Sustainable development is applied to just about everything from energy to clean water and economic growth, and as a result it has become difficult to question either the basic assumptions behind it or the way the concept is put to use. This is especially true in agriculture, where sustainable development is often taken as the only measure of progress without a proper appreciation of historical and cultural perspectives.

   To start with, it is important to remember that the nature of agriculture has changed markedly throughout history, and will continue to do so. Medieval agriculture in northern Europe fed, clothed and sheltered a popularly rural society with a much lower population density than it is today. It had smallest effect on biodiversity, and any pollution it caused was typically localized. In terms of energy use and the nutrients captured in the product it was relatively inefficient.

   Contrast this with farming since the start of the industrial revolution. Competition from overseas led farmers to specialize and increase yields. Throughout this period food became cheaper, safer and more reliable. However, these changes have also led to habitat loss and to decreasing biodiversity.

   What’s more, demand for animal products in developing countries is growing so fast that meeting it will require an extra 300 million tons of grain a year by 2050.yet the growth of cities and industry is reducing the amount of water available for agriculture in many regions.

   All this means that agriculture in the 21st century will have to be very different from how it was in the 20th. This will require complete thinking. For example, we need to move away from the idea that traditional practices are unavoidably more sustainable than new ones. We also need to abandon the idea that agriculture can be “zero impact”. The key will be to abandon the rather simple and unchangeable measures of sustainability, which centre on the need to maintain production without increasing damage.

   Instead we need a more dynamic explanation, one that looks at the pros and cons of all the various way land is used. There are many different ways to measure agricultural performance besides food yield: energy use, environmental costs, water purity, carbon footprint and biodiversity. It is clear, for example, that the carbon of transporting tomatoes from Spain to the UK is less than that of producing them in the UK with additional heating and lighting. But we do not know whether lower carbon footprints will always be better for biodiversity.

   What is critical is recognizing that sustainable agriculture is not just about sustainable food production.

How do people often measure progress in agriculture?

A.By its productivity.               

B.By its impact on the environment.

C.By its sustainability.               

D.By its contribution to economic growth.

What does the author think of traditional farming practices?

  A.They have remained the same over the centuries.

  B.They have not kept pace with population growth.

  C.They are not necessarily sustainable.

  D.They are environmentally friendly.

What will agriculture be like in the 21st century?

  A.It will go through thorough changes.

  B.It will supply more animal products.

  C.It will abandon traditional farming practices.

  D.It will cause zero damage to the environment.

What is the author’s purpose in writing this passage?

  A.To remind people of the need of sustainable development.

  B.To suggest ways of ensuring sustainable food production.

  C.To advance new criteria for measuring farming progress.

  D.To urge people to rethink what sustainable agriculture is.


第三部分 阅读理解
A
Diet Coke, diet Pepsi, diet pills, no-far diet, vegetable diet… We are surrounded by the word “diet” everywhere we look and listen. We have so easily been attracted by the promise and potential of diet products that we have stopped thinking about what diet products are doing to us. We are paying for products that harm us psychologically and physically.
Diet products significantly weaken us psychologically. On one level, we are not allowing our brain to admit that our weight problems lie not in actually losing the weight, but in controlling the consumption of fatty, high-calorie, unhealthy foods. Diet products allow us to jump over the thinking stage and go straight for the scale (秤) instead. All we have to do is to swallow or recognize the word “diet” in food labels.
On another level, diet products have greater psychological effects. Every time we have a zero-calorie drink, we are telling ourselves without our awareness that we don’t have to work to get results. Diet products make people believe that gain comes without pain, and that life can be without resistance and struggle.
The danger of diet products lies not only in the psychological effects they have on us, but also in the physical harm that they cause. Diet foods can indirectly harm our bodies because consuming them instead of healthy foods means we are preventing our bodies from having basic nutrients. Diet foods and diet pills contain zero calorie only because the diet Industry has created chemicals to produce these wonder products. Diet products may not be nutritional, and the chemical that go into diet products are potentially dangerous.
Now that we are aware of the effects that diet products have on us, it is time to seriously think about buying them. Losing weight lies in the power of minds, not in the power of chemicals. Once we realize this, we will be much better able to resist diet products, and therefore prevent the psychological harm that comes from using them.
56. From Paragraph 1, we learn that _________.
A. diet products fail to bring out people’s potential
B. people have difficulty in choosing diet products
C. diet products are misleading people
D. people are fed up with diet products
57. One psychological effect of diet products is that people tend to _________.
A. try out a variety of diet foods    B. hesitate before they enjoy diet foods
C. pay attention to their own eating habits
D. watch their weight rather than their diet
58. In Paragraph 3, “gain comes without pain” probably means _________.
A. losing weight is effortless    B. it costs a lot to lose weight
C. diet products bring no pain    D. diet products are free from calories
59. Diet products indirectly harm people physically because such products _________.
A. are over-consumed          B. lack basic nutrients
C. are short of chemicals        D. provide too much energy
60. Which of the following shows the structure of the passage?





