课件 职业素养 Part 7 Supplementary Reading Unit 1-Supplementary Reading.doc

Unit 1 On Campus Supplementary Reading Animal Husbandry Australia About 54% of Australias land is used in stock raising. Animal husbandry is concentrated in the eastern highlands, but it spreads across the wide interior spaces and even to low-rainfall areas, in which up to 12 ha (30 acres) are required to support one \o View sheep definition from Wikipedia sheep and from which cattle must be taken overland hundreds of miles to coastal meat-packing plants. Sheep raising has been a mainstay of the economy since the 1820s, when mechanization of the British textile industry created a huge demand for \o View wool definition from Wikipedia wool. In 1800, there were 6,124 sheep in Australia; by 1850 there were 17.5 million; by 1894, some 100 million; and in 1970, a record high of some 180 million. Sheep numbers fell to 120 million in 1994/95 (the lowest since 1953/54) due to severe drought. Australias flocks, some 119.6 million in 1999, now constitute approximately 11% of the worlds sheep but produce about 30% of the worlds wool supply. Wool production, the largest in the world, was an estimated 931,000 tons in 1999. About 95% is exported (mostly to China); nevertheless, wool, which represented 50% of Australias merchandise exports (by value) in 1957/58, constituted only 6% by the mid-1990s. Since 1990, wool production has fallen by 35%, due in part to declining world demand. Australia produces about one-third of the worlds wool, and accounts for 75% of the worlds exports of wool apparel. During periods of great drought, such as the early 1980s, the number of sheep has diminished by 40 million or more. (A drop of 60 million occurred in the droughts of 1993/94.) In the better lands, however, \o View animal husbandry definition from Wikipedia animal husbandry ranks high on a world scale. Large, \o View scientifically definition from Wikipedia scientifically managed stations have produced some of the worlds finest stock. Sheep of the \o Vie