首页
登录
职称英语
Agriculture in BritainI. British agriculture and its su
Agriculture in BritainI. British agriculture and its su
游客
2023-12-11
47
管理
问题
Agriculture in Britain
I. British agriculture and its supporting areas:
account for around (1)______of GNP.
II. Small percentage of the UK workforce in agriculture:
1705 or so: a majority of workforce
1850 or so: 10% of workforce
1950 or so: 3% of workforce only
2000 or so: 2% of workforce contributes to 20% of GNP
III. Two important (2)______to achieve efficiency:
1) the high level of training amongst the agricultural workforce.
2) the recognition by farmers of the value of investing in (3)______:
The "agribusiness" after WWII has brought visible changes.
a) large-scale mechanized planting and harvesting, aided by pesticides and fertilizers;
b) computer aided technologies to "map" fields.
IV. A small country but rich variety in (4)______:
1) North region:
a) (5)______land, thin soil and cool and wet climate.
b) A small, family-run farm concern, producing mainly wool and timber.
2) (6)______region:
a) Flatter land with fertile soils and a mixed climate.
b) UK’s great cereal-producing region and quality vegetable supply.
3) West region:
a) Warmer climate than in the north and (7)______than in the east.
b) The rich soils provide excellent (8)______.
c) The main products are milk, cheese and meat.
V. A strong sense of (9)______among regions:
1) A united front is presented in dealing with other interest-groups, such as government or the media.
2) The (10)______is established between all the agricultural
training colleges.
3) The national structure of the Farmers’ Union. [br]
Agriculture in Britain
Good morning, everybody. I’m Elizabeth Reed. I hope that this first session, which I’ve called An Introduction to British Agriculture, will provide a helpful background to the farm visits you’ll be doing next week.
With more of us living in urban environments, far removed from the countryside, it is easy to loose touch with the origins of the rural environments that surround our towns and cities. I think I should start by emphasizing that agriculture still accounts for a very important part of this country’s economy. You might have a doubt about it, as we are so used to hearing the UK’s society and economy described as being "industrial" or even "post-industrial". (1) But we mustn’t let this blind us to the fact that agriculture and its supporting industries still account for around 26% of our Gross National Product.
This figure is especially impressive, I think, when you bear in mind how very small a percentage of the UK workforce is employed in agriculture. This is not a recent development—you would have to go back to 1750 or so to find a majority of the workforce in this country working in agriculture. By the middle of the next century, in 1850 that is, it had fallen sharply to 10%, and then to 3% by the middle of the twentieth century.
And now just 2% of the workforce contribute 20% of GNP. How is this efficiency achieved? Well, my own view is that it owes a great deal to a history, over the last 50 or 60 years, of intelligent support by the state, mainly taking the form of helping farmers to plan ahead. (2) Then the two other factors I should mention, both very important, are the high level of training amongst the agricultural workforce. (3) And secondly, the recognition by farmers of the value of investing in technology is also a remarkable factor. Since World War II farming has largely remained on a secure footing to become a true business — "agribusiness". It has brought visible changes to the British countryside; the most noticeable being the removal of hedges to enlarge fields so that large-scale mechanised planting and harvesting can take place, aided by pesticides and fertilizers. A field that would once has taken days to prepare, or sow, or harvest by hand, can now be achieved in hours. Such is the sophistication at the top end of the agricultural industry that computer aided technologies can "map" fields; allowing farmers to deliver extra fertiliser, nutrients or seed depending on the soil quality in different parts of the terrain, and thereby optimize output.
Now, although the UK is a fairly small country, the geology and climate vary a good deal from region to region. For our purpose today we can divide the country broadly into three. The region you will get to know the best, of course, is the north, where we are at present. (5) The land here is generally hilly, and the soil thin. The climate up here, and you’ve already had evidence of this, is generally cool and wet. As you will see next week, the typical farm here in the North is a small, family-run concern, producing mainly wool and timber for the market. In some areas such as Scotland and northern England an "infield-outfield" system of land use occurred. Fields nearest to a village were permanently used for cropping while those beyond were grazed. Beyond the "outfields" there would be waste land for common pasture, or moorland in the case of upland areas. These waste lands in both highland and lowland situations, were the only source of new lands and were frequently reclaimed to form new enclosed farm holdings.
