阅读理解
Farming is moving indoors,where the sun never shines,where rainfall is irrelevant and where the
climate is always right.The perfect crop field could be inside a windowless building with controlled light,
temperature,wetness,air quality and nutrition.It could be in a New York highrise or a complex in the
Saudi desert.
The world already is having trouble feeding itself.Half the people on Earth live in cities,and nearly half of
those-about 3 billion-are hungry or illfed.Food prices,currently increasing,are buffeted by dryness,floods
and the cost of energy required to plant,harvest and transport it. And prices will only get more unstable.
Climate change makes longterm crop planning uncertain.Farmers in many parts of the world already are
using water available to the last drop.And the world is getting more crowded:by midcentury,the global
population will grow from 6.8 billion to 9 billion.
To feed so many people may require expanding farmland at the expense of forests and wilderness,or
finding ways to completely increase crop output.
Gertjan Meeuws has taken the concept of a greenhouse a step further,growing vegetables and house
plants in enclosed (封闭的)and regulated environments.In their research station,water flows into the pans
when needed,and the temperature is kept constant.Lights go on and off,creating similar day and night,but
according to the rhythm of the plant.
A building of 100 square meters and 14 layers(层)of plants could provide a daily diet of 200 grams of
fresh fruit and vegetables to the entire population of Den Bosch,about 140,000 people.Their idea isn't to
grow foods that require much space,like corn or potatoes.
Here sunlight is not only unnecessary but can be harmful.Plants need only specific wavelengths of light
to grow.Their growth rate is three times faster than under greenhouse conditions. They use about 90
percent less water than outdoors agriculture.And city farming means producing food near the consumer,
and there's no need to transport it long distances.
1．What can we mainly learn from Paragraph 2?
A．The climate is worse and worse.
B．The city people live a hard life.
C．The world has difficulty feeding its people.
D．The world's population is increasing fast.
2．The underlined word "buffeted" in Paragraph 2 means ________.
A．badly affected
B．prevented
C．demanded
D．well achieved
3．Which of the following is TRUE of the environments in the research station?
A．The temperature is often changed.
B．Sunshine is in great need for plants.
C．Day and night depends on plants.
D．Air quality is controlled by plants.
4．It can be inferred from the text that Gertjan Meeuws's farming ________.
A．helps save sea water a lot
B．is highly adaptable
C．resembles greenhouse agriculture
D．suits the production of corn
5．用30词左右概括文章大意
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