Page 8 - BOOK IV Unit 5

Assessing Your Progress

1 Read and complete the passage with the correct forms of the words and
phrases in the box. Then answer the questions.

attain be comprised of depth diverse
essential for instance output soil

Jia Sixie was a government official from Shandong Province who conducted a lot of agricultural

research in the sixth century. In his travels, he observed that some farmers had much better
than others, so he decided to investigate the best ways of good harvests.
After retiring, he wrote a book, Qi Min Yao Shu, which sound advice and practices for
people doing agricultural work. In one piece of advice, , he told farmers to clear weeds

from the ground before planting crops. They could either let the animals eat the weeds or turn the
over so that the weeds were covered. Then he gave advice on ploughing, suggesting
that the autumn ploughing should be at a greater than the spring ploughing. He also
suggested changing crops to get better harvests every year. Finally, he suggested that farmers grow

a range of crops next to each other in the fields. Although it has been centuries since Jia
Sixie died, Qi Min Yao Shu is still considered a(n) book in Chinaʼs agricultural history.

1 Why did Jia Sixie investigate good ways of farming?

2 What makes Qi Min Yao Shu an important book in Chinaʼs agricultural history?

2 Fill in the blanks with that, whether, or wh- question words to complete the
sentences.

1 the research centre is to be set up has not been decided.
2 many countries still face food shortages remains a big problem.
3 impressed me most was that the hybrid rice enabled farmers to expand their
output greatly.
4 the plan is to be carried out still needs discussing.
5 the new chemical pesticide is effective remains to be seen.

6 will join in the research team will be announced tomorrow.
7 he quit his high-paying job is not difficult to understand. He wanted to start up
his own business.

REFLECTING

What did you learn about agriculture that you did not know before?
What interested you most about agriculture in this unit? Give your reasons.

What other important aspects of agriculture do you want to know about?
Overall, I thought this unit was interesting useful so-so difficult.

58 UNIT 5 WORKING THE LAND