問題詳情

(26-34)Since the end of the Second World War, themechanization of farming has been dramatic, to say the least.This has taken the form of manual labour and animals beingreplaced by machinery, and it has brought many benefits.Firstly, productivity has dramatically increased, and landwhich used to lie 26 — due to the difficulty in working itby hand— has been brought into production. Not only that,but efficiency has also 27 because jobs can now bedone in a fraction of the time that they used to take. Finally,specialized machinery has allowed farmers to develop more28 and therefore cultivate single crops on a farm andreduce overheads.Yet mechanization also has its 29 . The increasednumber of farms employing monocultures has led to anincrease in pest epidemics and a 30 increased relianceon pesticides. Monoculture farming also causes soils to losenutrients very quickly, to the extent that farmers have to 31them with fertilizers. In fact, 32 around 1940, the use offertilizers such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, andthe use of pesticides has increased by over 1000%. Thisover-reliance on chemicals is having an alarming effect on thenatural environment. Finally, rural areas have lost much oftheir 33 because field systems have become ever largerand hedgerows have been removed to accommodate largefarm machinery such as tractors and combine harvesters. Theevidence shows that this is especially true with respect toNorth American and European countries that have invested alot in 34 farming practices. (By Richard Lee)
26.
(A) cultivated
(B) fertile
(C) prolific
(D) fallow

參考答案

答案：D
難度：適中0.631579
統計：A(0),B(2),C(5),D(12),E(0)

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