Modern Agriculture ● Reading

Teaching Aims: 1. Enable the students to learn sth. about modern agriculture from the text. 2. Get the students to have the ability to grasp the general idea. 3. Improve the students ’ ability in reading and understanding.

Revision and Lead–in Eating Habits Agricultural Produce Agricultural Produce Nature What are the relations between them ? Eating habits affect the changes in agricultural produce, at the same time the development of agriculture has effects on nature.

Pre-reading : Look at the pictures and compare tradi- tional and modern farming.

In the past, farmers grow crops in the traditional way. Using cattle to plough the field. farmers work most of the day all year around, but they could not produce enough food for the whole population. At present, they use modern techniques in their fields to improve agricultural production such as chemical fertilizers, greenhouses and so on. Great changes have taken place in agriculture.

Reading: Fast reading Read the text quickly and silently and answer the following questions: 1.How much land can be used for farming in China? 2.What should future agriculture depend on? Only 7% of the land can be used for farming in China. Future agriculture should depend on high technology as well as traditional methods.

Careful reading Read the text carefully and choose the best answers: Careful reading Read the text carefully and 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 and more land to build cities C because there are not enough farmers to work on the land D because the other land cannot 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 D A

3. Modern agriculture means finding ways to _____. A. increase irrigation and stop using fertilisers B. stop irrigation and using fertilisers C. increase production and 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 and 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 C C C

Divide the text into four parts. Part I Part II Part III Part IV (Para 1) A brief introduction to agriculture and arable land in China (Para 2) How to use advanced techniques to improve agricultural production (Para 3) Scientists started to develop new techniques to increase agricultural production without harming the environment (Para 4 — 6) Using the latest technologies to settle the problem with the shortage of arable land

Post-Reading Modern agriculture has developed through periods according to the text. What was mainly developed in each period ? Period 1 : More advanced technical information was brought in from abroad in the 1980s. Period 3 : Using the latest technologies to grow vege-tables, such as greenhouses, GM. Period 2 : Scientists started to develop new techniques to increase agricultural production without harming the environment from---

Consolidation Listen to the tape and fill in the blanks with proper words according to the passage. With the development of m________ agriculture, farmers are realizing more and more the importance of protecting nature. Since the early 1990s, scientists have been trying to develop new t________ to increase agricultural p_________ and protect the e_____________ at the same time. Some c________ can help to produce better crops but are very h_________to our environment. Some have a very good e__________on removing weeds but they damage crops at the same time. So new techniques should not only help increase production but also be f__________ to the environment. We should depend on high technology and t_____________ methods as well to develop our agriculture because food production and taking care of the environment are of the same i____________. odern echniquesroduction nvironment hemicals armful ffect riendly raditional mportance

Discussion How can we develop modern agriculture to meet the change of people's eating habits without destroying or damaging the environment? 1.Modern agriculture should not go against nature. 2.We can develop Eco-agriculture. 3. Use less chemical fertilizers, pesticide. 4. Protect the soil from being lost. Improve the soil conditions. 5. Grow different plants in different areas.

Summary The text tells us something about the situation of agriculture of our country. For example, its past and present, especially its future. At the same time, we also know that we must take care of the environment while we develop our agriculture. From now on, we should study hard and be ready to make greater contributions to the development of our agriculture.

Thank you!

Home work Home work 1. The text doesn't have an ending, please imagine an ending for it. 2. Preview the language points in the text.