Cambridge IELTS 18Test1Passage1 Translation of original text Urban farming
The first article is about urban agriculture. The author introduces a new type of soilless cultivation, including its current development, yield, advantages over traditional agriculture, and some existing limitations. It is not difficult to use words and the structure of the article is very simple. I hope everyone can get it right.
Cambridge IELTS 18Test1Passage1 Reading Answers Analysis Urban Farming Urban Agriculture
Cambridge IELTS 18 Test1 Passage1 Reading original translation
Original translation of roast duck, please do not copy
introduction
In Paris, urban farmers are trying a soil-free approach to agriculture that uses less space and fewer resources. Could it help cities face the threats to our food supplies?
In Paris, urban farmers are trying a method of soilless agriculture, which requires less space and consumes less resources. Can this help cities deal with the threat of our food supply?
Paragraph 1
On top of a striking new exhibition hall in southern Paris, the world’s largest urban rooftop farm has started to bear fruit. Strawberries that are small, intensely flavored and resplendently red sprout abundantly from large plastic tubes. Peer inside and you see the tubes are completely hollow, the roots of dozens of strawberry plants dangling down inside them. From identical vertical tubes nearby burst row upon row of lettuces; near those are aromatic herbs, such as basil, sage and peppermint. Opposite, in narrow, horizontal trays packed not with soil but with coconut fibre, grow cherry tomatoes, shiny aubergines and brightly coloured chards.
At the top of a striking new pavilion in southern Paris, the world's largest urban rooftop farm began to bear fruit. Small, fragrant and colorful strawberries thrive from large plastic tubes. Looking inside, you will find that the middle of these pipes is completely empty, and the roots of dozens of strawberries hang inside the pipes. In the same vertical pipeline nearby, lettuce grows densely row after row; Next to them are herbs such as basil, sage and mint. The narrow horizontal plate opposite is filled with coconut fiber instead of soil, and there are cherry tomatoes, shiny eggplants and colorful beets growing inside.
Paragraph 2
Pascal Hardy, an engineer and sustainable development consultant, began experimenting with vertical farming and aeroponic growing towers – as the soil-free plastic tubes are known – on his Paris apartment block roof five years ago. The urban rooftop space above the exhibition hall is somewhat bigger: 14, 000 square metres and almost exactly the size of a couple of football pitches. Already, the team of young urban farmers who tend it have picked, in one day, 3,000 lettuces and 150 punnets of strawberries. When the remaining two thirds of the vast open area are in production, 20 staff will harvest up to 1,000 kg of perhaps 35 different varieties of fruit and vegetables, every day.”We’re not ever, obviously, going to feed the whole city this way,’ cautions Hardy.’In the urban environment, you’re working with very significant practical constraints, clearly, on what you can do and where. But if enough unused space can be developed like this, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t eventually target maybe between 5% and 10% of consumption.’
Five years ago, Pascal Hardy, an engineer and sustainable development consultant, began to experiment with vertical planting and aerosol growth tower (also known as soilless plastic pipe) on the roof of his Paris apartment. The urban roof space above the pavilion is larger: 14000 square meters, almost the size of two football fields. At present, the young urban farmer team responsible for managing this space can pick 3000 lettuce and 150 boxes of strawberries in one day. When the remaining two-thirds of this huge open area starts production, 20 employees will harvest up to 35 different kinds of fruits and vegetables every day, with a total weight of up to 1000 kg. Hardy reminded: "Obviously, we can't feed the whole city in this way. In an urban environment, you will certainly encounter many practical restrictions, including what to do and where to do it. But if you can develop enough unused space like this project, there is no reason why you can't finally reach 5% to 10% of the consumption."
Paragraph 3
Perhaps most significantly, however, this is a real-life showcase for the work of Hardy’s flourishing urban agriculture consultancy, Agripolis, which is currently fielding enquiries from around the world to design, build and equip a new breed of soil-free inner-city farm.”The method’s advantages are many,’ he says.”First, I don’t much like the fact that most of the fruit and vegetables we eat have been treated with something like 17 different pesticides, or that the intensive farming techniques that produced them are such huge generators of greenhouse gases. I don’t much like the fact, either, that they’ve travelled an average of 2, 000 refrigerated kilometres to my plate, that their quality is so poor, because the varieties are selected for their capacity to withstand such substantial journeys, or that 80% of the price I pay goes to wholesalers and transport companies, not the producers.’
