Unit 19　Modern agriculture

t:are you ready?who can give us a talk about the first topic?sa,how are people's eating habbits changing over the years?
sa:from the first graph,we can see that the eating habits of the people in our country have changed greatly.before 1949,they had not enough to eat and often went hungry.once natural disasters happened,a great number of people would die of hunger.before the reforming and opening to the world,grain was still a big problem.people mainly lived on corn and few kinds of vegetables.since the 1980s,especially the 1990s,people's eating habits have greatly improved.people can eat whatever they want.more and more people eat less grain,more meat and eggs and so on.more and more people turn their eyes to meat,eggs,milk and all kinds of green vegetables.
t:why do you think this happens,sb?
sb:it is all because of the party's good policies.
t:very good.it is true and everyone can see that.how has agricultural produce changed during the first half of the 1990s?and what do you think caused these changes?
sc:from the first half of the 1990s,scientists started to develop new techniques to increase agricultural production without causing damage to the environment.especially the new technique, “gm”,has made agricultural production increase continuously.scientists develop new kinds of seeds,better cows,pigs,sheep as well as fish.it is the new techniques that make all this possible.
t:do you agree with him,sd?
sd:yes,i do.and i want to give an answer to the three question.
t:good,please say that.
sd:with the changes in people's eating habits,agriculture as well as nature will have to change,too.people are eating more meat and milk.that is to say,they need more fish,pigs,sheep and cattle as well as poultry.to feed these animals,we need more grain,especially more grass.to protect our environment,the ways to raise animals have changed.with the development of modern science and techniques,some of the fields are not needed to produce more food.we can grow grass,flowers etc.on them.less farmers are needed and they can do other kinds of work.
step ⅳ.listening
t:so much for the discussion.next we'll do listening.the passage you'll listen to is about farming.it tells us about farming of all countries in early times and protection of nature and environment.listen to the tape carefully and do the exercises concerned.now,read the requirements,please.(students read the requirements.)now do you know what you'll have to do after listening to the passage?(ss:yes.)during listening,i'll play the tape three times.after listening for the first time,you can leave over the ones you are not sure about.you can do them when i play the tape for the second or the third time.check your answers with your partner after listening.are you clear?(ss:yes.)(at last,teacher shows the answers on the screen.)