普通高中课程标准实验教科书 英语必修4 Unit 2 Working the land

Although he is one of China's most famous scientists, Yuan Longping considers himself a farmer, for he works¹ the land to do his research. Indeed, his sunburnt face and arms and his slim, strong body are just like those of millions of Chinese farmers, for whom he has struggled for the past five decades. Dr Yuan Longping grows what is called super hybrid² rice. In 1974, he became the first agricultural pioneer in the world to grow rice that has a high output³. This special strain⁴ of rice makes it possible to produce one-third more of the crop in the same fields. Now more than 60% of the rice produced in China each year is from this hybrid strain.

      Born into a poor farmer's family in 1930, Dr Yuan graduated from Southwest Agricultural College in 1953. Since then, finding⁵ ways to grow more rice has been his life goal. As a young man, he saw the great need for increasing the rice output. At that time, hunger was a disturbing problem in many parts of the countryside. Dr Yuan searched for a way to increase rice harvests without expanding the area of the fields. In 1950, Chinese farmers could produce only fifty million tons of rice. In a recent harvest, however, nearly two hundred million tons of rice was produced. These increased harvests mean that 22% of the world's people are fed from just 7% of the farmland in China. Dr Yuan is now circulating⁶ his knowledge in India, Vietnam and many other less developed countries to increase their rice harvests. Thanks to his research, the UN has more tools in the battle to rid the world of hunger. Using his hybrid rice, farmers are producing harvests twice as large as before.
      Dr Yuan is quite satisfied with his life. However, he doesn't care about being famous. He feels it gives him less freedom to do his research. He would much rather keep time for his hobbles. He enjoys listening to violin music, playing mah-jong, swimming and reading. Spending money on himself or leading a comfortable life also means very little to him. Indeed, he believes that a person with too much money has more rather than fewer troubles. He therefore gives millions of yuan to equip others for their research in agriculture.
      Just dreaming for things, however, costs nothing. Long ago Dr yuan had a dream about rice plants as tall as sorghum⁷. Each ear of rice was as big as an ear of corn and each grain of rice was as huge as a peanut. Dr Yuan awoke from his dream with the hope of producing a kind of rice that could feed more people. Now, many years later, Dr Yuan has another dream: to export his rice so that it can be grown around the globe. One dream is not always enough, especially for a person who loves and cares for his people.

1 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

2 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

3 output   

n.产量，输出，输出功率，输出端；vt.输出(信息等)

参考例句：

• Grain output reached a new high in the three years.谷物产量达到三年中最高水平。
• The chart showed us the global output of a factory.这张图表展示了一个工厂的总产量。

4 strain   

n.紧张，拉紧，血统；v.劳累，拉紧，过份使用

参考例句：

• Strain the fat off before you serve the soup.在上汤前把里面的油滤掉。
• He had a muscular strain.他肌肉过劳。

5 finding   

n.发现，发现物；调查的结果

参考例句：

• The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
• That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。

6 circulating   

adj.& n.循环（的），流通（的）v.（使）循环( circulate的现在分词 )；（使）流通；（使）流传；散布

参考例句：

• The condition prevents the blood from circulating freely. 这种病阻碍了血液的循环畅通。
• The rumours were still circulating at Westminster. 当时谣言依然在英国议会和政府流传。

7 sorghum   

n.高粱属的植物，高粱糖浆，甜得发腻的东西

参考例句：

• We can grow sorghum or maize on this plot.这块地可以种高粱或玉米。
• They made sorghum into pig feed.他们把高粱做成了猪饲料。