农业基础英语 1

Unit5Smartirrigationinwater-scarcefieldsExploringworldagricultureScriptsIntelligentirrigation-Spain’sfarmersdefythedroughtBurned,driedupandevenparched.ThebitterpictureoftheorangeplantationsbetweenCórdobaandSeville.It’salreadyclearthatthefarmerswouldnotbeabletoharvestthe1.6milliontonsofthepreviousyear.JoséFernandezdeHeredia(is)onthewaytohisplantation,whichisexperiencingextremedrought.“Iplantedandgrewthemall.I’msosorrytoseethemlikethis.And(for)14years,I’veneverseenthemasbadastheyarenow.Theseareareasherethathavenoorangesatall,thoughothershaveafew.Buttheorangesareverysmall.Manyarenotevengoodforjuiceanymore.Thetreesshouldbeinfullbloom,but…”Thousandsoffamiliesneedwaterfortheircrops,butastheylookatthecentralreservoirshores,it’snotcoming.Only10%ofthelake’scapacityremains.Expertsarenowtryingtobebetterprepared,atleastforthenextdroughts.“Ineedtoimprovethewatersupply.Thatalsomeansmorestoragepossibilities.Andwehavetooptimizetheuseofwaterwithdigitalization.”Thisrequiresspecialsensors.Theyalreadyshowhowmuchmoistureisinthesoil,andtheymeasurethediameterofthetrees:Iftheycontract,theorangesneedwater.“Wearemorethan20%moreefficientthanotherfarmsthroughtheuseoftechnology.Weknowwhenandhowmuchthetreeneeds.”Thisknowledgeiscrucialforadaptingagriculturetoclimatechange,butthisaloneisnotenoughtomakethesouthofSpainviable.“Wehavetostoptheexpansionofirrigationandimprovethemanagementofwater.Andwealsoneedtopromotethecultivationofnon-irrigatedspecies.Wemusttrytofindasolutiontogetherwithdifferentmeasures.”Anothersolutionistoirrigatewithevenlesswater.AstartupinMalagaisdevelopingsoftwareforthispurpose.Italsousesdatafromsensors,butthesubtledifferenceistheanalysis.ArtificialIntelligenceisbeingused.“AIisthesoulofthisproject.Thesensors-thetechnology-it’salltherealready,buttheapplicationofAIwillhelpusscalethisproject.Wewillbeabletoservemanycropsandaboveall,togiveeachfarmerindividualizedassistance:exactlywhattheyneed.”However,successalsodependsoncommunication.Thesimpler,thebetter.Farmersreceivehintsandadviceandcanalsorespond.“Weassumethatwatersavingsarebetween20%and40%foravocados,oranges,olives,orevenwine(grapes).”Droughtslikethecurrentonecannotbeprevented,evenwithAI,butthetechnologywillhelpusgetbywithlesswaterforlonger.ViewingandpracticingViewingandsynthesizingWatchthevideoclipandcompletethesummarywithwhatyouhear.Problems:Orangeplantationsaresufferingfrom1.______.Thereisadrasticdropintheorangeyield,andsomeorangesaretoosmalltobegoodfor2.______.Reasons：Despitetheseason,theorangetreesfailtobein3.______.Thecentralreservoiriscriticallylow,withonly10%ofthelake’s4.______remaining.Solutions:5.______areusedtomeasuresoilmoistureandtreediametertojudgewaterneeds.Itrequireshaltingirrigation6.______andimprovingwatermanagement.Thecultivationof7.______speciesneedstobepromotedtoreduceirrigationdependence.AIcanalsobeusedfordataanalysisandgiveeachfarmer8.______assistance.AnswersextremedroughtjuicefullbloomcapacitySpecialsensorsexpansionnon-irrigatedIndividualizedViewingandinterviewingWatchthevideoclipagainandcompletethedialoguebetweenajournalist(J)andanagriculturalexpert(E).J:Thankyouforjoiningus.Thesituationintheorange1.________betweenCórdobaandSevillelooksdire.Whatarethemedium-termsolutionsbeingproposedbyexperts?E:Well,anexpertemphasizesthatwemustoptimizewaterusethrough2.________.J:Anddoesthistechnologyworkinpractice?E:Absolutely.Afarmerreportsthathisfarmismorethan20%more3.