Unit 12: Agriculture

Aims and Objectives

In this unit you will learn and practise vocabulary related to agribusiness.

You will practise the following skills and functions:

listening for detail
passing on messages

The grammar focus of this unit is:

REPORTED SPEECH

Vocabulary

Vocabulary Practice

Exercise not available in this language version.

Listening Comprehension

Exercise 1: Multiple Choice Questions

Chose the correct answer.

Recording:

Transcript:

Over 1,000 million farmers work the land: men and women, young and old. Farming requires a wide variety of skills: farmers must understand soil types, know when to plant and harvest and what types of crops to rotate, when to apply organic or man-made fertilisers and pesticides, and be able to harvest and market their produce.

Around 50 million farmers live in developed countries where farms are very large and highly mechanized. Most food in these countries is produced by large-scale, commercial operations which often integrate food production with processing, marketing and distribution in a complete system. Large-scale farmers usually specialize in one or two crops and nearly all of their produce is sold. They depend on external, often costly products or services such as chemical fertiliser, high-yielding seeds and mechanization.

This exercise can be also done purely aurally/orally:

How many people worldwide work on farms?
a.
b.
c.

[?]
Where do the majority of farmers live?
a.
b.
c.

[?]
How is most food produced in developed countries?
a.
b.
c.

[?]
Large-scale farming depends on:
a.
b.
c.

[?]
Which of the following is NOT mentioned as part of integrated food production?
a.
b.
c.

[?]

Exercise 2: Multiple Choice Questions

Chose the correct answer.

Recording:

Transcript:

Farms in the developing world are mostly small and family-owned, and many of them have been cultivated for generations. These small farmers usually have only enough land to meet the needs of their families, or immediate community. Few small farmers have any control over the marketing and distribution of their produce, or even its price. For the small-scale farmer, selling produce is usually a secondary consideration, although the family may depend on this to buy household essentials. Some small-scale farmers have, however, begun to produce single crops for income.

This exercise can be also done purely aurally/orally:

Who are farms mostly owned by in the developing world?
a.
b.
c.

[?]
What do these small farmers do mostly with their produce?
a.
b.
c.

[?]
How have small farmers started to generate income?
a.
b.
c.

[?]
Which of the following would you NOT consider to be 'household essentials'?
a.
b.
c.

[?]

Exercise 3: Multiple Choice Questions

Chose the correct answer.

Recording:

Transcript:

Interviewer	Well Mr Bullock. How did you get into farming?
Mr Bullock	My father was a farmer and my grandfather before him. After I left school I went on to college. Ever since then I have been in farming, a total of 23 years.
Interviewer	And how has farming changed in that time?
Mr Bullock	Well, for example, my parents had a herd of about 50 cows and in those days it was considered to be quite large. Nowadays we have a herd of 300 dairy cows, 500 sheep, and 30 or 40 pigs, apart from poultry and so on.
Interviewer	So it's a mixed farm. Where are the cattle, sheep and pigs sold? Are they sold locally?
Mr Bullock	It used to be all through local markets and abattoirs. That's probably the biggest transformation that's happened in the last fifteen years. Supermarkets and big companies have taken over all the buying power and the margins are getting tighter and tighter.

This exercise can be also done purely aurally/orally:

What did Mr. Bullock do when he left school?
a.
b.
c.

[?]
How long has Mr Bullock been a farmer?
a.
b.
c.

[?]
How did Mr. Bullock get into farming?
a.
b.
c.

[?]
What kind of animals does he have most of?
a.
b.
c.

[?]
Who do farmers sell their livestock to nowadays?
a.
b.
c.

[?]
How has this change affected the farmer's profits?
a.
b.
c.

[?]

Exercise 4: Multiple Choice Questions

Chose the correct answer.

Recording:

Transcript:

Interviewer	Do you grow any crops on your farm?
Mr Bullock	Our main crops are maize and grass for the cows and young stock. The main arable crops are Winter Wheat, Winter Barley and Spring Beans.
Interviewer	Do you think there's too much bureaucracy in farming these days?
Mr Bullock	Far too much. It's a nightmare as far as I'm concerned.
Interviewer	Do you think that subsidies are a good idea?
Mr Bullock	Well, we farmers have to take advantage of subsidies if they exist. I don't personally agree with production subsidies, and I think they distort the market. But I do agree with environmental subsidies.

This exercise can be also done purely aurally/orally:

What does Mr. Bullock grow on his farm?
a.
b.
c.

[?]
What does Mr. Bullock feed the young stock?
a.
b.
c.

[?]
Does Mr. Bullock think that subsidies are a good idea?
a.
b.
c.

[?]
What does Mr. Bullock find a nightmare?
a.
b.
c.

[?]
What are arable crops?
a.
b.
c.

[?]

Exercise 5: Multiple Choice Questions

Chose the correct answer.

Recording:

Transcript:

Interviewer	How long ago did you and your wife begin market gardening, Mr. Hill?
John Hill	We began almost 20 years ago.
Interviewer	What was your original plan?
John Hill	Our original aim was simply to live on this land and take the best care of it that we could.
Interviewer	But then you found that people wanted to buy organic food?
John Hill	Yes, that's right. So we started selling to local markets, restaurants and shops.
Interviewer	What do you grow?
John Hill	Mainly vegetables and flowers.
Interviewer	What fertilisers and pesticides do you use?
John Hill	Well, we don't use any chemical pesticides at all, and use only natural fertiliser from farm animals such as horses and pigs.
Interviewer	But how can you grow vegetables and flowers if you don't use pesticides?
John Hill	We use rotation, growing different crops on different sections of the land. We grow both winter and summer crops, and the rotation system means that from time to time each section of land can rest and recover.

