1 . Farmers have long relied on things that work without their involvement — bees to pollinate (授粉) flowers, earthworms (蚯蚓) to turn the soil, swallows to eat pests — to make sure that crops grow the right way. Now a team of British researchers is trying to take this hands-off thinking in a high-tech direction. Last October, scientists at Harper Adams University started a farm called the Hands Free Hectare to make the entire process of farming — from sowing and fertilizing to harvest — fully automatic. The project has just succeeded with five tons of robot-grown barley (大麦).
“We believe the best idea is that in the future, farmers will manage groups of smaller, autonomous machines, ” the researchers explained. “They will go out and work in the fields, allowing the farmer to use their time more effectively instead of having to drive up and down the fields.”
At the moment, agricultural machines — very large and heavy — can cover a lot of space quickly. But there are shortcomings. “Fertilizer gets sprayed over entire farms, regardless of the different needs of different crops. They’re also so heavy that they’re damaging farmers’ soils,” researcher Jonathan Gill said.
Gill and his colleagues went smaller: a tractor, a combine and a harvester, which followed a programmed route, using GPS. Altogether, they spent less than £200, 000 on equipment, and used open-source technology and a drone (无人机). Eventually the system will be complex enough to treat different parts of a field, or even individual plants, differently.
The team is quick to caution that they don’t want to put farmers out of work. They said, “Instead of being busy in the fields, the farmer will manage the machines and monitor their crops.” The next stop for the barley will be a brewery. That’s not going to be completely automatic. At least not yet.
1. What feature of bees, earthworms and swallows inspired scientists?
A.Their dependence on nature. | B.Their special way of survival. |
C.Their selfless love for the earth. | D.Their natural involvement in farming. |
2. What advantage of Gill’s equipment is introduced in Para. 4?
A.Freeing workers totally. | B.Reducing the cost of harvest. |
C.Improving the accuracy of farming. | D.Increasing the output of different crops. |
3. What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A.Gill’s project is still at the design stage. | B.Unemployment wouldn’t be a concern. |
C.The brewery will realize automation soon. | D.Complete automatic farming is unrealistic. |
4. Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
A.The future of hands-free farming | B.The functions of agricultural machines |
C.The development of automatic harvest | D.The shortcomings of traditional farming |