【创新设计】2016-2017学年高中英语 Unit 3 A taste of English humour语篇专练 新人教版必修4.docVIP

Unit 3 A taste of English humour语篇专练 Ⅰ.阅读理解 A Airtight(密封的) plastic bags can help farmers protect their harvests without using harmful chemicals.These bags are designed to keep air out of crops in storage.They are a simple way to fight insects and keep food fresh. Ten countries in West and Central Africa are involved in a project to improve the storage of cowpeas(豇豆)． Farmers can lose much of the harvest to insects because they grow from eggs to adults in a few weeks and then lay more eggs.They can destroy the whole harvest within months. Farmers can sell their crop immediately.But selling at harvest time means more competition and lower prices.Or they can use pesticides(杀虫剂) to kill the bugs.But crop scientist Dieudonne Baributsa says that is also risky.He says，“They end up misusing or overusing the pesticide.In Nigeria，they have reported a lot of cases of death.They usually call it in Nigeria ‘killer beans’．” Mr. Baributsa is a researcher at Purdue University in Indiana.He works for the project called Purdue Improved Cowpea Storage. Mr. Baributsa says the storage bags are thick enough that any insects already in the cowpeas will die from a lack of oxygen，which also help prevent the growth of bacteria and fungi(真菌) that can ruin the harvest. The bags cost about two dollars each.That is not much，especially if it means farmers can wait long enough to get a better price for their crop. The bags are produced locally.Donors(捐赠者) currently support the project，but the groups involved are working to build a lasting market for the bags. The bags are being advertised by radio and mobile phone videos in local languages. The project includes Nigeria，Niger，Burkina Faso，Ghana and Mali.The other countries are Senegal，Cameroon，Benin，Togo and Chad. A company based in the United States called GrainPro makes another kind of airtight bag.These are called SuperGrainbags.Phil Villers，the company president，says safely storing a harvest not only earns more money for farmers，but also reduc