This exercise can be also done purely aurally/orally:

What does a market gardener do?
a.
b.
c.

[?]
Originally the Hills wanted to:
a.
b.
c.

[?]
What do they grow?
a.
b.
c.

[?]
How do the Hills grow vegetables without using chemical pesticides?
a.
b.
c.

[?]
Why did the Hills start selling their produce?
a.
b.
c.

[?]

General Comprehension

Exercise 1: True/False Statements

For each of the statements below, choose True or False.

This exercise can be also done purely aurally/orally:

If you don't use pesticides you can grow organic food.

[?]
Some crops can be grown both in winter and in summer.

[?]
Supermarkets never buy organic vegetables or fruit from local market gardens.

[?]
Most small farmers have control over the distribution of their produce.

[?]
Natural fertiliser comes from farm animals such as cows, horses and pigs.

[?]
Large-scale commercial farming damages the environment.

[?]
More and more people want to know where the food they eat comes from.

[?]
Large-scale farmers sell nearly all their produce.

[?]
Most food in developed countries is organically grown.

[?]
Farmers need to know what crops to rotate.

[?]

Exercise 2: Sentence Completion

Speaking Practice. Complete the sentences you hear, using the example as a model.

Grammar Practice

Exercise 1: Transformation

In this exercise, we are going to change Direct Statements into Reported (or Indirect) Statements.

Exercise 2: Transformation

In this exercise, we are going to change Reported (or Indirect) Statements into Direct Statements.

Exercise 3: Transformation

In this exercise, we are going to change Direct Questions into Reported (or Indirect) Questions.

Exercise 4: Transformation

In this exercise, we are going to change Reported (or Indirect) Questions into Direct Questions.

Exercise 5: Selections

Chose the correct answer.

Consolidation

Exercise 1: True/False Statements

For each of the statements below, choose True or False.

Recording:

Transcript:

The business of farming is changing. In the last 50 years there has been a great deal of large-scale commercial monocrop farming, using pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers. This type of farming has become known as agribusiness. Nowadays, however, more and more people are becoming aware of issues related to health and nutrition, as well as the need to protect the environment. This has led to a growing demand for ecologically friendly farming systems. Government policies encourage rational farming programmes, in which the sustainable use of the plant and animal population and the maintenance of habitats on which they depend form an integral part of running a farm. In other words, ecology and economics are now both regarded as being aspects of modern farming.

This exercise can be also done purely aurally/orally:

Farming hasn't changed in the last 50 years.

[?]
In large-scale farming, pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers are used.

[?]
Modern farmers need to protect monocrops.

[?]
Large-scale farming has become known as agribusiness.

[?]
Nowadays, people are worried about health and nutrition.

[?]
People want farming systems to be ecologically friendly.

[?]
Government policies encourage sustainable use of land.

[?]
Plants and animals don't depend on the maintenance of their habitat.

[?]
In modern farming, economics is secondary to habitat maintenance.

[?]
Farmers don't always protect the wildlife on their farms.

[?]

Exercise 2: Dictation

Listen to the complete recording first. Then go to the textbox and use the ‘>’ key to listen to the text section by section. Type what you hear into the textbox. For detailed instructions, read the Exercise Help.

Exercise 3: Cloze

Listen to the recording carefully and then fill in the gaps in the text below using the same words.

Recording:

Transcript:

This has led to a growing demand for ecologically friendly farming systems. Government policies encourage rational farming programmes, in which the sustainable use of the plant and animal population and the maintenance of habitats on which they depend form an integral part of running a farm. In other words, ecology and economics are now both regarded as being aspects of modern farming.

This has led to a growing [?] for ecologically friendly farming systems. Government policies encourage rational farming programmes, in [?] the sustainable use of the plant and animal population and [?] maintenance of habitats [?] which they depend form [?] integral part of [?] a farm. In [?] words, ecology and economics are now [?] regarded [?] being aspects of modern farming.

Exercise 4: Gap Filling

Choose the correct option to fill the gaps in the following sentences.

This exercise can be also done purely aurally/orally:

Many farms are ____ by the same family for generations.
a.
b.
c.

[?]
Successful farming depends on the good use of many ____ .
a.
b.
c.

[?]
John Smith runs a very large ____ farm.
a.
b.
c.

[?]
Small farmers usually ____ just enough to cover the needs of their family.
a.
b.
c.

[?]
____ -gardening can be quite profitable.
a.
b.
c.

[?]
What sort ____ vegetables do you grow in your garden?
a.
b.
c.

[?]
In organic farming no chemical pesticides or fertilisers are ____ .
a.
b.
c.

[?]
How ____ago did you buy your farm?
a.
b.
c.

[?]
The Hills sell their produce ____ local markets and shops.
a.
b.
c.

[?]
Rotation forms an important ____ of ecological farming systems.
a.
b.
c.

[?]
Today's generation must take the ____ care of the environment
a.
b.
c.

[?]
Farms in the developed world are ____ mechanised.
a.
b.
c.

[?]
Many species of birds and animals cause damage to a farmer's ____.
a.
b.
c.

[?]
Some areas are tilled ____ few years.
a.
b.
c.

[?]
Increases in agricultural production do not always ____ increases in income for farmers.
a.
b.
c.

[?]
It is very difficult to ____ birds from eating cereal crops.
a.
b.
c.

[?]
Each farmer has to complete a lot of paper work to stay ____ the law.
a.
b.
c.

[?]
How did you get ____ farming, Mr Bullock?
a.
b.
c.

[?]
I went to work ____ a farm when I was eighteen.
a.
b.
c.

[?]
Arable work can be ____ by using contractors and outside labourers.
a.
b.
c.

[?]

Checklist

Use the following list to check whether you have obtained full benefit from this unit. You should be able to:

listen for detail
pass on messages