Unit 19 Modern agricultureUnit 19 Modern agriculture

By Katherine

How lucky! What shall I do with it?

A

B

C

D

Village Leader

How to lead a discussion:Shall we begin?

Do we/you all agree with him?

Is there any thing else? / Anything more?

Let’s sum up what we have discussed so far.

How to participate in a discussion:

In my opinion you/we should…/ Personally, …

As far as I can see, the best thing would be to…

If I were you, I would…

Wouldn’t it be better if…?

Could I make a suggesting that…

I think I have a point to make that…

How to lead a discussion:

How to express agreement:I quite agree with you.

I think he is right.

So it is.

That’s how I see it too./ That’s just what I think.

Exactly / Definitely / Of course.

There is no doubt about it.

How to express disagreement:Oh, do you really think so?

I cannot quite agree with you.

The other idea sounds better to me.

Not exactly,/ To tell the truth, /As a matter of fact

There’s something in what you’ve said, but…

to lead a discussion

to participate in a discussion

to express agreement

To express disagreement

Village Leader

Shall we begin? Do we/you all agree with him?Is there any thing else? / Anything more?Let’s sum up what we have discussed so far.

In my opinion you/we should…/ Personally, …As far as I can see, the best thing would be to…If I were you, I would…Wouldn’t it be better if…?Could I make a suggesting that…I think I have a point to make that…

I quite agree with you. / So it is.

I think he is right.

That’s how I see it too./ That’s just what I think.

Exactly / Definitely / Of course.

There is no doubt about it.Oh, do you really think so?

I cannot quite agree with you.

The other idea sounds better to me.

Not exactly,/ To tell the truth, /As a matter of fact

There’s something in what you’ve said, but…

modern agriculture

big farm

irrigation

crop

machinefarming

GM

farmer

fertilizer

seedbed

insect killer

greenhouse

land

Traditional farming Agriculture

Modern farming

Classify the pictures in the following way:

Task 1 Pre - Reading

Task 1 Pre-reading

B. Look at the pictures at p.45 and compare traditional and modern farming. 1. What can you see in the pictures? 2. What are the advantages and disadvan-tages of each way?

A. What is farming like in your hometown?

In the first picture: A chicken / A hen.In the second picture: A farmer feeding chickens.In the third picture: A modern chicken farm.

What are the differences? Compare the old and the modern

ways of raising chickens.

Old way Modern way A farmer can only keep a few chickens.

A factory can keep thou-sands of chickens.

It cost only a little money.It cost a lot to start a factory.

don’t have many problems if ill, many die or are killed

The eggs and meat are tasty.

They don’t taste so delicious.

The chickens are free. not free, can sit in small cages

In the first picture: A pile of animal shit (manure)

In the second picture: A bag of chemical fertilizer.

What are the differences? Compare the old and the modern

ways of feeding the crops.

Natural Fertilizer Chemical Fertilizer It is free or cost very

little. It is easy to be put into the fields.

It usually has a bad smell. It takes little place to

store.It is difficult to carry and move.

It is expensive to buy.

It needs lots of work to be made.

It usually has no smell.

It needs a lot of place to store.

It is easy to transport.

In the first picture: *Patches of farm fields.

In the second picture: *A farmer is ploughing the field with an animal.

In the third picture: *Farmers use the tractor to work the land.

What are the differences? Compare the old and the modern ways of plough

ing the fields.

Using Animals Using Machines

cheap to own and to keep expensive to buy and to use

They result in pollution.They can be used in dif-ferent places

They don’t need rest too often.

They can be food when they are old.

They do not pollute the air. They can only be used on

flat and dry land.They need rest now and then.

They can be sold to steel factories when broken.

Terrace Drought

Irrigated land Greenhouse

In the first picture: * Terraced fields.

In the second picture: * Dry barren farmland.

In the third picture: * Irrigated farmland.

In the fourth picture: * Greenhouses.

What are the differences? Compare the old and the modern

ways of irrigation.

Natural Climate Controlled Climate

in bad weather, crops lost climate controlled, less damageThe landscape loses its natural beauty.

Only arable land can grow crops.

Greenhouses can be built almost everywhere.

The landscape is more beautiful.

If there is a power failure, you may lose crops.

Step 2 While reading

Task 1 Fast reading:

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)

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 do 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?

Task 2 Careful reading: Questions:

Only 7 percent.

4. Fertilization; irrigation; 2 or more crops are planted each

year where possible; more advanced technical information.

Those that are used to increase agricultural production without harming the environment.

From the early 1990s.

2. Grow vegetables in greenhouses; GM.

Techniques:1. Chemical fertilisers 2. Pumps for irrigation

3. Special seedbeds 4. Machines e.g.tractors

5. International exchange 6. Greenhouse

7. GM technique

Solve the problems: A.shortage of arable land

B.weather conditions

C.lack of knowledge

D.how to make production cheaper

1 3 6 7

2 65

4

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

Step 3 Post reading

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 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.

Kind How would you change it?

Why do you want to change it in this way?

fruit

vegetables

animals

water-melon

Grow them like blocks instead of balls

Easier to store, takes less place.

onionMake sure they don’t hurt your eyes anymore

Easier to peel them.

sheepTo have red wool

Looks funny and then we don’t need to dye wool to make clothes

watermelonwatermelon like a block

sheep a sheep has red wool

a sheep has blue wool

Homework

1.Go over the passage. Recite Paragraph 1-32.P108-109 Workbook Vocabulary 3. 新学案完成：　完形　阅读

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