1、Unit 4Task 1【答案】A.1) They are farms that grow vegetables for city people to eat fresh.2) Its a farm that grow plants and flowers to sell.3) They protect the plants from the cold in the winter but let them get plenty of light, so the plants can be grown all through the year.B.1) canned, frozen2) flow
2、ers, garden plants, home gardens, yards, window boxes3) buildings, furniture, firewood【原文】Grain, vegetables and fruits are found on most farms. All of them are food for animals and people.Grain can be fed to animals just as it is harvested. But before people use them grains are usually made into flo
3、ur or breakfast cereal. Bread, macaroni（通心粉）, and cereals（麦片） all come from grain.Tomatoes, beans, potatoes, beets（甜菜）, lettuce（生菜）, carrots and onions are field and garden vegetables. Can you think of any others? Vegetables are good for people and for some animals such as pigs and rabbits.Farms tha
4、t grow vegetables for city people to eat fresh are called truck farms. Truck farms are usually close to big cities. Each day hundreds of loads of fresh vegetables are brought to stores on the farmers trucks. Without the truck farmers people in cities would not eat well. And without city people who e
5、at fresh vegetables, the truck farmers would have no work.There are many kinds of fruit. Apples, pears, peaches, cherries, oranges, grapefruit, and berries are a few kinds. You will be able to think of other kinds that you like. Most fruit is grown on specialized farms. But many general farms have s
6、ome fruit to use and sell also.Like vegetables, fruit is sold fresh in markets. But a large part of both fruit and vegetable crops is sent to factories to be canned or frozen.In warm parts of our country farmers grow cotton, rice, tobacco, sugar cane（甘蔗）, and peanuts.Specialized farms raise flowers
7、and garden plants. They are sold to florists（花商） and to families for home gardens, or yards, or window boxes. A farm that grow plants and flowers to sell is called a nursery（苗圃） . Most nurseries have glass buildings, called hothouses or greenhouses. The hothouses are heated to protect the plants fro
8、m cold in the winter but let them get plenty of light, so they can be grown all through the year.Some farms grow only trees. Some of these are Christmas tree farms. Others are large forests where trees are grown for their wood. The wood is used for buildings, furniture and firewood. Some tree farms
9、grow only nut trees.Task 2【答案】A.Problems Concerned The safety of some pesticides used to kill insects, especially in developing countries:1. poor quality pesticides, which often contain harmful chemicals2. the poor quality of pesticide containers and product information on the containersAdvantages o
10、f Pesticides1. pesticides kill insects and other organisms that threaten crops.2. pesticides also are used for public health. They control insects that spread disease, such as mosquitoes that spread malaria.Possible Causes of Low Quality PesticidesProduction problems and failure to use the right che
11、micals.B.1) The UN agencies report that the market value of pesticides in developing countries last year was about three thousand million dollars.2) The agencies called for worldwide acceptance of Food and Agriculture and World Health Organization pesticide rules. They say this would help guarantee
12、the safe production of and trade in pesticides.【原文】Two United Nations agencies are expressing concern about the safety of some pesticides used to kill insects. They report that about thirty percent of all pesticides sold in developing countries fail to meet widely accepted rules for quality. They sa
13、y these products are a serious threat to human health and the environment.The UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization gave the warning.In developing countries, pesticides are used mainly for agriculture. Pesticides kill insects and other organisms that threaten crops.
14、Pesticides also are used for public health. They control insects that spread disease, such as mosquitoes that spread malaria.The UN agencies report that the market value of pesticides in developing countries last year was about three thousand million dollars. They say the estimated market value of p
15、esticides worldwide was thirty-two thousand million dollars.Officials say poor quality pesticides often contain harmful chemicals. These chemicals often are banned or restricted in some countries.Possible causes of low quality in pesticides include production problems and failure to use the right ch
16、emicals. Officials say the active chemicals in many pesticides are stronger than those permitted by many governments. They also say poor quality pesticides may contain poisonous substances or substances that are not pure.Officials say the quality of pesticide containers and product information on th
17、e containers are other concerns. They say information on the containers often fails to explain the active chemicals and how to use the product safely.The WHO says products listing false information have been sold for years in some areas. The agencies say the problem of poor quality pesticides is wid
18、espread in parts of Africa south of the Sahara Desert. They called for worldwide acceptance of Food and Agriculture and World Health Organization pesticide rules. They say this would help guarantee the safe production of and trade in pesticides.Officials say the agencies rules are especially importa
19、nt for developing countries. They say developing countries often lack systems for testing pesticides.Task 3【答案】A.1) c) 2) d) 3) b)B.Thats because theyre making an investment all the time, but are still not sure whether or not they can make profits.【原文】Interviewer: Cattle raising and beef in the US i
20、s big business, isnt it?Bob Beck: Yes, its the largest businesscattle business.Interviewer: It must be a very profitable business then.Bob Beck: Uh, not necessarily.Interviewer: Its not necessarily a profitable business?Bob Beck: At times, its not profitable. Your production costs get. its a supply
21、and demand market, and if your supply is larger than your demand.Interviewer: So the price is fluctuating all the time.Bob Beck: Right. It fluctuates, and it can get below production costs.Interviewer: But you never know. For instance, next year, you dont know what itll bring on the market.Bob Beck:
22、 No, technically it takes a year and a half from the time you breed the cow, until you get the calf, until the calfs marketable.Interviewer: Uh-huh.Bob Beck: Youve got a year, to a year and a half, tied up there.Interviewer: So, youre making an investment all the time.Bob Beck: Right. So youre not s
23、ure.Interviewer: It sounds like it might be a very insecure kind of existence. Wonder why it is that people want to be farmers or ranchers（大农场主） then.Bob Beck: I think the majority of it is you like it. Its one thing. Its a breed (kind)of people. They like it. If you dont like what youre doing, why.
