新课程标准高中英语必修四Unit 2 Working the land

第一课时 精读课 练案

A组练习

课文填空。

　　I'm Yuan Longping. Look at my 1 face and arms and my slim, strong body and you will think I'm more like a 2 than a scientist. In fact I have struggled for the past five 3 to help farmers. In 1974, I began to grow a so-called super hybrid rice. This special strain of rice makes 4 possible to produce one-third more of the crop in the same fields.

　　 I was born into a poor farmer's family in 1931. When I was young, I saw many people go 5 often. So I have devoted myself to finding ways to increase rice harvest without expanding the area of fields since I 6 from Southwest Agriculture College in 1953. Now more than 60 % of the rice produced in China each year is from this hybrid strain. I am 7 this knowledge in India, Vietnam and other less developed countries to increase their harvest. Perhaps you think I am rich. Actually I live a simple life. I care 8 for money. In my opinion a person with too much money will have 9 troubles. I don't want to be famous because I prefer to have more time to do my research. In my free time I love listening to music, playing mah-jong and reading. I once had a dream, in which I saw rice plants as tall as sorghum and each ear of rice was as big as an ear of corn and each grain of rice was as huge as a peanut. Now I have another dream-to 10 my rice so that it can be grown all over the world.

　　B组练习

　　1．阅读下列短文，选择最佳答案。

　　If you want your land to keep fertile, you must try to stop soil from being carried away by water or wind. When soil is taken away by flowing water or blowing winds we call it soil erosion. Ways have been found to stop soil erosion, and this is known as soil conservation. One way of stopping soil erosion is to grow small plants such as grass. These plants are referred to a cover crops, whose roots hold the soil tightly together. The rain water can not wash away the soil. When trees and tall bushes are planted at the edges of an open field, soil erosion by strong winds can not take place. The trees and bushes, which act as a very big and firm wall, protect the open land from the winds. The way to stop soil erosion on slopes is to build terraces on the slope of hillside and mountainside. When the slope of a hillside is cut into "step", water carrying soil can not run straight down the terraces, which are used to slow down the speed of the flowing water containing much soil in it. In this way most of the soil in the water is left behind on the terraces, much soil in it.

1）What takes place in soil erosion?

A. Flood happens to the fertile land .

B. A large quantity of the soil loses away gradually.

　　C. Terraces are built on the slope of hillside or mountainside.

　　D. Plants are grown to protect the open land.

2）"Cover crops" in this passage means _________?