However, most importantly, this is the actual demonstration of Agripolis, a thriving urban agricultural consulting company of Hardy. The company is currently receiving consulting from around the world to design, build and assemble a new type of soilless urban farm. "There are many advantages to this approach," he said. "First of all, I don't like that most of the fruits and vegetables we eat have been sprayed with about 17 different pesticides, and I don't like that the intensive agricultural technology that produces them produces a lot of greenhouse gases. I also don't like that they can reach my plate after an average of 2000 kilometers of refrigerated transportation. Their quality is very poor, because these varieties were selected because they can withstand long-distance travel. Also, 80% of the price I pay goes to wholesalers and transportation companies, not producers. "
Paragraph 4
Produce grown using this soil-free method, on the other hand – which relies solely on a small quantity of water, enriched with organic nutrients, pumped around a closed circuit of pipes, towers and trays – is ‘produced up here, and sold locally, just down there. This article is from laokaoya website. It barely travels at all, ’ Hardy says.” You can select crop varieties for their flavour, not their resistance to the transport and storage chain, and you can pick them when they’re really at their best, and not before.’No soil is exhausted, and the water that gently showers the plants’ roots every 12 minutes is recycled, so the method uses 90% less water than a classic intensive farm for the same yield.
On the other hand, agricultural products produced by this soilless planting method only need a small amount of water rich in organic nutrients. They are pumped through closed loops of pipes, towers and trays. Hardy said: "These agricultural products grow here and then sell nearby, almost without any transportation." He continued: "You can choose crop varieties with better taste, rather than those that can withstand transportation and storage, and you can pick them when they reach the best state, rather than picking them in advance." This method will not deplete the soil. The water sprayed gently on the roots of plants every 12 minutes will also be recycled. Therefore, compared with traditional intensive farms, the water consumption of this method is reduced by 90%, but the yield is the same.
Paragraph 5
Urban farming is not, of course, a new phenomenon. Inner-city agriculture is booming from Shanghai to Detroit and Tokyo to Bangkok. Strawberries are being grown in disused shipping containers, mushrooms in underground car parks. Aeroponic farming, he says, is ‘virtuous’. The equipment weighs little, can be installed on almost any flat surface and is cheap to buy: roughly € 10o to € 15o per square metre. It is cheap to run, too, consuming a tiny fraction of the electricity used by some techniques.
Urban agriculture is certainly not a new phenomenon. From Shanghai to Detroit, from Tokyo to Bangkok, agricultural production in the city is booming. Strawberries are planted in abandoned freight containers, and mushrooms are grown in the underground parking lot from the old roast duck IELTS. He said that aerosol agriculture was "beneficial". The equipment is light, can be installed on almost any flat surface, and is cheap: about 100 to 150 euros per square meter. The operation cost is also very low, and the power consumption only accounts for a small part of the electricity used in some technologies.
Paragraph 6
Produce grown this way typically sells at prices that, while generally higher than those of classic intensive agriculture, are lower than soil-based organic growers. There are limits to what farmers can grow this way, of course, and much of the produce is suited to the summer months.‘Root vegetables we cannot do, at least not yet, ’ he says.’ Radishes are OK, but carrots, potatoes, that kind of thing – the roots are simply too long. Fruit trees are obviously not an option. And beans tend to take up a lot of space for not much return.’ Nevertheless, urban farming of the kind being practised in Paris is one part of a bigger and fast-changing picture that is bringing food production closer to our lives.
Generally speaking, the price of agricultural products produced by this planting method is higher than that of traditional intensive agriculture, but lower than that of organic agricultural products based on soil. Of course, there will be some restrictions for farmers to plant crops in this way, and many agricultural products are only suitable for planting in summer. "We can't grow root vegetables, at least not yet," he said. "Radishes are OK, but the roots of vegetables such as carrots and potatoes are too long. Fruit trees are obviously not a viable option. Beans occupy relatively large space and the yield is not high." Nevertheless, the urban agriculture being implemented in Paris is part of a rapidly changing and larger picture, which makes food production closer to our lives.
Forest management in Pennsylvania, USA
Conquering Earth's space junk problem