24、Interviewer: What is there about it? You live essentially in a rural area. Doesnt that feeling of isolation ever bother you?Bob Beck: No. Its getting too crowded.Interviewer: Too crowded!Bob Beck: Too many people!Interviewer: I can see that, for instance, in a city, you have restaurants to go to, mo
25、vie theatersall kinds of things available to people, a lot of conveniences which you dont have in the more rural areas. What do people who farm and ranch do for recreation and relaxation, for instance. erm.Bob Beck: Well, I think a lot of it is if youre a livestock raiser, youll go check your cows i
26、n the evening instead of going to a movie.Interviewer: Uh-huh.Bob Beck: Thats as much recreation as driving through a bunch or cows, and if you like them, you enjoy that.Interviewer: In terms of the way of life, to a lot of people, it would seem that its a very hard life. It means a lot of hard work
27、. I mean, you have a schedulewhether you feel like it or not, you have to get out and feed animals, and so forth. Would you regard that as one of the difficult things about it, or is that.Bob Beck: No.Interviewer: just sort of. part of it?Bob Beck: For me, if I had to go to a desk every morning, tha
28、td kill me.Task 4【答案】A. paid off, fall back on, a security, operating expenses, complete disasterB.1) Some of them cook the meals, clean the house and take care of the kids every day.2) Yes. That is especially so after theyve had one or two bad years when they couldnt make money.3) When their childr
29、en are small, they were with their parents to go out to work; when they are very small, Sharon didnt go out as much as she would later.4) She thinks that in this way the children are a lot more self-reliant. They learn to work and they learn responsibility. They learn a lot about life by being conti
30、nually in life with animals.【原文】Bob Beck: I think, for a wife, the same as a husband, they like it or they wouldnt marry a farmer or a rancher.Interviewer: Uh-huh.Bob Beck: Theyd get out. I think its not at all wives. Some of them are just like suburban housewives.Interviewer: Uh-huh.Bob Beck: They
31、cook the meals, and they clean the house and thats it. take care of the kids.Interviewer: Have you known some situations like that?Bob Beck: Oh, yeah, I know situations like that!Interviewer: Sharon, is there a problem of the feeling of security?Sharon Beck: What kind of security are you talking abo
32、utfinancial security?Interviewer: Uh, yeah, financial security. Uh, the thing is up and down. You dont know what the markets going to bring, er. for beef. You work all year, and so forth. Is there any problem of that sort?Sharon Beck: Sure, theres the problem of security. Especially, if youve had on
33、e or two bad years. You feel awfully insecure.Interviewer: Uh-huh.Sharon Beck: If youve borrowed money to buy a farm or to operate, and theres no money coming in, you feel awfully insecure.Interviewer: Uh-huh.Sharon Beck: But if youve got a fairly good amount of your ranch paid off, youve got that t
34、o fall back on. You can always think of that as a security. If everything else fails, if you cant pay for your operating expensesInterviewer: Uh-huh.Sharon Beck: .you can always sell your equity in your ranch. So it isnt complete disaster.Interviewer: But its not something that bothers you terribly.
35、 I mean, its a fact of life. Its sort of.Sharon Beck: Something you live with, yeah.Interviewer:. part of the thing. The role of the wife in this situation is quite different than that of a suburban housewife. You dont have much free time, do you? Sharon Beck: No.Interviewer: Because, essentially, y
36、ou work in much the same way that your husband does.Sharon Beck: Yes, Im usually with him.Interviewer: How do you handle the whole family-life situationchildren? Youre out almost as much as a working mother in the city, arent you?Sharon Beck: Yes. The only difference is were together.Interviewer: Th
37、e children too.?Sharon Beck: The children too. When theyre not in school, when they were small, they were with us. When they were very small, of course, I didnt go out as much.Interviewer: Do you feel that there are advantages in growing up in this way?Sharon Beck: Yeah, I definitely feel that there
38、re advantages. There are disadvantages too, but I think the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages.Interviewer: What are some of those advantages you think the children have?Sharon Beck: The advantages?Interviewer: Uh-huh.Sharon Beck: Well, theyre a lot more self-reliant. They learn to work. Erm, they learn responsibility.Interviewer: Uh-huh.Sharon Beck: They learn a lot about life by being continually in life, with animals, and. I think it makes them. erm. They grow up!
