Unit 19 Modern agriculture

1 Step 1 Pre-reading

Traditional farming Agriculture Modern farming Hi-tech farming Classify the pictures in the following way: Task 1

Agriculture Traditional farming Modern farming Hi-tech farming Advantages Disadvantages Compare traditional & modern farming, focusing on the advantage & disadvantage of modern farming. Then fill the form.

Step 2 While reading Task 1 Scanning: Q1: What ’ s the biggest problem to Chinese farmers? Q2: What does GM mean? The shortage of arable land. “ G ” stands for “ genetically ” “ M ” stands for “ modified ” (changed)

Task 2 Skimming 1.How much does arable land take up in China? 2.How many ways are mentioned to make the land produce more? What are they? land produce more? What are they? 3.What does new techniques mean? 4.When did scientist start to develop new techniques? 5.How many unusual ways are mentioned to deal with the shortage of arable land? A.Read the whole text & find out the topic sentence in each paragraph. B.Answer the following questions:

1.How much does arable land take up in China? 2.How many ways are mentioned to make the land produce more? What are they? 3.What does new techniques mean? Only 7 percent. Those that are used to increase agricultural production without harming the environment. 4. Fertilisation; irritation; 2 or more crops are planted each year where possible; more advanced technical information. Questions:

4.When did scientist start to develop new techniques? 5.How many unusual ways are mentioned to deal with the shortage of arable land? with the shortage of arable land? Questions: From the early 1990s. 2. Grow vegetables in greenhouses; GM.

Task 1 Choose the best answers. 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 2 Answer the following questions by further understanding about the text. 1 At the beginning of the passage, why does the writer say “ It is on the arable land that the farmers produce food for the whole population of China ” ? 2 What does the writer want to tell us by saying, “ Not only food production is important but also taking care of the environment. ” ? 3 What can we infer from the sentence “ In China about one hundred research stations are now doing GM research to make better tomatoes, cotton …” 4 What can you imagine about the future of food production?

Task 3 Group work Through GM it is possible to change fruits, vegetables & even animals. We can change the way they grow, where they can grow, how they will taste, what color & what shape they will have. Decide which fruits, vegetables & farm animals you would change, explain how you would change them & why. KindHow would you change it? Why do you want to change it in this way? fruit vegetabl es animals

Homework: Find out some sentences you enjoys most, & try to recite them as possible as you can. Find out some sentences you enjoys most, & try to recite them as possible as you can. Consult the websites: