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Using Language
第二单元 语言应用
Reading
阅读
Chemical or Organic Farming?
化学耕作还是有机耕作？
Over the past half century, using chemical fertilizers has become very common in farming.
在过去的半个世纪里，在耕作中使用化肥已经非常普遍。
Many farmers welcomed them as a great way to stop crop disease and increase production.
很多农民喜欢使用化肥。把化肥作为防治农作物病虫害和提高产量的重要手段。
Recently, however, scientists have been finding that long-term use of these fertilizers can cause damage to the land and,
然而，最近科学家发现长期使用这些肥料会造成土地受损，
even more dangerous, to people's health.
甚至更危险的是，会对人们的健康造成危害。
What are some of the problems caused by chemical fertilizers?
化肥带来的问题有哪些呢？
First, they damage the land by killing the helpful bacteria and pests as well as the harmful ones.
首先，化肥在杀死病菌和害虫的同时也会杀死有益的细菌和昆虫，从而破坏土地。
Chemicals also stay in the ground and underground water for a long time.
化学物质还会在地里和地下水中保存很长时间。
This affects crops and, therefore, animals and humans, since chemicals get inside the crops and cannot just be washed off.
而这会影响到庄稼，进而影响到动物和人类，因为化学成分会进入到农作物中，并且不能被冲洗掉。
These chemicals in the food supply build up in people's bodies over time.
随着时间的推移，食物中的这些化学成分会在人体中堆积。
Many of these chemicals can lead to cancer or other illnesses.
很多化学成分能导致癌症或其他疾病。
In addition, fruit, vegetables and other food grown with chemical fertilizers usually grow too fast to be full of much nutrition.
另外，施过化肥的水果、蔬菜和其他食物通常生长得过快而营养不足。
They may look beautiful, but inside there is usually more water than vitamins and minerals.
它们表明上很好看，但里面通常是含过多的水分，而不是维生素和矿物质。
With these discoveries, some farmers and many customers are beginning to turn to organic farming.
由于这些发现，一些农民和消费者开始转向有机耕作。
