New technologies for crops

吉林 付蓮萍

主題語境：人與社會 篇幅：365詞 建議用時：7分鐘

1Technology companies are raising hundreds of millions of dollars to develop farm products that use microbes（微生物）and seaweed to grow crops.The move comes at a time when fertilizer prices are very high and increasing attention is being paid to how food is produced around the world.

2Microbes,including fungi（真菌）and viruses,have been available for years as treatments to protect plants from insects and disease,with mixed outcomes,but developers are increasingly using them as natural ways to support crops while keeping up crop production levels.

3The new microbial fertilizers are sometimes called biostimulants.Such products could help farmers use less nitrogen,a fertilizer that can pollute waterways and create a gas that has environmental effects.Canada wants to cut fertilizer emissions by 2030,while the European Union aims to reduce fertilizer usage.

4Denmark-based Novozymes is one of the biggest sellers of bio-agricultural products.One product contains a fungus that grows alongside plant roots and releases a crop nutrient from the soil.Yara International of Norway says that its biostimulants are based on seaweed and other substances.

5Another product from the start-up Pivot Bio has microbes that take in sugar fromthe roots of corn,wheat,or sorghum plants,producing an enzyme that changes nitrogen to a crop nutrient.The company says that farmers have already used it on more than 400,000 hectares and it also raised $430 million last year from investors.The $3 billion biostimulants industry is to grow by 12 to 15 percent each year over the next five years.

6Microbial fertilizers are largely unregulated,with few studies on how effective they are at developing crops.Besides,not everyone is convinced that biostimulants work.For example,University of Minnesota soil scientist Daniel Kaiser has tested Pivot's PROVEN product over the past two seasons.He used it on six areas with reduced nitrogen fertilizer treatments,but only one area showed an improved yield.

7Currently,only a small number of American states require companies to supply data on the effectiveness of microbial fertilizers.And the US Environmental Protection Agency has only issued draft guidance for public review.In Europe,the European Union decides to require data on biostimulants starting in July 2022.

Reading Check

Detail 1.What's the result of using microbes to protect plants?

A.It has two sides. B.It is of little help.

C.It is very effective. D.It gains great support.

Inference 2.How can we describe the new microbial fertilizers?

A.Cheap. B.Powerful.

C.Eco-friendly. D.Absorbable.

Inference 3.What can we infer about the product with microbes in paragraph 5?

A.It is more and more popular.

B.It can attract many researchers.

C.It will replace traditional fertilizers.

D.It helps to increase production greatly.

Inference 4.What's the author's attitude towards microbes?

A.Uncertain. B.Supportive.

C.Negative. D.Objective.

Language Study

Difficult sentences in the text

1.The move comes at a time when fertilizer prices are very high and increasing attention is being paid to how food is produced around the world.當肥料價格非常高，人們越來越關注世界各地如何生產糧食的時候，此舉來得正是時候。

【點石成金】這是一個主從復合句，句中when 引導的是一個定語從句，從句是由and連接的兩個并列的簡單句。

2.Another product from the start-up Pivot Bio has microbes that take in sugar from the roots of corn,wheat,or sorghum plants,producing an enzyme that changes nitrogen to a crop nutrient.初創公司Pivot Bio的另一款產品含有能從玉米、小麥或高粱根部吸收糖分的微生物，由此產生一種酶，將氮轉化為作物養分。

【點石成金】本句中的that take in sugar from the roots of corn,wheat,or sorghum plants 為that引導的定語從句；producing an enzyme that changes nitrogen to a crop nutrient 作結果狀語；that changes nitrogen to a crop nutrient 為that 引導的定語從句，修飾先行詞enzyme。