Unit 2 Working the land 同步练习6.docVIP

Unit 2 Working the land 同步练习6 阅读理解 A Today as technology changes the face of industry， farms have experienced an agricultural revolution. On the farm of today， machines provide almost all the power. One of the most important benefits will be the farm computer. A few forward-looking fanners are already using computers to help them run their farms more efficiently. The computers help them keep more accurate (准确的) records so they can make better decisions on what crops to plant， how much livestock (家畜) to buy， when to sell their products， and how much profit (利润) they can expect. Many computer companies have been developing special computer programs just for farmers. Programs are being written for pig producers， grain farmers， potato farmers， and dairy farmers. In the future， farmers will be able to buy computer programs made to meet their needs. Because of the growing importance of computers on the farm， students at agricultural colleges are required to take computer classes besides their normal agricultural courses. There can be no doubt that farmers will depend on computers even more in the future. While the old-time farms depended on horse power， and modem farms depend on machine power， farms of the future will depend on computer power. Another technological advance which is still in the experimental stage is the robot， a real mechanized (机械化) hired hand that will be able to move and， in some ways， think like a human being. Agricultural engineers believe that computer-aided robots will make surprising changes in fanning before the end of the century. Unlike farmers of the present， farmers of the future will find that many day-today tasks will be done for them. Scientists are now developing robots that will be able to shear sheep， drive tractors， and harvest fruit. Even difficult jobs will be done by robots. For example， in order to milk their cows， farmers must first drive them into the barn， then connect them to the milking machines， watch the machines， and discon