Unit 19 Modern agriculture
Task 1 Brainstorming
1.What will you think of when you
see the word “agriculture”?
agriculture
Task 2
Pre-reading
Traditional farming
agriculture
Modern farming
raising a few chickens
traditional farming
a chicken farm
modern farming
ordinary fertilizer
traditional farming
chemical fertilizer
modern farming
ploughing the
field with cattle
traditional farming
ploughing the field
with a tractor
modern farming
a cracking land/
drought
traditional farming
green house
modern farming
Agriculture
Advantages
1. Causes little
pollution.
1.traditional 2. Food is tasty.
3. The cost is small.
farming
…
Disadvantages
1. Produces less food.
2. Depends on
weather completely.
3. Needs many people.
4. The kinds of
food are limited.
…
2.modern
farming
1.Produces more
food, plants.
2.Weather doesn’t
matter much.
3.Uses fewer people
4.The kinds of food
are very rich.
…
1. Causes more
pollution.
2.Food is less tasty.
3.The cost is big.
…
Task 3
Fast reading
1: What was traditional agriculture in China like?
2: What effects do modern techniques have on
agriculture in China now?
3: What is the biggest problem of Chinese
farmers? How do Chinese scientists solve it?
4: What should future agriculture depend on?
5: What is most important for agriculture?
6: What techniques are referred to in the text?
Task 3
Fast reading
1: What was traditional agriculture in China like?
Traditional agriculture in China didn’t change
much for thousands of years.
2: What effects do modern techniques have on
agriculture in China now?
Modern techniques help ①farmers make as much
use of the land as possible, ② save time and allow
farmers to grow an extra crop in each season, ③ Chinese
farmers improve their production, ④ grow better and
healthier fruits / plants.
3: What is the biggest problem of Chinese
farmers? How do Chinese scientists solve it?
It is the shortage of arable land. The scientists use
the latest techniques, such as growing vegetables
in greenhouses, using GM.
4: What should future agriculture depend on?
It should depend on high technology as well as
traditional methods.
5: What is most important for agriculture?
Both food production and taking care of the
environment are very important.
6: What techniques are referred to in the text?
1. Chemical fertilisers
3. Special seedbeds
5. International exchange
2. Pumps for irrigation
4. Machines
6. Greenhouse
7. GM technique
Solve the problems:
1 3 6 7
B.weather conditions 2 6
C.lack of knowledge 5
D.how to make production cheaper 4
A.shortage of arable land
e.g.tractors
Task 4 Careful reading
Finish the exercises on P.46.
1 In China only seven percent of the land is used for farming.
This is _______.
A because farmers don’t need more land to produce food for
the whole population
B because China needs more & more land to build cities
C because there are not enough farmers to work on the land
D because the other land can’t be used for agriculture
2 Fertilisation is a technique that is used to ______.
A make poor soil better
B make wet land drier
C make dry land wetter
D grow vegetables with their
roots in water instead of earth
3 Modern agriculture means finding ways to ______________.
A increase irritation & stop using fertilisers
B stop irritation & using fertilisers
C increase production & be friendly to the environment
D produce the same amount while taking better care of nature
4 In the sentence “ … they are protected from the wind, rain &
insects”, “they” means _______.
A greenhouses
B roots
C vegetables
D tomatoes
5 In GM “M” stands for “modified”, which means “changed”.
What changes is _____________.
A the way in which poor soil is made better
B the way in which Chinese farmers work on their land
C the way in which crops develop from seed
D the way in which farmers take care of the environment
Task 6 Reading
Repeat after the tape:
Task 5 Retelling
Retell the text according to the
following key words:
traditional agriculture / but modern
techniques / make as much use of …as
possible / save / improve / grow better /
although, shortage / latest techniques /
in spite of / future agriculture / because ,
not only …but also …
Sample:
Traditional agriculture in China didn’t
change much for thousands of years. But
modern techniques help farmers make as
much use of land as possible, they also
help farmers save time and allow farmers to
grow an extra crop in each season. Besides,
modern techniques help farmers improve
production and grow better and healthier
plants and fruit. Although the shortage of
arable land is the biggest problem of
Chinese farmers, Chinese scientists have
developed some latest techniques to solve
the problem, such as growing vegetables
in greenhouses, using GM. In spite of this,
future agriculture should depend on high
technology as well as traditional methods.
Because not only is food production
important but also taking care of the
environment is important.