________thanothersbecausethetechnologytellsthempreciselywhenand4.________wateratreeneeds.J:IheardastartupinMalagaisdevelopingsoftwaretoirrigatewithevenlesswater.What’sthepromisethere?E:AIisthesouloftheirproject.Whilesensorsandbasictechnologyalreadyexist,AIhelpsto5.________theproject,allowingittoservemanycrops.J:Thatsoundspromising.Whatspecificbenefitdoesthisbringtoindividualfarmers?E:Itcanensurethatfarmersreceiveexactlywhattheyneed.Italsosimplifieshowtheyaccesssupport–farmersreceive6.________directlyviasocialsoftwareandcanrespondeasily.Mostimportantly,forkeycropsincludingoranges,thisapproachisprojectedtodeliver7.________between20%and40%,whichisacriticalbenefitamidthedrought.J:Finally,canAIsolvethedroughtproblementirely?E:Unfortunately,no.Butitwillhelpagriculturegetbywith8.________forlonger,whichiscrucialforadaptation.AnswersplantationsdigitalizationefficienthowmuchscalehintsandadvicewatersavingslesswaterDecodingthefutureoffarmingTextannotationsYetcuttingcostsandresources,oroverhaulingseeminglyinefficientsystemsoftendoesnotimproveoutcomes:ratherthanimprovingthesystemtargeted,efficiencymeasurescanunderminetheirresilienceandabilitytodeliverservices.(Para.2)[Meaning]However,reducingexpenditureandresources,orreformingsystemsthatappearinefficient,frequentlyfailstoenhanceoverallperformance.Suchefficiency-centredreformstendtoweakenthesystems’strengthandservice-deliverycapacity,ratherthanenhancingitsfunctionality.[Words&Phrases]underminetheirresilienceweakenthesystems’abilitytostaystrongandkeepworkingwhenfacingproblems削弱其韧性/抗风险能力e.g.,Cuttingfundingforpublicservicescanunderminetheirresilienceandmakethemlessabletodealwithunexpectedproblems.Afundamentalresponsetothischallengewillbemoreefficientirrigationtechnologiesthatmaintainorincreaseagriculturaloutputforthesameorreducedwaterinputatthefieldlevel,thusimprovingthe“cropperdrop”ratio(i.e.,theamountofwaterthatgoesintoactuallygrowingcropsratherthanbeinglostinconveyance,irrigatingweedsorevaporating).(Para.3)[Meaning]Toaddressthischallenge,akeysolutionistoadoptmoreefficientirrigationtechnologies.Thesetechnologiescankeeporraiseagriculturalproductionwhileusingthesameamountofwaterorevenlessatthefieldlevel.Thisimprovesthe“cropperdrop”ratio,meaningmorewaterisuseddirectlyforgrowingcropsinsteadofbeingwastedduringdelivery,feedingweeds,orevaporatingintotheair.[Knowledgefocus]the“cropperdrop”ratioThe“cropperdrop”ratio(alsoknownaswaterproductivity)isametricusedtomeasuretheagriculturaloutputoreconomicvalueachievedperunitvolumeofwaterconsumed.Itmovesbeyondsimplymeasuringhowmuchwateracropneeds(lowconsumption)andinsteadfocusesonhowmuchvalueisgeneratedfromthatwater(highefficiency).Therearetwomainwaystoexpressthisratio,dependingonwhetheryouareinterestedinphysicalfoodproductionoreconomicvalue:Whyisthisconceptimportant?The“cropperdrop”conceptiscentraltodiscussionsaboutwaterscarcityandsustainableagricultureforthreemainreasons:·Addressingwaterscarcity:Asfreshwaterresourcesbecomedepleted,thegoalistoproducemorefoodwithlesswater.·Climatechange:Withincreasingdroughts,farmersneedtochoosecropsandmethodsthatensureaharvestevenwithlimitedirrigation.·Foodsecurity:Ithelpspolicymakersdecidewhattoplant.Inaridregions,itmightbewisertogrowvegetables(highvalue,shortcycle)ratherthantraditionalgrains(lowervalue,longcycle)tomaximizethebenefitfromlimitedwater.Infact,astheJevonsparadoxcautioned,itappearstoleadtotheoppositeeffect.Farmersequippedwithhigh-techirrigationtechnologyusemore,notless,water,andwateravailabilityacrossriverbasinstendstodecline.