Passage One
Questions 52 to 56 are based on the following passage.
Sustainable development is applied to just about everything from energy to clean water and economic growth, and as a result it has become difficult to question either the basic assumptions behind it or the way the concept is put to use. This is especially true in agriculture, where sustainable development is often taken as the sole measure of progress without a proper appreciation of historical and cultural perspectives.
To start with, it is important to remember that the nature of agriculture has changed markedly throughout history, and will continue to do so .medieval agriculture in northern Europe fed, clothed and sheltered a predominantly rural society with a much lower population density than it is today. It had minimal effect on biodiversity, and any pollution it caused was typically localized. In terms of energy use and the nutrients（营养成分）captured in the product it was relatively inefficient.
Contrast this with farming since the start of the industrial revolution. Competition from overseas led farmers to specialize and increase yields. Throughout this period food became cheaper, safe and more reliable. However, these changes have also led to habitat（栖息地）loss and to diminishing biodiversity.
What’s more, demand for animal products in developing countries is growing so fast that meeting it will require an extra 300 million tons of grain a year by 2050.yet the growth of cities and industry is reducing the amount of water available for agriculture in many regions.
All this means that agriculture in the 21stcentury will have to be very different from how it was in the 20th.thiswill require radical thinking. For example, we need to move away from the idea that traditional practices are inevitably more sustainable than new ones. We also need to abandon the notion that agriculture can be “zero impact”. The key will be to abandon the rather simple and static measures of sustainability, which centre on the need to maintain production without increasing damage.
Instead we need a more dynamic interpretation, one that looks at the pros and cons（正反两方面）of all the various way land is used. There are many different ways to measure agricultural performance besides food yield: energy use, environmental costs, water purity, carbon footprint and biodiversity. It is clear, for example, that the carbon of transporting tomatoes from Spain to the UK is less than that of producing them in the UK with additional heating and lighting. But we do not know whether lower carbon footprints will always be better for biodiversity.
What is crucial is recognizing that sustainable agriculture is not just about sustainable food production.
52. How do people often measure progress in agriculture?
A) By its productivity
B) By its sustainability
C) By its impact on the environment
D) By its contribution to economic growth
53. Specialisation and the effort to increase yields have resulted in________.
A) localised pollution
B) the shrinking of farmland
C) competition from overseas
D) the decrease of biodiversity
54. What does the author think of traditional farming practices?
A) They have remained the same over the centuries
B) They have not kept pace with population growth
C) They are not necessarily sustainable
D) They are environmentally friendly
55. What will agriculture be like in the 21st century？
A) It will go through radical changes
B) It will supply more animal products
C) It will abandon traditional farming practices
D) It will cause zero damage to the environment
56 What is the author’s purpose in writing this passage?
A) To remind people of the need of sustainable development
B) To suggest ways of ensuring sustainable food production
C) To advance new criteria for measuring farming progress
D) To urge people to rethink what sustainable agriculture is
试题详解
52. B
细节题。本题考查关于农业生产发展的衡量标准，通过关键词measure progress定位在文章第一段末尾：sustainable development is often taken as the sole measure of progress，be taken as表示前后同位关系，解释说明。
53. D
细节题。题干关键词Specialisation and the effort to increase yields定位在文章第三段的第二、三句。题目问农业生产专业化及大量提高产量会带来什么样的后果。文中提到由于产量的加大，使得食物较之以前更加便宜、安全，但是也导致了动植物栖息地和生物多样性减少。B选项中的farmland是农田，混淆了文中habitat的概念。
54. C
细节推理题。可以通过题干关键词traditional farming practices定位在文章第五段第三行：we need to move away from the idea that traditional practices are inevitably more sustainable than new ones. 意思是我们不能再认为传统耕作方式一定比新方式更具有可持续的特征。同义于C。
55. A
细节题。题干出现显性关键词in the 21st century，定位在文中第五段开头，原文意思是：21世纪的农业生产和20世纪的截然不同，也就是说21世纪的农业生产将发生巨大的变化。第五段的第二句话提到要求我们radical thinking（彻底改变原有的想法）。
56. D
主旨题。答案一般出自文章首段，而且本文从一开始就讲述可持续发展（sustainable development），而且本文主要谈论工业生产的可持续发展问题，因此选项里必须要出现农业和可持续的单词。
