首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
考研
One of the least appreciated but most remarkable developments of the past 60 years is the extraordinary growth of American agric
One of the least appreciated but most remarkable developments of the past 60 years is the extraordinary growth of American agric
admin
2015-10-20
24
问题
One of the least appreciated but most remarkable developments of the past 60 years is the extraordinary growth of American agriculture. Farming now accounts for about one tenth of the gross domestic product yet employs less than 1 percent of all workers. It has accomplished this feat through exceptionally high growth in productivity, which has kept prices of food low and thereby contributed to rising standards of living. Furthermore, the exportable surplus has kept the trade deficit from reaching unsupportable levels. Agriculture not only has one of the highest rates of productivity growth of all industries, but this growth appears to have accelerated during the past two decades.
Over the period 1948 to 2004, total farm production went up by 166 percent. The land used for farming dropped by one quarter over the 56-year period, and investment in heavy farm equipment and other capital expenditures decreased by 12 percent. Several developments drove these changes, beginning with the replacement of the remaining horses by tractors immediately after World War II and with the expanding use of fertilizers and pesticides. Later came the adoption of hybrid seeds, genetic engineering of plants and improved livestock breeding. A key element was the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s(USDA)extension service. Operating through land-grant universities and other organizations, it educated farmers on biotechnology, pest management and conservation.
For many years, critics have claimed that modern agriculture is not sustainable, one of the major assertions being that it encourages erosion, which will eventually wash away most of the topsoil. Lost topsoil, the argument goes, is virtually irreplaceable because it takes up to 300 years for one inch of soil to form.
But a detailed study of two large areas, the Southern Piedmont and the Northern Mississippi Valley Loess Hills, showed that based on 1982 data, soil loss has dropped sharply from the very high rates of the 1930s. The study attributed the decrease in soil erosion to the USDA, which urged farmers after World War II to adopt conservation practices such as strip cropping, whereby alternating rows are planted, and leaving plant residues in the fields year-round to inhibit water runoff.
Despite being a robust contributor to the U.S. economy, modem agriculture is not without a
dark side
. Runoff of fertilizers, antibiotics and hormones degrade the environment and can upset the local ecology. If not grown properly, genetically modified crops could spread their DNA to conventional species.
The "dark side"(Line 1, Paragraph 5)implies that modern agriculture will
选项
A、have a great impact on the U.S. economy development.
B、lead to ecology pollution, if improperly controlled.
C、have to decrease the soil erosion.
D、change the DNA of conventional species.
答案
B
解析
观点态度题。根据最后一段的内容可知现代农业也有负面影响,即题干中的dark side,根据文中的degrade the environment及upset the local ecology可知,B项符合文意。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/JVzZ777K
0
考研英语一
相关试题推荐
UnwillingnesstofacedeathisWhatis/waspeople’sattitudetowordsdeath?
TheElectromagneticRadiationAffectsOurLifeWhethermobilephonescancausecancerremainsanopenquestion.Buttheyare
Somepeopleviewedthefindingswithcaution,notingthatacause-and-effectrelationshipbetweenpassivesmokingandcancerrem
Sportpsychologyresearchhasdocumentedtheimportantroteofsignificantadultssuchasparentsandcoachesinyouthparticipa
Theroleofgovernmentsinenvironmentalmanagementisdifficultbutinescapable.Sometimes,thestatetriestomanagetheresou
It’sGroundhogDayattheUSPostalService:timeonceagainforthefamiliarlamentsabouthowtheagency’sfinanciallossesar
It’sGroundhogDayattheUSPostalService:timeonceagainforthefamiliarlamentsabouthowtheagency’sfinanciallossesar
Hypothesis-drivenresearchisattheheartofscientificendeavor,anditisoftenthepositive,confirmatorydatathatgetthe
[A]Notgivingbonustoemployeeswhodeserveit[B]Notgivingpositiveinformation[C]Notlinkingindividualjobstothebigpic
达尔文的思想——2008年英译汉及详解Inhisautobiography,Darwinhimselfspeaksofhisintellectualpowerswithextraordinarymodesty.Hepoint
随机试题
与食管癌发生无关的因素是
下列不属于食物中毒特征的是
下列属于缺铁性贫血组织缺铁表现的是()
电弧焊机的选用原则是()等因素。
贷款人未按《流动资金贷款管理暂行办法》规定进行贷款资金支付管理与控制的,可以对其采取的监管措施是()。
甲公司是一家设备制造企业,常年大量使用某种零部件。该零部件既可以外购,也可以自制。如果外购,零部件单价为100元/件,每次订货的变动成本为20元。如果自制,每次生产准备成本为400元,每日产量为15件。自制零部件的单位生产成本60元。该零部件的全年需求量为
某生产企业2020年12月销售一栋8年前建造的办公楼,取得不含税销售收入1200万元。该办公楼原值700万元,已计提折旧400万元。经房地产评估机构评估,该办公楼的重置成本为1400万元,成新度折扣率为五成,计算土地增值税时允许扣除的税金合计7.2万元。该
教育者和受教育者共同的客体是()。
(1997年)在某一人群中推广新技术是通过其中已掌握新技术的人进行的.设该人群总数为N,在t=0时刻已掌握新技术的人数为x0在任一时刻t已掌握新技术的人数为x(t)(将x(t)视为连续可微变量),其变化率与已掌握新技术人数和未掌握新技术人数之积成正比,比例
编制项目计划所遵循的基本原则不包括(32)。
最新回复
(
0
)