(Para.5)[Meaning]Infact,astheJevonsparadoxsuggests,thistendstoproducethereverseeffect.[Knowledgefocus]theJevonsparadoxTheJevonsparadoxisafascinatingeconomictheorystatingthatastechnologyimprovestheefficiencywithwhicharesourceisused,thetotalconsumptionofthatresourcecanactuallyincrease,ratherthandecrease.Insimpleterms:“Usingsomethingmoreefficientlydoesn’tguaranteeweuselessofit–itoftenmakesususemore.”IfweapplytheJevonsparadoxto“cropperdrop”,weseeapotentialdangerinwaterconservationpolicy:·Thegoal:Improveirrigationefficiency(dripirrigation)touselesswaterpercrop.·TheJevonsoutcome:·Becausewaterisnow“saved”(morecropperdrop),farmersmight:·Irrigatemorelandthanbefore.·Switchtothirstier,higher-valuecashcrops(e.g.,switchingfromwheattoalmonds).·Usethe“saved”watertoplantasecondgrowingseason.·TheResult:Theriveroraquifergetsdrainedjustasfast(orfaster)thanbefore,eventhougheverydropisusedperfectly.ModernExamplesSectorEfficiencygainTheJevonsreactionLightingLEDbulbsuse75%lessenergythanincandescent.Peopleleavelightsonlonger,installmorelights(decorativelighting),andlightupentirecitiesbrighterthanever.Totalenergyforlightinghasoftenincreasedhistorically.CarsEnginesaretwiceasfuel-efficientas50yearsago.Peopledrivemoremiles(suburbansprawl,moreroadtrips)andbuylargervehicles(SUVs)becausethefuelcostpermileislower.ComputingMicrochipsbecomeexponentiallyfasterandmoreefficient.Wedon’tjustuseoneslowcomputer;webuymultipledevices(phones,tablets,laptops)andrunpower-hungrydatacentersbecausetheefficiencyenablesmoreconsumption.Moreefficientapplicationofwateratthefarmlevelalsoreducesreturnflows–thewaterthatrunsoffthefieldorpercolatesintothegroundafterapplication,andwhichfindsitswayintoriversandaquifersandisthereforeavailablefordownstreamusersandecosystems.(Para.5)[Meaning]Moreefficientwateruseonfarmscanalsodecreasereturnflows.Thesearethewatersthatrunofffieldsorseepintothesoilafterirrigation,eventuallyreachingriversandgroundwaterreserves,makingthemaccessibletodownstreamcommunitiesandnaturalecosystems.[Knowledgefocus]returnflowsReturnflowsarethewaterthatrunsofforinfiltratesfarmlandafterirrigationandre-entersriversandaquifersfordownstreamuse.Ratherthanpromotingadaptationtodryandwater-scarceconditions,thesetechnologiesmightparadoxicallyencourage“maladaptation”byleadingfarmerstomoveawayfromdrought-resistantcropsandthusincreasetheirvulnerabilitytofuture,longerdroughts.(Para.6)[Meaning]Insteadofhelpingpeopleadjusttodryandwater–shortconditions,thesetechnologiescanironicallyresultinmaladaptation.Theymayleadfarmerstostopgrowingdrought–tolerantcrops,makingthemmoreexposedandvulnerabletolongerdroughtsinthefuture.[Words&Phrases]maladaptationn.actionsthatseemhelpfulbutactuallyincreasevulnerabilityovertime.适应不良e.g.,Over-relianceonirrigationcanleadtomaladaptationandincreasefarmers’vulnerabilitytodrought.drought-resistantcrops抗旱作物e.g.,Drought-resistantcropsneedlesswater.ReadingandsynthesizingGlobalunderstandingReadthepassageandcompletethetable.AcommonproblemofefficiencymeasuresWeakeningthe1.___________________todeliverservicesUrgentchallengeinagricultureBalancingincreasedandsustained2.________________withlimitedwaterusePolicymakers’responseSavingwaterinagricultureby3.________________HarmsoftheirrigationefficiencyparadoxReducingtheresiliencecapacityof4.