in India, Vietnam and many other less developed countries to increa their rice harvests. Thanks to his rearch, the UN has more tool有效授权s in the battle to rid the world 软件测试实习报告of hunger. Using his hybrid rice, farmers are producing harvests twice as large as before.
吴文洪
Dr Yuan is quite satisfied with his life. However, he doesn’t care about being famous. He feels it gives him less freedom to do his rearch. He would much rather keep time for his hobbies. He enjoys listening to violin music, playing mah-jong, swimming and reading. Spending money on himlf or leading a comfortable life also means very little to him. Indeed, he believes that a person with too much money has more rather than fewer troubles. He therefore gives millions of yuan to equip others for their rearch in agriculture.
Just dreaming for things, however, costs 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 猪脚醋的做法huge as a peanut. Dr Yuan awoke from his dream with the hope of producing a kind of rice that 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 who loves and cares for his people.
Part II Chemical or Organic Farming?
Over the past half century, using chemical fertilizers has become very common in farming. Many farmers welcomed them as a great way to stop crop dia and increa production. Recently, however, scientists have been finding that long-term u of the fertilizers can cau damage to the land and, even more dangerous, to people’s health.
What are some of the problems caud by chemical fertilizers? First, they damage the land by killing the helpful bacteria and pests as well as the harmful ones. Chemicals als
o stay in the ground and underground water for a long time. This affects crops and, therefore, animals and humans, since chemicals get inside the crops and cannot just be washed off. The chemicals in the food supply build up in people’s bodies over time. Many of the chemicals can lead to cancer or other illness. In addition, fruit, vegetables and other food grown with chemical fertilizers usually grow too fast to be full of much nutrition. They may look beautiful, but inside there is usually more water than vitamins and minerals.
With the discoveries, some farmers and many customers are beginning to 离乡背井turn to organic farming. Organic farming is simply farming without using any chemicals. They focus on keeping their soil rich and free of dia. A healthy soil reduces dia and helps crops grow strong and healthy. Organic farmers, therefore, often prefer using natural waste from animals as fertilizer. They feel that this makes the soil in their fields richer in minerals and so more fertile. This also keeps the air, soil, water and crops free from chemicals.
Organic farmers also u many other methods to keep the soil fertile. They often change the kind of crop in each field every few years, for example, growing corn or wheat and then the next year peas or soybeans. Crops such as peas or soybeans put important minerals back into the soil, making it ready for crops such as wheat or corn that need rich and fertile soil. Organic farmers also plant crops to u different levels of soil, for example, planting peanuts that u the ground’s surface followed by vegetables that put down deep roots. Some organic farmers prefer planting grass between crops to prevent wind or water from carrying away the soil, and then leaving it in the ground to become a natural无锅电视接收器 fertilizer for the next year’s crop. The many different organic farming methods have the same goal: to grow good food and avoid damaging the environment or people’s health.建行考试
