Unit 2 Working the land

Words preview statistic n. 统计；统计数字； 统计资料 sunburnt vi. 晒黑的 struggle decade super output crop n. 统计；统计数字； 统计资料 vi. 晒黑的 vt. & vi. 斗争；努力 n. 十年；十年期 n. 特级的；超级的 n. 产量；输出 n. 庄稼；农作物 ；产量

Words preview hunger disturbing expand circulate Vietnam n. 饥饿；欲望 vt. & vi. (使）饥饿 adj. 引起烦恼的； 令人不安的 vt. & vi. 使变大；伸展 vt. & vi. 循环；流传 n. 越南

Words preview battle rid freedom therefore equip grain n. 战役；战斗；较量；斗争 vt. & vi. 搏斗；奋斗 vt. 摆脱；除去 n. 自由；自主 adj. 因此；所以；因而 vt. & vi. 配备；装备 n. 谷物；粮食；颗粒

Words preview export nationality occupation confuse regret vt. & vi. 输出；出口 n. 国籍 n. 工作；职业；占领 vt. 使迷惑；使为难 vt. 遗憾；惋惜 n. 遗憾；懊悔

Expressions preview thanks to rid… of would rather 幸亏；由于；因为 摆脱；除去 宁愿；宁可

Pre-reading Read the statistics below. Did you know these facts before? What problem do they show? According to the World Health Organization: The world produces enough food for everyone. More than 800 million people go to bed hungry every day.

Food is the basic need for man Food is the basic need for man. Rice is the main food in all East Asian and Southeast countries. It is said that there are 2.4 billion people to eat rice everyday throughout the world.

What do you think would happen if tomorrow there was suddenly no rice to eat? If that happened, people might die of hunger. The whole world would get into trouble.

The only way to solve the food shortage problem is to increase the yield of the grain crop per land area through the advancement of science and technology.

Yuan Longping -- Father of Hybrid Rice

Reading A PIONEER FOR ALL PEOPLE

袁隆平 袁隆平被誉为中国的“杂交水稻之父”. 中国农民说，吃饭靠“两平”，一靠邓小平----制定了生产承包责任制的政策，二靠袁隆平----发明了杂交稻。 袁隆平，男，１９３０年９月出生于北京，１９５３年毕业于西南农学院农学系。毕业后，一直从事农业教育及杂交水稻研究。

在中国人民正闹饥荒的20世纪60年代，袁隆平提出了杂交水稻的概念，这种新型水稻具有高产量的特点。10年后，他研制成功了一种产量比一般水稻高出20%的新型水稻。 　　袁隆平一生献身于农业研究，先后受到联合国教科文组织、粮农组织的称誉。袁隆平虽已年届７０岁，仍然一如既往地从事农业研究。

Personal information Name: Yuan Longping Nationality: Age: Chinese Occupation: Education: Dream: Yuan Longping Chinese 78 ( as of 2008 ) scientist / farmer graduated from Southwest Agriculture College in 1953 to export his hybrid rice so that it can be grown around the globe

Personal information Achievement: Hobbies: in 1974, developed hybrid rice which produces 1/3 more than normal rice listening to violin music, playing mah-jong, swimming and reading

What does Dr Yuan look like? He has sunburnt face and arms and a slim, strong body like those of millions of other Chinese farmers.

A poem Farmers weeding at noon, Sweat down the field soon. Who knows food on a tray, Due to their toiling day.

Paraphrase these sentences from the reading passage , ie write the same meaning using different grammar structure and your own words. 1 As a young man, he saw the great need for increasing the rice output. Even when he was a young man, he knew how important it was to produce bigger rice crops.

2 At that time, hunger was a disturbing problem in many parts of the countryside. During his early years, much of the countryside was troubled by hunger. 3 Using his hybrid rice, farmers are producing harvests twice as large as before. As they use his hybrid rice, farmers are producing twice as much rice as before.

4 Spending money on himself or leading a comfortable life also means very little to him. He is not interested in buying things for himself or in having a comfortable life. 5 Just dreaming for things, however, costs nothing. It does not cost anything to dream for something.

Answer these questions based on your understanding of the passage. 1 Why did Yuan Longping want to increase the rice output when he was young? Dr Yuan wanted to increase the rice output because he saw many people go hungry when he was young.

2 Is Dr Yuan more of a scientist or more of a farmer? Do you think he is a businessman? Give your reasons. I think he is more of a scientist, although he works in the fields like a farmer. His main purpose is not to make a profit for himself but to study agriculture and use that knowledge to improve farming for farmers everywhere. I do not think he is a businessman, because his goal is not to make money.

