Farming is moving indoors, where the sun never shines, where rainfall is irrelevant (无关的) and where the climate is always right. The perfect crop field could be inside a windowless building with controlled light, temperature，humidity，air quality and nutrition. It could be in a New York high- rise or a complex （建筑群） in the Saudi desert. It may be an answer to the world’s food problems.

The world already is having trouble feeding itself. Half the people on Earth live in cities, and nearly half of those – about 3 billion – are hungry or ill–fed. Food prices, currently increasing, are badly affected by dryness, floods and the cost of energy required to plant, harvest and transport it. And prices will only get more unstable. Climate change makes long-term crop planning uncertain. Farmers in many parts of the world already are using water available to the last drop. And the world is getting more crowded: by mid-century, the global population will grow from 6.8 billion to 9 billion.

To feed so many people may require expanding farmland at the expense of forests and wilderness, or finding ways to greatly increase crop output.

Gertjan Meeuws and three other Dutch bioengineers grow vegetables and house plants in closed and regulated environments. In their research station, water flows into the pans when needed, and the temperature is kept constant. Lights go on and off, creating “day” and “night”, but according to the rhythm of the plant.

Meeuws says a building of 100 square meters and layers of plants could provide a daily diet of 200 grams of fresh fruit and vegetables for the entire population of Ken Bosch, about 140,000 people. Their idea isn’t to grow foods that require much space, like corn or potatoes.

Sunlight is not only unnecessary but can be harmful. Plants need only specific wavelengths of light to grow. Their growth rate is three times faster than under greenhouse conditions. They use about 90 percent less water than outdoor agriculture. And city farming means producing food near the consumer, so there’s on need to transport it long distances.

1.According to the text, Gertjan Meeuws’ farming _______.

A．can be used for corn production

B．is much like greenhouse farming

C．is adaptable to any environment

D．uses more water than outdoor farming

2.What is the second paragraph mainly about ?

A．The effect of climate	B．The hungry people in cities.
C．The world’s food problem.	D．The world’s increasing population.

3.What is the purpose of the text ?

A．To compare traditional and indoor farming.

B．To discuss the influence of climate change.

C．To explain the world’s food problem.

D．To introduce a new model of farming.

 

More than 30 million kids buy school lunch each day. This year, many schools raised lunch prices to fight raising costs. Students pay about $2 a meal now. That is 27 cents more than last year. But they still get a good deal. The average cost for schools to produce one meal has gone up 30 cents, and is now $3. 

So, how do schools neither make money nor lose money? To start, the government pays for a small part of the difference. Schools have to make up the rest. Peggy Eller, a leader of school nutrition (营养) service in Hudson, Wisconsin, said her district is cutting costs by using fewer paper products and serving smaller portion(份额). Well, portion control is one key to healthful eating! 

The push for more healthful food has grown in recent years. One in five kids aged 6 to 19 is overweight. Being overweight can cause health problems. Many states passed laws that require schools to serve nutritious meals. 

Since 2004, more than 90% of all U.S. Schools have removed the fat from lunches. Foods high in fat, salt and sugar have been replaced by low-fat milk, fresh fruits and vegetables. These new items on lunch menus have encouraged kids to change their eating habits. “It makes easier to try new things at home, “said Savanna Mackey, a Florida fifth-grader.  

Students need healthful meals to grow strong and do well in school. “Rising prices won’t stand in the way,”says school nutritionist Jane Thornton. “We’ll just be more clever in how we do things.”

1.In the first paragraph, the author aims to tell us         .

A. the large number of kids buying school lunch

B. the average price of school lunch

C. the school's ways to deal with school lunch

D. the fact of school lunch's getting more expensive

2.Many school districts raised lunch prices because         .

A. there is less healthful food on the menus

B. the cost of food has gone up

C. kids often forget to bring lunch money

D. some school dining-halls are serving smaller portions

3.According to Paragraph 4, Savanna Mackey       .

A. doesn't like the new items on the lunch menus

B. always enjoys foods like fresh and vegetables

C. becomes interested in eating healthy food at home

D. prefers eating at school to eating at home

4.What can be inferred from the passage?

A. American schools solve the problem of high food prices by themselves.

B. American schools are very concerned about their students’ health.

C. Almost all schools are forced by the government to serve healthy foods.

D. American childhood overweight is mainly caused by the present lunch foods.

 

Food prices are climbing around the world because farmers can't ____ demand for grain．

A．catch up with                    B．keep up with

C．grow out of     D．put up with

The CPI went up sharply，as was reported in the newspaper，mainly due to     20 percent rise in    food prices．

A．／；／

B．a；the

C．／；the

D．a；／

 

Directions: Read the following text and choose the most suitable heading from the list A-F for each paragraph.  There is one extra heading which you do not need.

A. The reasons for the problematic food situation in Britain. B. The effect of the situation on farmers. C. The variety of British food. D. The surface richness of food and questions it brings. E. The different situations at home and abroad. F. The recent reason for the huge supply of food.

 

1

The long years of food shortage in Britain have suddenly given way to huge food supply.  Stores and shops are crowded with food.  Rationing(定量供应) has already seemed too distant to today’s Britons.  Even overseas suppliers have been asked to hold back deliveries.  Yet, instead of joy, there is widespread uneasiness and worries.  Why do food prices keep on rising, when there seems to be so much more food about?  Is the surface huge amount of food only temporary, or has it come to stay?  Does it mean that we need to think less now about producing more food at home?

2

The recent growth of food supply on the world food market has certainly been unexpectedly great, partly because two continuous big grain harvests in North America are now being followed by a third.  Most of Britain’s overseas suppliers of meat, too, are offering more this year and home production has also risen.

3

    Then why is the food situation in Britain still faulty?  On the one hand, The British government has gradually cut down support for food.  On the other hand, the shops are overstocked with food not only because there is more food available, but also because people, frightened by high prices, are buying less of it.

4

    Moreover, the rise in food prices at home has come at a time when world prices have begun to fall, with the result that imported food, with the exception of grain, is often cheaper than the home-produced variety.  And now grain prices, too, are falling internationally.  British consumers are beginning to ask why they should not be able to benefit from this trend.

5

The significance of these developments is not lost on farmers.  The older generation have seen it all happen before.  Despite the present price and market guarantees, farmers fear they are about to be squeezed between cheap food imports and a smaller home market.  Present production is running quickly compared with years ago.  However, farmers haven’t shared any benefit from the change.