________________Threateninglivelihoodsrelyingon5.________________Resultingingreaterdamagewhen6.________________comesSolutionstoaddresstheparadoxBundlinghigh-efficiencyirrigationwithothercontrolslike7.___________________andwateraccountingAligning8._________________________interventionsIntegratingtechnologywithanunderstandingoffarmers’needsandbehaviorsAnswersresilienceandabilityfoodproductionhigh-techirrigationfreshwaterecosystemsthesameresourcethenextdraughtlimitsonwaterextractiontechnological,institutional,andpoliticalDetailedunderstandingReadthepassageagainanddecidewhetherthestatementsaretrue(T)orfalse(F).1.Dripirrigationsystemsensurethatthemajorityofwaterextractedfromthesourcereachesthecrops.2.The“Jevonsparadox”suggeststhatimprovementsinirrigationefficiencygenerallyleadtoreducedwaterconsumptioninagriculture.3.“Returnflows”arebeneficialfordownstreamusersandecosystems.4.Farmersusinghigh-efficiencyirrigationsystemsoftenexpandtheirirrigatedareaorswitchtomorewater-intensivecrops.5.“Maladaptation”inthiscontextmeansthatfarmersadoptmoredrought-resistantcroppingpractices.6.Tobenefitfromirrigationefficiency,itissufficienttoimplementadvancedtechnologyalongsideproperwatermonitoringandregulation.AnswersTFTT FFSharingcross-disciplinaryinsightsReferenceanswersWaterusageinagriculturereliesonprecisewateravailabilitydata.Withoutthisinformation,irrigationplanningandwatermanagementeffortsfailtobeeffective,particularlyinareaswithlimitedwaterresources.Thecriticalmonitoringaspectsincludesurfacewaterbodies(e.g.,rivers,lakes,reservoirs),soilmoisturelevels,watercyclepatterns,andwaterextractionneeds,etc.Inwater-scarceregions,prioritizingeitherirrigationefficiencyorecosystemresiliencepresentsafalsechoice.Thecorechallengeismovingbeyondanarrowfocuson“cropperdrop”toasystemicapproachthatmanageswaterresourcesforbothagriculturalandecologicalsustainability.Thepathforwardliesnotinchoosingbetweenefficiencyandresilience,butinpursuing“resilientefficiency”.Thismeansusingwaterintelligentlyforagriculturewhileconsciouslymanagingtheentirewatercycletosustaintheecosystemsuponwhichlong-termprosperitydepends.Satelliteimageryoffersadailyoverviewofsurfacewaterbodies,detectingchangesinlakes,riversandreservoirs.Satellitedata,utilizingpassivemicrowavesensing,alsogaugessoilmoisturecontentinthetop10cmofthesoil,forecastingwaterstressanddroughtsusceptibility.BycombiningsatelliteimageswithGIS(GeographicInformationSystem)mapping,algorithmscanassesssurfacewaterchanges.Thisenablesoperationmanagerstoswiftlyidentifyifstreamsareflowingoriflakesandpondshavereceded.Theseinsightscanguideextractionmethodsandsupportmoreinformedallocationdecisions–particularlywhenpairedwithreal-timesoilmoisturedata–ensuringthatwaterisappliedonlywhenandwherecropsneedit.Publiclyaccessibledataplatforminitiatives,suchasFAOWaPORandNASASERVIR,areofvitalimportancetohighlydata-scarceregions,byprovidingnearreal-timesatellitedatathatsupportswateravailabilityassessmentssoastohelpdecidewheretofocusinvestmentsonirrigationinfrastructure,whentoimplementdroughtcontingencyplans,andhowtooptimizereservoirandgroundwaterusage.RefininglanguageskillsAgriculturalvocabularyAnswersaridevaporateaquiferwetlandfreshwaterwithdrawalpercolateTranslationofthepassage在水资源匮乏的世界中重新思考灌溉效率是全球最常追求、也最常被误解的公共政策目标之一。为了缓解气候变化，我们需要提高能源效率。为了降低供应链成本，我们需要提高运输效率。为了避免全球约70%的淡水取用量用于农业所导致的水资源危机，我们需要更高的灌溉效率。然而，削减成本和资源，或彻底改革看似低效的系统，往往并不能改善结果。