3 How would you describe Dr Yuan’s personality? Use three or four adjectives. Because if his work with developing hybrid rice, it seems that Dr Yuan must be a very patient and careful man. He didn’t give up but kept working on his project. He also seems to be a very kind man, who cares for others. He wants to use his invention to help hungry around the world.

4 What do you think is the main reason for Dr Yuan’s success? I think Dr Yuan was successful because he kept working and did not give up. He also grew up in a poor family, so he was very motivated to succeed and help other farmers around China.

5 Dr Yuan thinks that a person with too much money has more rather than fewer troubles. Do you agree or disagree? Why? I mostly agree. I think being rich can cause a lot of problems, but it really depends on the life and attitude of the person who is rich. People who are rich certainly have different problems from people who are not.

Dr Yuan developed super hybrid rice to help Chinese farmers and hungry people around the world. Can you think of any of other major development that would make a great difference to world hunger? Write out your idea and then compare it with your partner.

Please write down the smaller heading giving a little more information according to the large headings as follows:

A pioneer for all people He wants everyone to call him a farmer. His biography His personality His dreams

He wants everyone to call him a farmer. A scientist works the land. Sunburnt face and arms, slim ,strong body. Grow hybrid rice. The first agricultural pioneer.

Large headings He wants everyone to call him a farmer. His biography His personality His dreams

His biography. In 1931, he was born. In 1953, he graduated and devoted his life to finding ways to grow rice. Last year,twenty billion tons of rice was produced. Now, Dr Yuan is circulating his kownledge.

Large headings He wants everyone to call him a farmer. His biography His personality His dreams

His personality He is satisfied with his life. Why is he satisfied with his life? Because he doesn’t like money and fame.

His dreams He wants everyone to call him a farmer His biography His personality His dreams

The first dream The second dream rice plants as tall as sorghum to export his rice so that his it can be grown around the globe

Agriculture has been greatly developed nowadays. Growth of major farm products 1991-1995 compared with 1986-1990 percentages.

Discussion Discuss in groups of four. What advantages and disadvantages do you see in Yuan Longping’s life? Would you like to have a life like his? Why or why not?

Words and Expressions

1 …for whom he has struggled for the past decades. struggle: v. 斗争，拼搏，努力 He struggled to control his temper.  他努力控制住自己的脾气。 decade: n. 十年 Prices have risen steadily during the past decade.  在过去十年里，物价一直在上涨。

2. Dr. Yuan searched for a way to increase rice harvests without expanding the area of fields. expand: to become larger in size 使变大 The population of China expanded quickly in the 1960s. You can expand your knowledge by reading more books. expansion n. expandable adj.

3. Dr. Yuan is now circulating his knowledge in India... circulate: to move around within a system循环 became known by others交流 Rumors circulated quickly. The blood circulates around the body. circulation n.

4. Thanks to his research, the UN has more tools in the battle to rid the world of hunger. thanks to: due to/because of 幸亏/由于 Thanks to your help, I passed the exam. rid sb./sth. of sth. 摆脱，除去 She is trying to rid herself of a dependence on drugs. You should rid yourself of the bad habits. = You should get rid of the bad habits.

5. Dr Yuan is quite satisfied with his life. be satisfied with: 对…感到满意 One shouldn't be satisfied with only a little success. 一个人不应该只因一点小成就而感到满足。 satisfy: v. 使...满意,赔偿 I had to explain the reasons to satisfy his curiosity.  我只好解释原因来满足他的好奇心。

6. He would much rather keep time for his hobbies. would rather: 宁可; 宁愿 would rather do sth They would rather go fishing than stay at home.  他们宁愿去钓鱼，也不愿待在家里。 I would rather fail than cheat in the examination.  我宁愿考不及格，也不愿意考试作弊。

7. He therefore gives millions of yuan to equip others for their research in agriculture. therefore:因此；所以；因而 We have a growing population and therefore we need more food.  我们的人口在增长，因此我们需要更多的食物。 equip: to provide with things 配备；装备 We want our son to have an education that will equip him for later life.

8. …to export his rice so that it can be grown around the globe. export: v 输出; 出口 Africa is exporting beef to Europe.  非洲向欧洲出口牛肉。 import:  v. 进口; 输入 It is profitable to import food.  进口食品可赚钱。

Homework Surf the Internet to find more information about farming and you are expected to present it to your classmates in the next class.

Thank you!