雅思阅读练习：农业和旅游业

　　You should spend about 20 minutes onQuestions 1–13 which are based on the ReadingPassage below.

　　Onion growers in eastern Oregon are adopting asystem that saves water and keeps topsoil in place,while producing the highest quality "super colossal" onions. Pear growers in southern Oregonhave reduced their use of some of the most toxic pesticides by up to two-thirds, and are stillproducing top-quality pears. Range managers throughout the state have controlled thepoisonous weed tansy ragwort with insect predators and saved the Oregon livestock industryup to $4.8 million a year.

　　These are some of the results Oregon growers have achieved in collaboration with OregonState University (OSU) researchers as they test new farming methods including integrated pestmanagement (IPM). Nationwide, however, IPM has not delivered results comparable to those inOregon. A recent U.S General Accounting Office (GAO) report indicates that while integratedpest management can result in dramatically reduced pesticide use, the federal government hasbeen lacking in effectively promoting that goal and implementing IPM. Farmers also blame thegovernment for not making the new options of pest management attractive. "Wholesalechanges in the way that farmers control the pests on their farms is an expensive business."Tony Brown, of the National Farmers Association says. "If the farmers are given tax breaks tooffset the expenditure, then they would willingly accept the new practices." The report goeson to note that even though the use of the riskiest pesticides has declined nationwide, theystill make up more than 40 percent of all pesticides used today; and national pesticide use hasrisen by 40 million kilograms since 1992. "Our food supply remains the safest and highestquality on Earth but we continue to overdose our farmland with powerful and toxic pesticidesand to under-use the safe and effective alternatives," charged Patrick Leahy, whocommissioned the report. Green action groups disagree about the safety issue. "There is noway that habitual consumption of foodstuffs grown using toxic chemicals of the nature foundon today's farms can be healthy for consumers," noted Bill Bowler, spokesman for GreenAction, one of many lobbyists interested in this issue.

　　The GAO report singles out Oregon's apple and pear producers who have used the new IPMtechniques with growing success. Although Oregon is clearly ahead of the nation, scientists atOSU are taking the Government Accounting Office criticisms seriously. "We must continue todevelop effective alternative practices that will reduce environmental hazards and producehigh quality products," said Paul Jepson, a professor of entomology at OSU and new directorof

　　OSU's Integrated Plant Protection Centre (IPPC). The IPPC brings together scientists fromOSU's Agricultural Experiment Station, OSU Extension service, the U.S. Department ofAgriculture and Oregon farmers to help develop agricultural systems that will save water andsoil, and reduce pesticides. In response to the GAO report, the Centre is putting even moreemphasis on integrating research and farming practices to improve Oregon agricultureenvironmentally and economically.

　　"The GAO report criticizes agencies for not clearly communicating the goals of IPM," saidJepson.

　　"Our challenge is to greatly improve the communication to and from growers, to learnwhat works and what doesn't. The work coming from OSU researchers must be adopted in thefield and not simply languish in scientific journals."

　　In Oregon, growers and scientists are working together to instigate new practices. Forexample, a few years ago scientists at OSU's Malheur Experiment Station began testing a newdrip irrigation system to replace old ditches that wasted water and washed soil and fertilizerinto streams. The new system cut water and fertilizer use by half, kept topsoil in place andprotected water quality.

　　In addition, the new system produced crops of very large onions, rated "super colossal"and highly valued by the restaurant industry and food processors. Art Pimms, one of theresearchers at Malheur comments: "Growers are finding that when they adopt moreenvironmentally benign practices, they can have excellent results. The new practices benefitthe environment and give the growers their success."

　　OSU researchers in Malheur next tested straw mulch and found that it successfully held soilin place and kept the ground moist with less irrigation. In addition, and unexpectedly, thescientists found that the mulched soil created a home for beneficial beetles and spiders thatprey on onion thrips – a notorious pest in commercial onion fields – a discovery that couldreduce the need for pesticides. "I would never have believed that we could replace the artificialpest controls that we had before and still keep our good results," commented Steve Black, acommercial onion farmer in Oregon, "but instead we have actually surpassed expectations."

　　OSU researchers throughout the state have been working to reduce dependence on broadspectrum chemical sprays that are toxic to many kind of organisms, including humans. "Consumers are rightly putting more and more pressure on the industry to change its relianceon chemical pesticides, but they still want a picture-perfect product," said Rick Hilton,entomologist at OSU's Southern Oregon Research and Extension Centre, where researchershelp pear growers reduce the need for highly toxic pesticides. Picture perfect pears are animportant product in Oregon and traditionally they have required lots of chemicals. In recentyears, the industry has faced stiff competition from overseas producers, so any new methodsthat growers adopt must make sense economically as well as environmentally. Hilton is testinga growth regulator that interferes with the molting of codling moth larvae. Another study usedpheromone dispensers to disrupt codling moth mating. These and other methods ofintegrated pest management have allowed pear growers to reduce their use oforganophosphates by two-thirds and reduce all other synthetic pesticides by even more andstill produce top-quality pears. These and other studies around the state are part of theeffort of the IPPC to find alternative farming practices that benefit both the economy and theenvironment.

　　Questions 1 – 8

　　Match the views (1 – 8) with the people listedbelow.

　　1. There is a double advantage to the newtechniques.

　　2. Expectations of end users of agriculturalproducts affect the products.

　　3. The work on developing these alternative techniques is not finished.

　　4. Eating food that has had chemicals used in its production is dangerous to our health.

　　5. Changing current farming methods is not a cheap process.

　　6. Results have exceeded anticipations.

　　7. The research done should be translated into practical projects.

　　8. The U.S. produces the best food in the world.

　　TB Tony Brown

　　PL Patrick Leahy

　　BB Bill Bowler

　　PJ Paul Jepson

　　AP Art Pimms

　　SB Steve Black

　　RH Rick Hilton

　　Questions 9 - 13

　　Read the passage about alternative farming methods in Oregon again and look at

　　the statements below.

　　In boxes 9 - 13 on your answer sheet write:

　　TRUE if the statement is true

　　FALSE if the statement is false NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in theadvertisement

　　9. Integrated Pest Management has generally been regarded as a success in the US.

　　10. Oregon farmers of apples and pears have been promoted as successful examples ofIntegrated Pest Management.

　　11. The IPPC uses scientists from different organisations.

　　12. Straw mulch experiments produced unplanned benefits.

　　13. The apple industry is now facing a lot of competition from abroad.

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