Unit-10-Agriculture新编大学英语第二版第一册课文翻译.docx

精品文档Unit 10 AgricultureFarming for the Future[1] Every year, more people face poverty and hunger and more of the earth's resources are ruined. The problems are enormous, but many experts believe that the situation is not hopeless. The solution will require big changes in how we think about agriculture, food, and our planet.[2] First of all, farmers everywhere need to develop methods that are less destructive to the environment. The change from single crop farming to a mixed crop system would be one important step. The planting of several different crops improves the soil and helps prevent erosion. Erosion could also be prevented by planting trees to protect the fields from the wind. Another way farmers could improve the soil is to avoid deep plowing. In fact, only a slight plowing is necessary if proper methods are used.[3] If the soil were treated better, farmers would not need to use chemical fertilizers. They could use natural animal and vegetable products instead. With mixed crops, farmers would need fewer toxic chemical insecticides. They could use biological methods of controlling insects and disease.[4] Farmers could also help save the earth's precious supplies of water and petroleum. To save water, they could plant more water-efficient plants instead of the standard types of wheat or corn. They could also use watering systems that are much less wasteful. To save petroleum, farmers could make use of bio-gas generators which could be fueled by the vegetable and animal wastes of the farms. Inless-developed countries, bio-gas generators could reduce the need for firewood andso help save forests, as well.[5] In less-developed countries, the small farmers need help. They need to learn more about crops that are better suited to local conditions. They need to learn how to limit erosion and make the best use of their resources. These farmers will never be successful without land and economic reform. This should be the aim of governments and international agencies. The current industrial and cash crop policies are only making the situation worse.[6] Industrialized countries could use their economic resources to help bring about these changes. They could make some changes in their own policies. At present, much food is wasted in these countries for political reasons. In Europe and in North America, tons of fruit and dairy products are thrown away every year. Eating habits, too, could be changed in these countries. For example, people often eat foods from distant places instead of local foods. The transportation of the imported foods adds to the global pollution problem. People in industrialized countries also eat a lot of meat, especially beef. In fact, a large percentage of the grain grown in these countries is used for feeding cattle. If people in these countries ate less meat, there would be more grain to feed the hungry people of the world.[7] The ideal agricultural system would be sustainable; that is, its level of productivity could be continued indefinitely and the damage to the environment much less. This is a war which must be won because it would have only winners for both farmers and consumers of farm products.未来农耕1现在面临贫困和饥饿的人一年比一年多， 地球资源遭到的破坏也一年比一年严重。

这些问题极为 严重，不过许多专家认为情况还没有到令人绝望的地步要解决它们就需要我 们对农业、食品和整个地 球的看法做出重大改变2首先，世界各地的农民都必须研究开发对环境破坏性较小的耕作模式 重要的一步是把单一作物 改为多种作物混合耕种种植多种作物能改善土壤，有助于防止水土流失通 过植树来保护耕地不受风 害也能防止水土流失农民改善土壤的另一个办法是避免深耕实际上，如果方法得当，只需浅耕即可3只要土地耕作比较得当，农民就没有必要使用化肥，而可以使用天然的动植物肥料 多种作物混 合耕种后，就能少用有毒的化学杀虫剂农民还可以用生物手段控制病虫害4农民还能帮助节约地球上珍贵的水资源和石油资源 为了节约水，农民可以多种节水型作物以取 代常规的小麦和玉米还可以使用更为节水的灌溉系统为了节约石油，他们 可以利用生物气发电机 生物气发电机的燃料由农场上的蔬菜和动物的垃圾和粪便提供在欠发达的国家里，生物气发电机能减 少对木柴的需求，从而也有助于保护森林5在欠发达的国家里，小农场主们需要帮助他们需要掌握更能适应当地条件的作物的 有关知识 他们需要掌握怎样控制水土流失和最充分利用自己的资源不进行土地和经济 改革，这些农场主永远不 会成功。

这种改革应该是各国政府和国际机构的目标目前施行的这些工业和经济作物政策只是把事情 弄得更糟6工业化国家可以用他们的经济资源帮助促成这些变化 他们还可以对自己的政策作些改变目前， 这些国家因为政治原因而浪费了很多食品在欧洲和北美每年都有成吨成吨的水果和奶制品被扔掉这 些国家的饮食习惯也可作些改变例如，人们常吃那些来自遥远地方的东西，而不吃本地产的进口食 品的运输加重了全球的污染问题工业化国家的人们还食用大量的肉类，尤其是牛肉事实上，这些国 家所生产的粮食有很大一部分是用来喂牛的假如这些国家的人们少吃些肉，就会有更多的粮食提供给 世界上正在挨饿的人们7理想的农业体系应当是可持续性的， 也就是说，其生产力水平能长期保持下去而对环 境的破坏却小得多这是一场必须打胜的战斗，因为无论是对农民还是对农产品消费者而 言，这场战斗只有赢者Dairying and Dairy Products[1] Whendid people begin using milk from animals? Probably about the time they began domesticating animals - some 8,000 to 10,000 years ago. Meat was certainly the most important food first provided by domesticated animals. But the milk of cattle, goats, sheep, or other animals also became part of people's diets. As agriculture developed, milk and other dairy products, such as butter, cheese, and yogurt, became more and more important in the diet of human beings.[2] For many thousands of years, a large percentage of the population was engaged in agriculture. Families commonly kept a few goats, cows, or sheep on their farms to provide fresh milk and other dairy products. With the coming of the industrial age, however, fewer and fewer people made their living th。