托福阅读背景知识：农作物灌溉

 　　托福阅读真题再现：

　　第一段：一群人迁移到某个地区。因为这个地方雨水少，所以就有那种方式来种植。第二段是第一种办法，建大坝，但是下大雨的话容易冲垮。

　　第三段：找个好点的地方永久居住。

　　第四段：打一枪换一个地方。但是要保证人口少好让地共来得及恢复。

　　第五段：地区全部种植之后互相分配收成好的地区给不好的地共分食物，但是这是个很复杂的政治什么的统治结构。

　　第六段：唯一一个能保留千年的办法就是自给自足。

　　新东方富亦聪解析：

　　解析：问题及解决类的文章。解决方法还分为有效和无效两种。不能带着主观意识去妄自预测文章内容走势。一定要做到忠于并彻底读懂原文。

　　相关背景：

　　Irrigation is the artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate¹ rainfall. Additionally, irrigation also has a few other uses in crop production, which include protecting plants against frost, suppressing weed growth in grain fields and preventing soil consolidation². In contrast, agriculture that relies only on direct rainfall is referred to as rain-fed or dryland farming.

　　Irrigation systems are also used for dust suppression, disposal of sewage, and in mining. Irrigation is often studied together with drainage, which is the natural or artificial removal of surface and sub-surface water from a given area.

　　Irrigation has been a central feature of agriculture for over 5000 years, and was the basis of the economy and society of numerous societies, ranging from Asia to Arizona.

　　North America

　　Main article: Hohokam

　　In North America, the Hohokam were the only culture to rely on irrigation canals to water their crops, and their irrigation systems supported the largest population in the Southwest by AD 1300. The Hohokam constructed an assortment³ of simple canals combined with weirs⁴ in their various agricultural pursuits. Between the 7th and 14th centuries, they also built and maintained extensive irrigation networks along the lower Salt and middle Gila rivers that rivaled the complexity⁵ of those used in the ancient Near East, Egypt, and China. These were constructed using relatively⁶ simple excavation⁷ tools, without the benefit of advanced engineering technologies, and achieved drops of a few feet per mile, balancing erosion and siltation⁸. The Hohokam cultivated varieties of cotton, tobacco, maize⁹, beans and squash, as well as harvested an assortment of wild plants. Late in the Hohokam Chronological¹⁰ Sequence, they also used extensive dry-farming systems, primarily to grow agave for food and fiber¹¹. Their reliance on agricultural strategies based on canal irrigation, vital in their less than hospitable¹² desert environment and arid¹³ climate, provided the basis for the aggregation¹⁴ of rural populations into stable urban centers.

 

1 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

2 consolidation   

n.合并,巩固

参考例句：

• The denser population necessitates closer consolidation both for internal and external action. 住得日益稠密的居民，对内和对外都不得不更紧密地团结起来。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• The state ensures the consolidation and growth of the state economy. 国家保障国营经济的巩固和发展。 来自汉英非文学 - 中国宪法

3 assortment   

n.分类，各色俱备之物，聚集

参考例句：

• This shop has a good assortment of goods to choose from.该店各色货物俱全，任君选择。
• She was wearing an odd assortment of clothes.她穿着奇装异服。

4 weirs   

n.堰，鱼梁（指拦截游鱼的枝条篱）( weir的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They shot some pretty weirs and rapids. 他们看到了一些美丽的堰坎和湍滩。 来自辞典例句
• She bid me take life easy, as the grass grows the weirs. 她让我简单的去生活，就像地上长出青草。 来自互联网

5 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

6 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

7 excavation   

n.挖掘，发掘；被挖掘之地

参考例句：

• The bad weather has hung up the work of excavation.天气不好耽误了挖掘工作。
• The excavation exposed some ancient ruins.这次挖掘暴露出一些古遗迹。

8 siltation   

沉积作用，淤积

参考例句：

• The siltation relates with the circumfluence. 淤积的主要原因是回流淤积。 来自互联网
• The rubber siltation place, wipes uniform with the hair brush the rubber, until gel gelation gelling. 胶淤积的地方，用毛刷将胶抹匀，直至胶凝。 来自互联网

9 maize   

n.玉米

参考例句：

• There's a field planted with maize behind the house.房子后面有一块玉米地。
• We can grow sorghum or maize on this plot.这块地可以种高粱或玉米。

10 chronological   

adj.按年月顺序排列的，年代学的

参考例句：

• The paintings are exhibited in chronological sequence.这些画是按创作的时间顺序展出的。
• Give me the dates in chronological order.把日期按年月顺序给我。

11 fiber   

n.纤维，纤维质

参考例句：

• The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。
• The material must be free of fiber clumps.这种材料必须无纤维块。

12 hospitable   

adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的

参考例句：

• The man is very hospitable.He keeps open house for his friends and fellow-workers.那人十分好客，无论是他的朋友还是同事，他都盛情接待。
• The locals are hospitable and welcoming.当地人热情好客。

13 arid   

adj.干旱的；(土地)贫瘠的

参考例句：

• These trees will shield off arid winds and protect the fields.这些树能挡住旱风,保护农田。
• There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。

14 aggregation   

n.聚合，组合；凝聚

参考例句：

• A high polymer is a very large aggregation of units.一个高聚物是许多单元的非常大的组合。
• Moreover,aggregation influences the outcome of chemical disinfection of viruses.此外，聚集作用还会影响化学消毒的效果。