(26-34)
Since the end of the Second World War, the
mechanization of farming has been dramatic, to say the least.
This has taken the form of manual labour and animals being
replaced by machinery, and it has brought many benefits.
Firstly, productivity has dramatically increased, and land
which used to lie 26 — due to the difficulty in working it
by hand— has been brought into production. Not only that,
but efficiency has also 27 because jobs can now be
done in a fraction of the time that they used to take. Finally,
specialized machinery has allowed farmers to develop more
28 and therefore cultivate single crops on a farm and
reduce overheads.
Yet mechanization also has its 29 . The increased
number of farms employing monocultures has led to an
increase in pest epidemics and a 30 increased reliance
on pesticides. Monoculture farming also causes soils to lose
nutrients very quickly, to the extent that farmers have to 31
them with fertilizers. In fact, 32 around 1940, the use of
fertilizers such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, and
the use of pesticides has increased by over 1000%. This
over-reliance on chemicals is having an alarming effect on the
natural environment. Finally, rural areas have lost much of
their 33 because field systems have become ever larger
and hedgerows have been removed to accommodate large
farm machinery such as tractors and combine harvesters. The
evidence shows that this is especially true with respect to
North American and European countries that have invested a
lot in 34 farming practices. (By Richard Lee)
【題組】28. (A) monocultures (B) aquacultures
(C) sericultures (D) piscicultures
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