高中英语人教版高三1 04

[06:16.89]They are also developing new types of plants
[06:21.65]that can be grown in poor soil or even sand,
[06:27.29]and that are less likely to be attacked by pests and diseases.
[06:33.67]Lesson 15
[06:42.91]1 Reading comprehension
[06:47.59]FEED THE WORLD(2)
[06:51.43]What can be done in order to make sure that no one in the world goes hungry?
[06:58.80]Generally speaking,the human race has the information and experience to do this.
[07:06.95]However,humans have so far not been wise enough to make correct decisions.
[07:14.81]In the European Union(EU),where 81% of the land is farmed,
[07:23.17]there is plenty of food,in fact often too much.
[07:29.41]Farmers have the right to sell their crops to the EU.
[07:34.69]For example,if the apple harvest is very good
[07:40.54]and there are so many apples on the market that farmers cannot sell them,
[07:47.07]the EU will buy apples from the farmers and throw them away.
[07:53.94]And the fact that farmers are also paid by the EU
[07:59.69]for not growing crops surprises many people.
[08:04.86]If they leave some of their fields free and do not plant anything,
[08:11.70]they will still receive money from the EU.There is a similar system in the USA.
[08:20.56]It has been proved that the way to produce the most food
[08:25.91]is to let farmers grow crops
[08:29.96]either to feed their family or to sell,whichever they choose.
[08:36.94]However,although this happens in China,
[08:41.48]it does not happen in some other countries,like India.
[08:47.75]There,most of the land is owned by rich people who pay peasants very little money
[08:55.30]to work in the fields for them.
[08:58.96]If the peasants could farm the land themselves,
[09:03.40]food production would be much higher.
[09:07.94]What is needed is a change in land ownership,
[09:13.40]and it has been suggested that the land should be shared equally among the peasants.
[09:21.27]The problem is that most politicians in India are landowmers.
[09:27.82]They would not vote to lose their land and wealth,
[09:32.79]even if it resulted in a fairer society.
[09:37.46]Many less-developed countries
[09:41.30]are in debt because they borrowed money from richer countries
[09:46.66]in order to develop industry.
[09:50.81]Unfor tunately they find it difficult to repay this money.
[09:56.27]As a result,farmers are forced to plant"cash crops",like coffee,tea,cocoa,
[10:06.01]nuts and tobacco that are sold abroad in order to pay off the country's debts.
[10:13.67]The problem is
[10:16.52]that much of the land is used for crops that will never feed the population.
[10:23.07]If fewer cash crops were grown,
[10:27.04]more food could be produced and there would be less or no starvation.
[10:33.81]Many western countries raise and butcher a large number of beef cattle.
[10:40.86]The problem with beef cattle is that 10 kilograms of grain
[10:46.90]is needed to produce just one kilogram of meat.
[10:52.33]In the USA,for example,75% of the grain is used to feed animals.
[11:00.48]This grain could be used to feed humans,rather than animals.
[11:06.96]However,in hilly,dry or mountainous areas where it is impossible to grow crops,
[11:15.71]it makes very good sense to keep sheep or goats.
[11:21.48]These provide milk,meat and wool,
[11:25.74]yet this does not take land away from food production.