【正文】 hel ps crops grow strong and heal thy. O rgani c farm ers, therefore, often prefer usi ng natural waste from anim al s as ferti li zer. They feel that thi s makes the soil i n their fi el ds ri cher i n m i nerals and so more fertil e. Thi s al so keeps the ai r, soi l, water and crops free from chemi cals. Organi c farm ers al so use m any other m ethods to keep the soil fertil e. They often change the knd of crop i n each fi el d every few years, for exam pl e, growi ng corn or wheat and then the next year peas or soybeans. Crops such as peas or soybeans put im portant mi neral s back i nto the soil, m aki ng i t ready for crops such as wheat or corn that need rich and fertil e soil . Organi c farm ers al so pl ant crops to use di fferent l evel s of soi l, for exam pl e, pl anti ng peanuts that use the ground’s surface fol owed by vegetabl es that put down deep roots. Som e ani c farm ers prefer pl anti ng gras betwen crops to prevent wi nd or water from carryi ng away the soil , and then l eavi ng i t i n the ground to be e a natural fertil i zer for the next year’s crop. These m any di fferent anic farmi ng m ethods have the sam e goal : to grow good food and avoi d dam aging the envi ronm ent or peopl e’s heal th. An earl y farm er pi oner Som e peopl e thought Ji a Si xi e was a l ucky man. H e had worked for the emperor and when he got ol d, he was abl e to go his hom etown to rel ax. Ji a Si xi e, however, had other pl ans. H e had al ways been i nterested i n agri culture and i ntended to do som ething to m ake Chi nese farmi ng even better. Jia Si xi e l ived i n the si x century AD. H e was born i n Yi du i n Shandong province and worked i n Gaoyang, whi ch i s al so i n Shangdong. As he rode through the countrysi de on hi s journeys for hi s work he l ooked out at the fi el ds. Som e of them were greener and had m ore crops than others. Som e cows and sheep l ooked healthi er than others too. H e was l ost i n though. What coul d a farmer do to get good crops from hi s fi el ds? Surel y there m ust be rul es that woul d hel p them . H e thought he coul d use hi s knowl edge to fi nd out the best ways for farm ers to grow crops and then wri te a book to hel p them. In doing so he col l ected i nform ati on from farm ers who di d wel l, studi ed i t and di d experim ents to fi nd the best way. For exam pl e, he studi ed ways of keepi ng seeds and advi sed farm ers to choose seedheads whi ch had the best color. Then he tol d them to hang them to dry al wi nter. The next spri ng the seeds shoul d be knocked out of thei r seedheads and pl anted. H e studi ed how to im prove the soil . H e advi sed farm ers to cl ear weeds from the ground before pl anti ng crops. They coul d ei ther l et the ani mal s eat the weeds or turn the soil over so that the weeds were covered and woul d rot. Then he gave advi ce on Turi ng over the soil . The fi rst tim e each year, farm ers shoul d di g deepl y, but the second ti me shoul d be l ess deep. Therefore the autumn pl oughi ng of the soi l shoul d be deeper thant the spri ng pl oughi ng. H e suggested changi ng crops i n the fi el d every year: ri ve one year and wheat the next so that they woul d al ways get good harvests. They shoul d al so grow di fferent pl ants next to each other i n the fi el d. H e al so gave adi ve on how to fi sh, keep a garden and even make wi ne. H e wrote down hi s i n a book cal l ed Qi Min Yao Shu, which was consi dered an im portant sum m ary of the knowl edge of farmi ng. For centuri es after Ji a Si xi e di ed, i t was studi ed by Chi nese farm ers and students of agri culture. Unit 3 A MASTER O F NO N VERBAL H UMO UR As Victor H ugo once said, “Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face”, and up to now nobody has been abl e to do thi s better than Charl ie Chapl in. H e bri ghtened the li ves of Am eri cans and Bri tish through two worl d wars and the hard years i n between. H e m ade peopl e l augh at a time when they fel t depressed, so they coul d feel m ore content with thei r li ves. Not that Charlie’s own life was easy! H e was born in a poor famil y in 1889. H is parents were both por music hal performers. You m ay fi nd i t astoni shi ng that Charli e was taught to si ng as soon as he coul d speak and dance as soon as he coul d wal k. Such trai ni ng was m on i n acti ng fam il i es at that ti me, especi al y when the fami l y i ne was often uncertai n. Unfortunatel y hi s father died, l eavi ng the fam il y even worse off, so Charl i e spent hi s chil dhood l ooki ng after hi s si ck mother and hi s brother. By hi s teens, Charli e had, through hi s hum our, be e one of the m ost popul ar chil d actors i n Engl and. H e coul d m im e and act the fol doi ng ordi nary everyday tasks. N o one was ever bored watchi ng hi mhi s subtl e acti ng m ade everythi ng entertai ning. As tim e went by, he began m aking fi lm s. H e grew m ore and m ore popul ar as hi s charm i ng character, the l ittl e tramp, became known throughout the worl d. The tram p, a poor, hom el ess man wi th a m oustache, wore l arge trousers, wornout shoes and a sm al l round bl ack hat. He wal ked around sti ffly carrying a wal ki ng sti ck. This character was a social fail ure but was l oved for hi s optimi sm and determi nati on to over e al di ffi culti es. H e was the underdog who was ki nd even when others were unki nd to him . H ow di d the l i tl e tram p make a sad si tuati on entertai ni ng? H ere i s an exam pl e from one of his m ost fam ous fi lm s, The Gol d Rush. It is the m i dni eenth century and gol d has just been di scovered i n Cal i forni a. Li ke so many others, the l i tl e tram p and hi s fri end have rushed there i n search of gol d, but wi thout success. Instead they are hidi ng i n a sm al hut on the edge of a m ountai n duri ng a snowstorm wi th nothi ng to eat. They are so hungry that they try boil ing a pai r of l eather sho