Question

【题目】 Farming is moving indoors, where the sun never shines, where rainfall is irrelevant and where the climate is always right. The perfect crop field could be inside a windowless building with controlled light, temperature, wetness, air quality and nutrition. It could be in a New York high-rise or a complex in the Saudi desert.

The world already is having trouble feeding itself. Half the people on Earth live in cities, and nearly half of those-about 3 billion-are hungry or illfed. Food prices, currently increasing, are buffeted by dryness, floods and the cost of energy required to plant, harvest and transport it. And prices will only get more unstable.

Climate change makes long-term crop planning uncertain. Farmers in many parts of the world already are using water available to the last drop. And the world is getting more crowded: by midcentury, the global population will grow from 6.8 billion to 9 billion.

To feed so many people may require expanding farmland at the expense of forests and wilderness, or finding ways to completely increase crop output.

Gertjan Meeuws has taken the concept of a greenhouse a step further, growing vegetables and house plants in enclosed (封闭的)and regulated environments. In their research station, water flows into the pans

when needed, and the temperature is kept constant. Lights go on and off, creating similar day and night, but according to the rhythm of the plant.

A building of 100 square meters and 14 layers(层)of plants could provide a daily diet of 200 grams of

fresh fruit and vegetables to the entire population of Den Bosch, about 140,000 people. Their idea isn't to grow foods that require much space, like corn or potatoes.

Here sunlight is not only unnecessary but can be harmful. Plants need only specific wavelengths of light to grow. Their growth rate is three times faster than under greenhouse conditions. They use about 90

percent less water than outdoors agriculture. And city farming means producing food near the consumer, and there's no need to transport it long distances.

【选项】

【1】What can we mainly learn from Paragraph 2?

A. The climate is worse and worse. B. The city people live a hard life. C. The world has difficulty feeding its people. D. The world's population is increasing fast.

【2】Which of the following is TRUE of the environments in the research station?

A. The temperature is often changed. B. Sunshine is in great need for plants. C. Day and night depends on plants. D. Air quality is controlled by plants.

【3】 It can be inferred from the text that Gertjan Meeuws's farming ________.

A. helps save sea water a lot B. is highly adaptable C. resembles greenhouse agriculture D. suits the production of corn

【4】What is the text mainly about?

A．Development of indoor farming．

B．Great Revolution in farming．

C．Advantages of indoor farming．

D．Sunless, rainless indoor farming．

Answer 1

【答案】【1】C

【2】C

【3】B

【4】D

【解析】【1】细节理解题。本段主要列举了世界在满足人类食品需求方面的问题，如城市人口挨饿问题、物价上涨和不稳定问题以及人口增长所带来的问题等。故选择C项。

【2】细节理解题。有文章第四段的最后一句可知,这儿的日夜是由植物“决定”的。

【3】推理判断题。根据文章最后两段，Meeuws的农业模式能够节省大量的水（但不是海水），其工作原理不同于温室农业，不适合生产占地面积大的作物，如corn和potatoes；根据文章第一段的It could be in a New York high-rise or a complex in the Saudi desert.可知，这种农业可以在许多环境下存在，适应性很强。故选B。

【4】主旨大意题。本人主要讲述的几位研究者所研究的一种未来农业模式：不需要阳光和雨水的室内农业。它不同于温室农业，是一种节能、节水和环保的农业方式，适应性强。故选D。