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In 1795 the political economist Malthus predicted that in time mankind would face starvation, having outgrown the available food supplies. Today, a century and a half later, there are still experts who forecast the same global disaster--unless urgent measures are taken to prevent it.
By the end of the present century there may well be over five thousand million people living on this globe, an increase of over fifty percent on today′s figure, In order to keep pace with this increase in mankind the farmers of the world will have to step up their production of food by at least two percent every year. Such a rate of increase has never been maintained in any country by conventional methods of agriculture, despite modern mechanization and the widespread use of fertilizers. There are no large worthwhile reserves of potential farmland remaining, and good fertile (肥沃的) land is continually being changed into industrial use. Moreover, erosion of the soil takes a constant toll (损失).
Intensive research, carried out over many years in all manner of climatic conditions. has produced a revolutionary method of growing crops without using any soil at all. Hydroponics (水栽法), as this technique is called, may well be the answer to all our food worries; already it has accomplished wonders in producing huge crops. Hydroponics was once a complicated and expensive business, now it is well out of the experimental stage. Labor costs are far lower than when normal methods of agriculture are employed. in fact. it is a completely automatic system. There is no hard manual work, no digging or ploughing, and no weeding to speak of. Yields can be far higher than they are in soil.
1. Which of the following best sums up the whole passage?
A. Malthus′ prediction has been proved to be correct by modern experts.
B. Hydorponics is a new development in agriculture.
C. Hydroponics may be the answer to the world food shortage in the future.
D. Conventional methods of agriculture should be improved so as to step up food production
by two percent every year.
2. The phrase “having outgrown the available food supplies” in the first paragraph implies that .
A. the available food supplies will be enough to feed world population
B. the earth is too exhausted to support its increasing population
C. world, population will grow at a rate faster than food production
D. food supplies will be too much available for world population
3. “Erosion” in the last sentence of the 2nd paragraph probably means .
A. “washing away”
B. “taking away”
C. “digging up”
D. “picking up”
4. Which of the following statements is not true of hydroponics?
A. Hydroponics is still too complicated and expensive for practical use.
B. Hydroponics is considered a revolutionary method of agriculture.
C. Hydroponics has created wonders in agriculture.
D. Hydroponics has already been employed in food production.
5. Judging from the passage, the most important advantage of hydroponics should be
A. higher yield
B. lower labor costs
C. more automation
D. less hard manual work
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