效率措施非但不能改善目标系统，反而可能削弱其韧性及其提供服务的能力。为什么这对我们的粮食系统很重要？随着水资源日益匮乏以及人类对淡水生态系统的影响，在限制水资源使用的同时增加并维持粮食生产是一项紧迫的挑战。对此挑战的一个基本应对措施是，采用更高效的灌溉技术，在田间层面以相同或更少的灌溉用水量维持或提高农业产量，从而提高“单位水产量”比率（即，实际用于作物生长的水量，而非在输送过程中损失、灌溉杂草或蒸发的水量）。这至关重要，因为灌溉农田生产了世界上大部分的粮食。与传统的通过地面漫灌分布水资源的灌溉方式（通常称为地表灌溉）相比，滴灌等高效灌溉技术使用加压系统，允许水通过带有灌水器的窄管缓慢滴入植物根部。滴灌技术通常能确保从水源抽取的大部分水到达作物，而地表水系统的效率则要低得多。这些效率提升在从美国西部到智利北部、从印度西北部到摩洛哥的干旱地区尤其具有吸引力。政策制定者希望引进高科技灌溉技术能在农业中节约用水，从而将水“释放”给其他用户并用于维持生态系统可持续性。然而，越来越多的证据表明，高科技灌溉本身很少能带来预期的节水效果。事实上，正如杰文斯悖论所警示的那样，它似乎导致了相反的效果。配备高科技灌溉技术的农民用水更多，而非更少，整个流域的水资源可用性往往趋于下降。研究人员将此称为“灌溉效率悖论”。一些农民利用“节约”的水扩大灌溉面积，导致随后的土地转换和栖息地丧失；另一些农民则通过在同一块土地上一年内种植更多作物来提高种植强度；还有一些农民转而种植更耗水的作物，例如从高粱改种水稻。在农场层面更高效地施用雨水还会减少回流——即灌溉后从田间流走或渗入地下、最终汇入河流和含水层并因此可供下游用户和生态系统使用的水量。灌溉效率悖论在水资源匮乏的世界尤其危险，原因如下：首先，它会破坏淡水生态系统的韧性。随着回流减少，可用于向下游流动以帮助鱼类繁殖和迁徙、促进鸟类繁殖或支持湿地的水量也会减少。其次，水资源可用性模式的改变可能破坏依赖同一资源的其他用户的生计。最后，高效技术使农民能够转向种植耗水量大的作物，因此当下一场干旱来临时——因为干旱总会到来——造成的损害甚至更大。这些技术非但没有促进对干旱和缺水条件的适应，反而可能通过引导农民放弃抗旱作物，从而增加他们面对未来更长干旱的脆弱性，这矛盾地助长了“适应不良”。为了减少农业用水，我们需要的不仅仅是高科技的高效灌溉技术。仅靠技术的灌溉效率是虚假的效率。全球经验表明，投资滴灌系统只有在与其他干预措施相结合时，才能“节约”用水，例如限制取水量（即“用水上限”）和改进水资源监测。当向更高效灌溉技术的转变伴随着对灌溉取水和抽水的严格限制和控制时，它有助于遏制用水量的进一步增加。并且，当使用改进的数据和监测来跟踪农业系统的水资源储量、流量和用量时——这被称为水核算——我们就能更好地量化干预措施对用水量的影响。水核算需要扭转实地监测站数量减少的趋势，并利用对地观测和机器学习进步的潜力。最终，要获得灌溉效率的益处，需要同时协调技术、制度和政治层面的干预措施。它还需要我们在缺水的背景下重新思考灌溉：从将灌溉效率视为仅靠技术就能实现的目标，转变为将其视为只有通过将技术与水资源监测、监管以及对农民需求和行为的更深入理解相平衡才能实现的目标。

PresentingChina’sinitiativesTheroleofsmartirrigationsystemsinmodernizingChinesevillagesInRuichengCounty’sirrigationareainDayudu,springirrigationhasenteredanewerapoweredbycutting-edgetechnology.Byleveragingadvancedsystemstooptimizewaterresourceallocation,thisinitiativebreatheslifeintofarmlandsandlaysasolidfoundationforayearofabundantharvests.Attheheartoftheoperationisthecentralcontrolroomofthedistrict’ssecondaryhubstation,whereoperatorsoverseepumpadjustmentsandmanagewaterdistributionwithprecision.Afterpassingthroughthesecondaryhubstation,waterfromtheYellowRiverflowsthroughpipelinesintothemaincanal,branchingoutintohundredsofsecondaryandtertiarychannelsbeforereachingthewheatfields.Traditionallabor-intensivemanualirrigationhasnowbeenreplacedbyautomatedsystems.Farmersnolongerneedtospendhoursmanuallycontrollingwaterflow;instead,theycanpurchasewaterticketsviatheirsmartphonesandmonitorwaterusageinrealtime.AccordingtolocalfarmersinRuichengCounty,theintegrationofwater-fertilizersystems,sprinklerirrigationequipment,andprecisewaterallocationbasedonactualdemandhassignificantlyreducedthecostofspringirrigationperacre.SincebeingdesignatedasoneofthefirstpilotsitesfordigitaltwinirrigationsystemsinChina,theirrigationareainDayuduhasembracedwaterconservationasacentralfocus.Byemployingdigitaltwintechnology,anintegrated“digitalbrain”formonitoring,operation,anddecision-makinghasbeenestablished.Additionally,upgradedequipmenthasenabledprecisemeasurementoftotalwaterextractionanddistributionacrosschannels.Thisinnovative“water-savingandyield-increasing”modelisprovingtobeakeystrategyforensuringfoodsecurity.ItnotonlyalleviatesthestrainonwaterresourcesintheNorthChinaPlainbutalsoboostsper-acreproductivitytosupportruralrevitalization.Byenhancingagriculturalefficiencyandpromotingenvironmentalsustainability,theapproachbringsdualbenefitstotheregion.MuchliketheancientwisdomofDaYu,whofamouslyshiftedfromblockingfloodwaterstochannelingthem,modernagricultureachievesprecisionmanagementthroughdigitalization.Assmartirrigati