[00:05.49]Reading
[00:08.36]A PIONEER FOR ALL PEOPLE
[00:12.43]He wants everyone to call him a farmer,for that's how he regards himself.
[00:19.28]Although he is one of China's most famous scientists,
[00:24.45]Yuan Longping works the land to do his research.
[00:30.38]Indeed,his sunburnt face and arms and his slim,
[00:36.13]strong body are just like those of millions of other Chinese farmers.
[00:42.89]In many ways,he is one of them,
[00:47.65]and he has struggled for the past five decades to help them.
[00:52.69]Dr Yuang grows what is called super hybrid rice.
[00:58.25]In 1974,he became the first agricultural pioneer in the world
[01:05.38]to grow rice that has a high output.
[01:09.75]This special strain of rice
[01:13.27]makes it possible to produce one-third more of the crop in the same fields.
[01:19.44]Now more than 60% of the rice produced in China
[01:24.58]each year is from this hybrid strain.
[01:29.73]Born into a poor farmer's family in 1931,
[01:35.29]Dr Yuan graduated from Southwest Agriculture College in 1953.
[01:42.84]Since then,he has devoted his life to finding ways to grow more and more rice.
[01:50.00]As a young man,he saw the great need for increasing the rice output.
[01:56.48]At that time,hunger was a serious problem in many parts of the countryside.
[02:03.32]Dr Yuan searched for a way to increase rice harvests
[02:08.89]without expanding the area of fields.
[02:13.15]In 1950,Chinese farmers could only produce five and a half billion tons of rice.
[02:21.32]Last year,however,nearly twenty billion tons of rice was produced.
[02:28.09]These increased harvests mean that 22% of the world's people are fed
[02:35.04]from just 7% of the farmland in China.
[02:39.79]Dr Yuan is now circulating his knowledge in India,
[02:44.75]Vietnam and other less developed countries to increase their rice harvests.
[02:52.12]Thanks to his research,the UN is trying to rid the world of hunger.
[02:58.16]Using his hybrid rice farmers are producing harvests twice as large as before.
[03:05.81]You might guess that Dr Yuan,
[03:09.57]who is now rich and famous,is satisfied with his life.
[03:15.03]However,he cares little about spending the money on himself
[03:20.91]or leading a comfortable life.
[03:24.56]Indeed,he believes that a person with too mush money has more,
[03:30.63]rather than fewer troubles.
[03:34.18]So he gives millions of yuan to equip others for their research in agriculture.
[03:40.42]He also doesn't care about being famous.
[03:44.78]He feels it gives him less freedom to do his research.
[03:49.62]And he would rather keep time for his hobbies.
[03:53.74]Although he can no longer play his violin,
[03:58.21]he still listens to violin music.
[04:02.05]His other hobbies include playing mah-jong,swimming and reading.
[04:07.69]He used to walk to his rice fields twice a day,
[04:12.16]but now he prefers to ride his motorcycle.
[04:16.42]Wishing for things,however,costs nothing.
[04:20.96]Long ago,in a dream,Dr Yuan saw rice plants as tall as sorghum.
[04:29.14]Each ear of rice was as big as an ear of corn
[04:34.10]and each grain of rice was as huge as a peanut.
[04:39.25]Dr Yuan awoke from his dream with the hope of producing a kind of rice
[04:45.13]that could feed more people.
[04:48.47]Now Dr Yuan has another dream:
[04:52.83]to export his rice so that it can be grown all over the world.
[04:58.89]As Dr Yuan proves,one dream is not always enough,
[05:04.74]especially for a person who loves and cares for his people.
[05:10.10]Using Language
[05:21.28]Reading
[05:24.13]ORGANIC FARMING
[05:27.60]What is"organic farming"?
[05:31.55]It seems a strange name since all crops are organic no matter how they are produced.
[05:39.38]So all farming must surely be organic farming.
[05:45.03]However,recently the term"organic farming"has gained another meaning.
[05:52.08]It also refers to crops growing with natural rather than chemical fertilizers.
[06:00.02]Of course all farmers use fertilizers to make their soil more fertile
[06:07.07]but many farmers and scientists believe that some fertilizers are better
[06:13.94]for people or for the soil than others.
[06:18.31]The fertilizer that organic farmers prefer is natural waste from animals.
[06:25.38]Putting this in their fields,they argue,
[06:29.75]makes the soil richer in minerals and so more fertile.
[06:35.39]It is good for the crops and the soil becomes healthier.
[06:40.85]This is important because developing a healthy soil reduces diseases in crops
[06:48.71]and helps them grow strong and healthy.
[06:53.39]When farmers use this kind of natural fertilizer they keep the air,
[07:00.23]soil and water as well as the food supply free form chemicals.
[07:06.71]However,using chemical fertilizers is a big problem.
[07:12.77]Firstly,leaving chemicals in the ground for
[07:17.73] a long time is not good for the soil or the water supply.
[07:24.08]Secondly,farmers often grow the same crop year after year.
[07:31.03]As a result,the soil gets exhausted.
[07:35.99]Thirdly,chemical fertilizers kill both helpful and harmful bacteria and pests.
[07:43.93]Instead,organic farmers insist on changing crops every two or three years,
[07:51.88]for example,corn or wheat folowed by peas or soybeans.
[07:58.04]These put the minerals back into the soil,
[08:03.29]making it rich and healthy and ready to grow crops that need rich
[08:09.95]and fertile soil like corn or wheat.
[08:14.52]Or they plant some crops that use the surface of the soil
[08:19.88]and others that need a deeper level of soil,
[08:24.61]for example,peanuts followed by root vegetables.
[08:30.04]Some organic farmers prefer planting grass between crops
[08:35.19]to prevent wind or water from carrying away the soil.
[08:41.43]But whatever they grow they make sure that what is left in the ground after harvesting
[08:48.51]becomes a natural fertilizer for the next year's crop.
[08:54.07]Listening
[11:31.54]Reading,speaking and writing
[11:42.09]1 Read this passage and make sure you understand it.
[11:49.17]Then repeat after the recording
[11:53.33]and pay attention to pausing when you read long sentences.
[11:59.57]You are a producer of"green food"
[12:04.24]--that is to say your food is certain to be healthy and safe for people's health.
[12:11.51]It is also free of chemical fertilizers
[12:16.47]and grown away from industrial areas and dirty water supplies.
[12:23.13]This is the food you want to sell.
[12:27.78]The problem is people do not know about your food and how good it is.
[12:35.23]You know that every weekend people leave the cities
[12:41.08]and go to the countryside to buy food like yours.
[12:46.64]Your food is,however,more expensive than other food which is not so safe |