题目内容
World Food Prize goes to Ethiopian Scientist
Sorghum is an important grain for Africa. Millions of Africans have more to eat because of Gebisa Ejeta. The Ethiopian scientist developed sorghum seeds that can resist long dry periods. The seeds can also resist the Striga weed, a big cause of crop failures in Arica.
Now his work has earned him this year’s World Food Prize from the World Food Prize Foundation. He received 250,000 dollars for the award. He is only the second African to win the prize since it was set up in 1986. monty Jones, a rice specialist from Sierra Leone, was the winner in 2004.
Gebisa Ejeta is a professor at Purdue University in Indiana. Over the years, he was worked with farmers and seed companies and developed more than eighty seed types for Africa.
In the early 1980s, Professor Ejeta developed the first sorghum hybrid seeds. These resisted drought and led to a major increase in production.
Drought is not the only enemy. Striga is a parasitic weed that Africans commonly call witch weed. The plant attacks sorghum and other crops and steals water and nutrients from the roots.
In the 1990s, Gebisa Ejeta and another researcher, Larry Butler, identified the complex relationships between Striga and sorghum plants. That finding led to the development of seeds which can resist both Striga and drought.
Gebisa Ejeta was brought up in a one-room hut in a rural village in west-central Ethiopia. His mother wanted him to get and education. He walked twenty kilometers to school in a neighboring town. He left home on Sunday nights and returned on Friday. Professor Ejeta has never forgotten his African roots. Today he encourages other scientists to turn to Africa’s needs.
Ethiopian scientist 71 World Food Prize
| Theme | Gebisa Ejeta, a scientist from Ethiopia, won World Food Prize in 2009. |
| World Food Prize | World Food Prize was 72 in 1986. The winner receivers 250,000 dollars for the award, Gebisa Ejeta, was the second African winner after Monty Jones, a rice 73 from Sierra Leone , who was the winner in 2004. |
| Growth& early 74 | Gebisa Ejeta was 75 in a rural village in west-central Ethiopia and had to walk 20 kms to 76 school in a neighboring town. |
| 77 | In the early 1980s, Professor Ejeta developed the first sorghum hybrid seeds, which resisted drought and 78 in a major increase in production. In the 1990s, Gebisa Ejeta, cooperating with Larry Butler, developed seeds 79 to both Striga and drought. Gebisa Ejeta has worked with farmers and seed companies and developed more than eighty seed types for Africa, which makes millions of Africans avoid 80 from hunger. |
Directions: Read the following text and choose the most suitable heading from the list A-F for each paragraph. There is one extra heading which you do not need.
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A. The reasons for the problematic food situation in Britain. B. The effect of the situation on farmers. C. The variety of British food. D. The surface richness of food and questions it brings. E. The different situations at home and abroad. F. The recent reason for the huge supply of food. |
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1 |
The long years of food shortage in Britain have suddenly given way to huge food supply. Stores and shops are crowded with food. Rationing(定量供应) has already seemed too distant to today’s Britons. Even overseas suppliers have been asked to hold back deliveries. Yet, instead of joy, there is widespread uneasiness and worries. Why do food prices keep on rising, when there seems to be so much more food about? Is the surface huge amount of food only temporary, or has it come to stay? Does it mean that we need to think less now about producing more food at home?
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2 |
The recent growth of food supply on the world food market has certainly been unexpectedly great, partly because two continuous big grain harvests in North America are now being followed by a third. Most of Britain’s overseas suppliers of meat, too, are offering more this year and home production has also risen.
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3 |
Then why is the food situation in Britain still faulty? On the one hand, The British government has gradually cut down support for food. On the other hand, the shops are overstocked with food not only because there is more food available, but also because people, frightened by high prices, are buying less of it.
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4 |
Moreover, the rise in food prices at home has come at a time when world prices have begun to fall, with the result that imported food, with the exception of grain, is often cheaper than the home-produced variety. And now grain prices, too, are falling internationally. British consumers are beginning to ask why they should not be able to benefit from this trend.
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5 |
The significance of these developments is not lost on farmers. The older generation have seen it all happen before. Despite the present price and market guarantees, farmers fear they are about to be squeezed between cheap food imports and a smaller home market. Present production is running quickly compared with years ago. However, farmers haven’t shared any benefit from the change.