英语课程计划-National Agriculture Day

National Agriculture Day is a day to appreciate and celebrate the work of farmers and the agricultural industry. Perhaps few of us stop and think about the vital work that takes place every day by food producers. Without them, there would be no produce in the stores and little food on the table. It takes place on the first day of spring – a busy day in the farming calendar. Communities, cooperatives¹, companies and universities all make their own campaigns to highlight² the importance of agriculture, for food, jobs and exports. It is one of the most important parts of the economy and a key part of our environment. Agriculture is also the oldest industry in the world.

In America, each farmer feeds more than 144 people. This is a huge increase from 25 people in the 1960s. Developments in technology, better pesticides³ and more efficient farming means farmers grow more crops. Agricultural products fall into different groups, the main ones being foods, fibers⁴ and raw materials. In recent years, crops have been used to grow biofuels, which has created a whole new area of agriculture. Recent times have also seen a rise in the farming of drugs, especially for cocaine⁵ and heroine. Agriculture is the world’s largest employer⁶. About 35 percent of the world's workers rely on agriculture for their living. Even though it employs a third of the world’s workers, agriculture generates⁷ less than five percent of the world’s income.

1 cooperatives   

合作社，联合体( cooperative的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Above them was a central bureau of cooperatives. 它们的上面则是合作社总局。
• Some individual proprietors join forces with others to form chains of independents or cooperatives. 这些小个体业主互相联合起来，构成独立企业或合作企业的联网。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

2 highlight   

n.加亮区；v.加亮，强调；[计算机]醒目

参考例句：

• Her performance was the highlight of the show.她的表演是那场演出中最精彩的部分。
• The highlight of this term is the school trip to Austria.这学期最重要的活动就是去奥地利的校外旅行。

3 pesticides   

n.杀虫剂( pesticide的名词复数 )；除害药物

参考例句：

• vegetables grown without the use of pesticides 未用杀虫剂种植的蔬菜
• There is a lot of concern over the amount of herbicides and pesticides used in farming. 人们对农业上灭草剂和杀虫剂的用量非常担忧。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 fibers   

光纤( fiber的名词复数 )； （织物的）质地； 纤维，纤维物质

参考例句：

• Thesolution of collagen-PVA was wet spined with the sodium sulfate as coagulant and collagen-PVA composite fibers were prepared. 在此基础上，以硫酸钠为凝固剂，对胶原-PVA共混溶液进行湿法纺丝，制备了胶原-PVA复合纤维。
• Sympathetic fibers are distributed to all regions of the heart. 交感神经纤维分布于心脏的所有部分。

5 cocaine   

n.可卡因，古柯碱（用作局部麻醉剂）

参考例句：

• That young man is a cocaine addict.那个年轻人吸食可卡因成瘾。
• Don't have cocaine abusively.不可滥服古柯碱。

6 employer   

n.雇用方，雇主

参考例句：

• My employer deducted ten pounds from my wages this week.我的雇主从我本周的工钱中扣除了十英镑。
• His monthly salary is paid into the bank by his employer.他的月薪由雇主替他存入银行。

7 generates   

v.生（儿、女）( generate的第三人称单数 )；（通过物理或化学过程）发生；生成；引起

参考例句：

• This new boiler generates more heat than the old one. 这个新锅炉产生的热量比旧锅炉多。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy. 原子反应堆发出大量的热能。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》