       CP: Central Point   P: Point    SP: Sub-point(次要点)   C: Conclusion

How to eat healthfully can be especially complex for working women who often have neither the desire nor the time to cook for themselves (or for anyone else ).Registered dietitian Barbara Morrissey suggests that a few simple rules can help.
“Go for nutrient-dense foods,”she suggests,“foods that contain a multiple of nutrients.  For example,select whole wheat bread as a breakfast food,rather than coffee cake. Or drink orange juice rather than orange drink,which contains only a small percentage of real juice—the rest is largely colored sugar water. You just can't compare the value of these foods, the nutrient-dense ones are so superior,”she emphasizes.
Morrissey believes that variety is not only the spice of life,it's the foundation of a healthful diet. Diets which are based on one or two foods are not only almost impossible to keep up the strength,they can be very harmful, she says, because nutrients aren't supplied in enough amounts or balance.
According to Morrissey,trying to find a diet that can cure your illnesses,or make you superwoman is a fruitless search.“ As women,many of us are too concerned with staying thin,”she says,and “we believe that vitamins are some kind of magic cure to replace food.”
“We need carbohydrates,protein and fat-they are like the wood in the fireplace. The vitamins and minerals are like the match,the spark,for the fuel,”she explains.“ We need them all,but in a very different proportions(部分). And if the fuel isn't there,the spark is useless.”
【小题1】From the first paragraph we know that working women________.

A.think cooking is especially complicated
B.do not share the same views with registered dietitians
C.are busy and not interested in cooking
D.are likely to eat healthfully
【小题2】Orange juice is different from orange drink because________.
A.it contains only a small percentage of real juice
B.it is natural,nutritious and prepared from real oranges
C.it is largely orange-colored sugar water
D.it produces nothing but calories
【小题3】In Paragraph 4,“a fruitless search” means “____”.
A.an effort with no results
B.a search for a diet without fruits
C.a research on fruitless diet
D.a diet serving as medicine
【小题4】Many women take it for granted,according to the passage that________.
A.a balanced diet can result in being fat
B.staying thin and healthy are both possible
C.lack of variety in diets leads to staying thin
D.vitamins are some kind of substitutions(代替物)for food
【小题5】By saying “if the fuel isn't there,the spark is useless”,the author means “________”.
A.carbohydrates,protein and fat are enough to support a human life
B.vitamins and minerals are almost of no value
C.carbohydrates,protein and fat are as important as vitamins and minerals
D.without carbohydrates,protein and fat,vitamins and minerals are of no use

Why are people interested in eating raw foods or whole foods? One reason is that eating these types of food reduces the risk of acid accumulation in your body.

Raw and whole foods are usually digested more efficiently than cooked and refined foods. When we cook foods, we destroy the natural enzymes (酶) that are part of the food in its raw form. These enzymes were intended by nature to help us digest the food. When we consume food without these natural enzymes, our bodies either digest the food improperly or allow too many nutrients to be absorbed into the bloodstream. In both instances, the result is obesity. When too many nutrients are absorbed at once, the body grows fat. Improperly digested food moves slowly through the digestive tract, where it becomes increasingly acidic. To protect its vital organs from this acidic waste, the body changes the acid into fat and stores it safely away from the organs.

Processed foods contain chemical elements, which might confuse the appetite mechanism that tells us when we’ve had enough to eat; as a result, people often overeat. Processed foods also upset the digestive cycle. The body will either identify these foods as allergens and then store them safely away from the organs as fat, or the remains of undigested food will become acidic and enter the bloodstream as acid waste, which will stick to the blood vessel walls and block the passage of vital oxygen and nutrients heading for the body’s cells. The body’s metabolism (新陈代谢)becomes inactive, and the result is weight gain and obesity.

The accumulation of acid in the digestive tract makes digestion increasingly inefficient. When that happens, even healthy foods can become acidic and the food allergies will become more common.

To stop this vicious(恶性的)circle in its tracks, people need to consume food and supplements that will neutralize (使…中和) the acid already accumulated in body. Eating the right types of raw and whole foods can help. It’s also important to restore your enzyme balance. You need to identify and avoid the foods that cause acid accumulation and consume the foods that increase enzyme production. If you truly want to change and help your body heal itself, you need to take an active approach.

1.What is the main purpose of this passage?

A. To advocate eating more raw and whole foods.

B. To tell the differences between raw and processed foods.

C. To inform people of the harm of processed foods.

D. To warn people of the problem of obesity.

2.It can be inferred from Para. 2 that ________.

A. it is essential for people to protect their vital organs

B. foods with natural enzymes help people keep fit

C. we’d better be cautious about raw and whole foods

D. giving up cooked and refined foods is a new lifestyle

3.Processed foods are unhealthy because they __________.

A. destroy body’s cells                     B. are difficult to digest            

C. may lead to obesity                               D. stop body’s metabolism

4.What is likely to be talked about following the last paragraph?

A. Active approaches to avoid acid.

B. Different causes of acid accumulation.

C. Correct ways to cook raw foods.

D. Suitable types of raw and whole foods.

5.What can we learn from the text?

A. Processed foods are good for our appetite mechanism.

B. Eating the right types of raw and whole foods does good to our body.

C. The accumulation of acid in the digestive tract makes digestion more effective.

D. Processed foods also comfort the digestive tract.

 

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