If we contrast that with the Eastern region, the east is flatter and more low-lying, with fertile soils and a mixed climate. Average farm-size is much bigger in the east, and farms are likely to be managed strictly on commercial lines. As for crops, well, the east is the UK’s great cereal-producing region. However, increasingly significant areas are now also given over to high quality vegetables for supply direct to the supermarkets.
The third broad region is the west, where it’s a different story again. The climate is warmer than that in the north and (7) much wetter than that in the east. The resulting rich soils in the west (8) provide excellent pasture, and the farms there are quite large, typically around 800 hectares. The main products are milk, cheese and meat.
So, clearly, there are marked differences between regions. (9) But this does not prevent quite a strong sense of solidarity amongst the farming community as a whole, right across the country. This solidarity comes in part from the need to present a united front in dealing with other powerful interest-groups, such as government or the media. (10) It also owes something to the close cooperation between all the agricultural training colleges, through which the great majority of farmers pass at the beginning of their careers. And a third factor making for solidarity is the national structure of the Farmers’ Union, of which virtually all farmers are members.
Finally, I’d like to sum up this talk. I first emphasized the importance of agriculture in British economy and the factors that stablise its firm status, then I moved on to detail its current situations by dividing the country into three regions, in the end, I explained the common phenomenon between regions. All right, that is all for today. I wish you would enjoy your farm visits next week.
选项
答案
26%
解析
细节题。从讲座内容“But we mustn’t let this blind us to the fact that agriculture and its supporting industries still account for around 26% of our Gross National Product.”可知。
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3264936.html
相关试题推荐
______istheofficialresidenceofBritishPrimeMinister.A、No.10DowningStree
ThebasicstructureofAustraliangovernmentisbasedon______.A、theBritishmod
WhichofthefollowingisaBritishnewsandcablenetwork?A、ABCB、CNN.C、CBS.D
ThefounderoftheLondonSchoolistheBritishlinguistA、J.R.Firth.B、Hallida
ThelongestreigninBritishhistorywas______.A、QueenVictoriaB、QueenElizabe
TheBritishestablished______coloniesalongtheeastcoastofNorthAmericabe
TheRomansbrought______toEnglandaftertheyinvadedtheBritishIsles.A、Budd
WhichofthefollowingpartiesisNOTBritish?A、ConservativeParty.B、LabourPar
TheBritishIslesaremadeupof______.A、BritainandScotlandB、ScotlandandI
No.10DowningStreetis______.A、theofficeofBritishnavyB、seatofEnglishpa
随机试题
[originaltext]M:Whatwasitlikeworkingwiththoseyoungstars?W:Itwasagre
Didhegiveyouanything______theletter?A、exceptB、butC、besideD、besidesDexc
A.2s B.0.5s C.3s/2 D.2S/3
联苯双酯用于肝病患者治疗时的最大缺点是()A:降酶速度慢 B:口服吸收率低,
下述测量工作不属于变形测量的是( )。A.竣工测量 B.位移测量 C.倾斜
根据《关于做好企业信用信息尽职调查工作的通知》的规定,以下说法正确的有( )。
股份公司只能用当期利润或留用利润来分配股利,不能用公司出售股票而募集的资本发放股
由于消费者长期、多次购买某些商品,通过对商品价格的反复感知而逐步形成的对衡量商品
急性腹膜炎发生休克的主要原因是A:剧烈疼痛 B:大量呕吐失液 C:细菌繁殖过
能托毒生肌的药物是A.黄芪 B.太子参 C.白术 D.西洋参 E.大枣
最新回复
(
0
)