题目内容
（请给出正确答案）
Farmers today use scarecrows to ______.
A．get rid of bad luck
B．decorate their houses
C．frighten the birds away
D．show that autumn has come
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听力原文： In many parts of the world, farmers and their families live in villages or towns. In the United States, however, each farm family lives on its own fields, often beyond the sight of any neighbors. Instead of traveling from a village to the fields every morning, American farmers stay on their land throughout the week. They travel to the nearest town on Saturdays for shopping or on Sundays for church. The children ride on buses to large schools which serve all of the farm families living in the area. In some areas, there are small schools serving a few farm families, and the children walk to school.
Of course life keeps changing for everyone, including farmers. Today there are cars, good roads, radios, and television sets. And of course there are modern machines for farming. All of these have changed farm life.
For many years, however, farming in America was often a lonely way of living. Farmers had to deal with their own problems, instead of getting help from others. They learned to try new methods, and to trust their own ideas instead of following older ways.
(30)
A．They live in bigger houses.
B．They live in villages or in towns.
C．Each family lives on its own fields.
D．They use modern machines in farming.
听力原文： The agricultural revolution in the 19th century involved two things: the invention of labor-saving machinery and the development of scientific agriculture. Labor-saving machinery naturally appeared first where labor was scarce. "In Europe." said Thomas Jefferson, "the object is to make the most of their land, labor being rich enough; here it is to make the most of our labor, land being rich enough." It was in the United States, therefore, that the great advances in nineteenth-century agricultural machinery first came.
At the opening of the century, with the exception of crude equipment, farmers could have carried practically all of the existing agricultural implements on their backs; by 1860, most of the machinery in use today had been designed in an early form. The most important of the inventions was the iron plow. As early as 1790 Charles Newbold of New Jersey had been working on the idea of a cast-iron plow andspent his entire fortune in introducing his invention. The farmers, however, were not interested in it, believing that the iron poisoned the soil and made the weeds row. Nevertheless, many people devoted their attention to the plow, until in 1869 James Oliver of South Bend, Indiana turned out the first steel plow.
(33)
A．The invention of machine that can save labor and the progress of scientific agriculture.
B．The invention of crude equipments and agricultural implements.
C．The advance of agriculture machinery and the iron plow.
D．The idea of a cast-iron plow and steel plow.
听力原文： I want to talk today about some studies. They seem to indicate that there is a startling world-wide decline in the number of amphibians, such as frogs, toads and salamanders. There's little doubt that one reason why the number of amphibians is declining is their habitats have been destroyed when the developers fill in ponds and marshes to build houses. Amphibians can't just move somewhere. They need water to lay their eggs in. Another problem is the growing fish industry. Another range of popular pool fish such as carp have been introduced to many lakes and ponds all over the world. Raising and selling these fish can be profitable, but the fish eat the eggs and offspring of amphibians that were already living in the lakes and ponds. Other factors could be contributing to the decline include acid rain and the spread of pesticide residues. Many pesticides that farmers added to their crops are eventually washed away by the rain and end up in ponds and other bodies of water where amphibians live. Amphibians are especially vulnerable to pesticides dissolved in the water because of their moist skins. Water can pass through amphibians allowing toxins dissolved in the water to enter the amphibians' body.
What does the speaker mainly discuss？
A．The distribution of different species of amphibians.
B．Possible reasons for reduction in the number of amphibians.
C．The effects of environmental change on the fish industry.
D．Guidelines for the responsible use of pesticides.
【C1】
A．ground
B．land
C．earth
D．soil
Organic Food
Organic farming was among the fastest growing segments of U.S. agriculture during the 1990s. The value of retail sales of organic food was estimated to be $16 billion in 2004. According to the Food Marketing Institute, more than half of Americans now buy organic food at least once a month. Why is organic food becoming so popular？
What is Organic Food？
In December 2000, the National Organic Standards Board of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) established a national standard for the term "organic". Organic food, defined by how it cannot be made rather than how it can be made, must be produced without the use of sewer-sludge fertilizers, most synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, genetic engineering (biotechnology), growth hormones, irradiation and antibiotics. A variety of agricultural products can be produced organically, including produce, grains, meat, dairy, eggs, and processed food products.
"Organic" does not mean "natural". There is no legal definition as to what constitutes a "natural" food. However, the food industry uses the term "natural" to indicate that a food has been minimally processed and is preservative-free. Natural foods can include organic foods, but not all natural foods are organic. Only foods labeled "organic" have been certified as meeting USDA organic standards.
