首页
登录
职称英语
The world is planting a vigorous new crop: "agro-pessimism", or fear that ma
The world is planting a vigorous new crop: "agro-pessimism", or fear that ma
游客
2023-12-07
15
管理
问题
The world is planting a vigorous new crop: "agro-pessimism", or fear that mankind will not be able to feed itself except by wrecking the environment. The current harvest of this variety of whine will be a bumper one. Natural disasters—fire in Russia and flood in Pakistan, which are the world’s fifth- and eighth-largest wheat producers respectively—have added a Biblical colouring to an unfolding fear of famine. By 2050 world grain output will have to rise by half and meat production must double to meet demand. And that cannot easily happen because growth in grain yields is flattening out, there is little extra farmland and renewable water is running short.
The world has been here before. In 1967 Paul Ehrlich, a Malthusian, wrote that "the battle to feed all of humanity is over... In the 1970s and 1980s hundreds of millions of people will starve to death." Five years later, in "The Limits to Growth", the Club of Rome(a group of business people and academics)argued that the world was running out of raw materials and that societies would probably collapse in the 21st century.
A year after "The Limits to Growth" appeared, however, and at a time when soaring oil prices seemed to confirm the Club of Rome’s worst fears, a country which was then a large net food importer decided to change the way it farmed. Driven partly by fear that it would not be able to import enough food, it decided to expand domestic production through scientific research, not subsidies. Instead of trying to protect farmers from international competition—as much of the world still does—it opened up to trade and let inefficient farms go to the wall. This was all the more remarkable because most of the country was then regarded as unfit for agricultural production.
The country was Brazil. In the four decades since, it has become the first tropical agricultural giant and the first to challenge the dominance of the "big five" food exporters(America, Canada, Australia, Argentina and the European Union).
Even more striking than the fact of its success has been the manner of it. Brazil has followed more or less the opposite of the agro-pessimists’ prescription. For them, sustainability is the greatest virtue and is best achieved by encouraging small farms and organic practices. They frown on monocultures and chemical fertilisers. They like agricultural research but loathe genetically modified(GM)plants. They think it is more important for food to be sold on local than on international markets. Brazil’s farms are sustainable, too, thanks to abundant land and water.
But they are many times the size even of American ones. Farmers buy inputs and sell crops on a scale that makes sense only if there are world markets for them. And they depend critically on new technology. As the briefing explains, Brazil’s progress has been underpinned by the state agricultural-research company and pushed forward by GM crops. Brazil represents a clear alternative to the growing belief that, in farming, small and organic are beautiful.
That alternative commands respect for three reasons.
First, it is magnificently productive. It is not too much to talk about a miracle, and one that has been achieved without the huge state subsidies that prop up farmers in Europe and America.
Second, the Brazilian way of farming is more likely to do good in the poorest countries of Africa and Asia. Brazil’s climate is tropical, like theirs. Its success was built partly on improving grasses from Africa and cattle from India. Of course there are myriad reasons why its way of farming will not translate easily, notably that its success was achieved at a time when the climate was relatively stable whereas now uncertainty looms. Still, the basic ingredients of Brazil’s success—agricultural research, capital-intensive large farms, openness to trade and to new farming techniques—should work elsewhere.
Third, Brazil shows a different way of striking a balance between farming and the environment. The country is accused of promoting agriculture by razing the Amazon forest. And it is true that there has been too much destructive farming there. But most of the revolution of the past 40 years has taken place in the cerrado, hundreds of miles away. Norman Borlaug, who is often called the father of the Green Revolution, said the best way to save the world’s imperilled ecosystems would be to grow so much food elsewhere that nobody would need to touch the natural wonders. Brazil shows that can be done.
It also shows that change will not come about by itself. Four decades ago, the country faced a farm crisis and responded with decisive boldness. The world is facing a slow-motion food crisis now. It should learn from Brazil. [br] According to the passage, Brazil’s farming
选项
A、is an example of agro-pessimism.
B、is a successful example to follow.
C、sees productivity most important.
D、succeeds solely by GM plants.
答案
B
解析
细节题。第五段首句一语点出巴西的农业是非常成功的,除此之外,由第四段“The country wasBrazil…food exporters...”也可以看出,巴西在短短几十年间,从一个粮食进口大国一跃可以与五大粮食出口国比肩,足以证明这个国家的农业的成功,因此[B]正确。
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3251646.html
相关试题推荐
Theworldisplantingavigorousnewcrop:"agro-pessimism",orfearthatma
Theworldisplantingavigorousnewcrop:"agro-pessimism",orfearthatma
Theworldisplantingavigorousnewcrop:"agro-pessimism",orfearthatma
Theworldisplantingavigorousnewcrop:"agro-pessimism",orfearthatma
Theworldisplantingavigorousnewcrop:"agro-pessimism",orfearthatma
Theworldisplantingavigorousnewcrop:"agro-pessimism",orfearthatma
Theworldisplantingavigorousnewcrop:"agro-pessimism",orfearthatma
Theworldisplantingavigorousnewcrop:"agro-pessimism",orfearthatma
Theworldisplantingavigorousnewcrop:"agro-pessimism",orfearthatma
Theworldisplantingavigorousnewcrop:"agro-pessimism",orfearthatma
随机试题
有一玻璃劈尖,置于空气中,劈尖角为θ,用波长为λ的单色光垂直照射时,测得相邻明纹
陕西省土地总面积约( )万平方千米,占全国国土面积的2.14%。A.20.58
商业银行应加大对金融创新的信息科学技术投入,建立有效的创新业务技术支持系统和管理
治疗热病心烦、郁闷、躁扰不宁,血热妄行之吐衄、尿血的药物是()A.石膏
中学历史课外活动形式丰富多样,请简要介绍几种常见形式。
在基金的费用中,属于基金投资者在“买入”与“卖出”基金环节一次性支付的费用包括(
A.对羟福林B.消旋去甲乌药碱C.黄酮苷D.氢氰酸E.氧化甲基多巴胺枳壳升压作用
把一根钢管锯成两端要4分钟,若将它锯成8段要多少分钟?()A.16 B.
简述教学反思的内容。
WindowsXP的桌面上有一文档的快捷方式图标,以下叙述错误的是()。A.删除
最新回复
(
0
)