Organic Farming
The phrase "organic farming" first appeared in Lord Northbourne's book Look to the Land, published in 1940.
But the truth is, organic farming is the oldest form. of agriculture. Be- fore the end of World War Ⅱ, farming without the use of petroleum-based chemicals (synthetic fertilizers and pesticides) was the only option for farmers, Technologies developed during the war were found to be useful for agricultural production. For example, the chemical ammonium nitrate(硝酸铵), which was used as munitions(军需品), became useful as fertilizer, and organophosphates(有机磷酸盐) used for nerve gas were later used as insecticide.
These days, farmers are switching to organic agriculture once again, but now 'with an eco- logically based, systematic approach that includes long-term planning, detailed record keeping and major investment in equipment and supplies. Although it is still only a small industry, the number of organic farmers is growing by about 12 percent per year and now stands at more than 12,000 nationwide.
Organic Farming in the U.S. Today
The USDA's Economic Research Service reports that in 1997, the latest year for which data are available, farmers in 49 states used organic production methods and third-party organic certification services on 1.35 million acres out of a total of 828 million acres of farmland. Approximately two-thirds of the certified U.S. organic farmland was used for crops, and one-third was used as pasture.
Large farms, mostly located in the Midwest and West, produced processed tomatoes, organic wine grapes and other high-value crops on a commercial scale, whereas numerous small farms, concentrated in the Northeast, specialized in mixed vegetable production for direct marketing to consumers and restaurants.
While organic food can be found throughout the country, California was the leader in production of organic fruits and vegetables in 1997, followed closely by Arizona, Florida, Texas, and Washington in decreasing order of total yield. Farmers and ranchers in 23 states raised a small number of certified organic cows, hogs and sheep. New York, Wisconsin and Minnesota were the top producers of organic dairy cows.
Production: Organic vs. Conventional
As you can imagine, organic agricultural practices are quite distinct from those of “conventional” farming.
Conventional farmers:
apply chemical, fertilizers to the soil to grow their crops
spray with insecticides to protect crops from pests and disease
use sy
A．Y
B．N
C．NG
听力原文：W: What are you doing？
M: (20) I'm ordering some filing cabinet out of a catalog.
W: What do you need them for？
M: There's so much stuff piling up in my dormitory room. If I don't do something soon, I won't be able to move in there.
W: Do you usually order from a catalog？
M: Sometimes. Why？
W: (19) Oh, it's just in the history class today we were talking about how the catalog sales business first got started in the U. S. A Chicago retailer, Montgomery Ward started it in the late 1800s. (21) It was really popular among farmers. It was difficult for them to make it to the big city stores so they ordered from catalogs.
M: Was Ward the only one in the business？
W: At first, but another person named Richard Sears started his own catalog after he heard how much money Ward was making.
M: What made them so popular？
W: Farmers trusted Ward and Sears for one thing. They delivered the products the farmers paid for and even refunded the price of things the farmers weren't satisfied with. (22) The catalog became so popular in some countries that school teachers even used them as textbooks.
M: Textbooks？
W: (22) Yes. Students practice spelling the names and adding up the prices of things in the catalogs.
M: Was everybody that thrilled about it？
W: That's doubtful. Say they drove some small store owners out of business. Sears and Ward sold stuff in such large quantities. They were able to undercut the prices at some small family owned stores.
19. What are the two speakers mainly talking about？
20.What does the man need the catalog for？
21.What can we learn about the catalogue business from the conversation？
22.Why did some schools use catalogs？
(23)
A．How to place orders.
B．The woman's history class.
C．The history of American catalog business.
D．The relationship between farmers and Ward.
The farmers also want to use the water to irrigate the (barren) land.
A．empty
B．hairless
C．bare
D．smooth
Farmers use chemicals and fertilizers in order to ______.
A．improve their working conditions
B．increase the yields of their crops
C．provide their crops with more vitamins and minerals
D．improve the quality of goods grown in commercial farming areas
What does the speaker mainly discuss？
A．The distribution of different species of amphibians.
B．Possible reasons for reduction in the number of amphibians.
C．The effects of environmental change on the fish industry.
D．Guidelines for the responsible use of pesticides.
The Agricultural Adjustment Act encouraged American farmers to
A．reduce their scale of production.
B．make full use of their land.
C．adjust the prices of their farm products.
D．be self-sufficient in agricultural production.
