【正文】 helps crops grow strong and healthy. Organic farmers, therefore, often prefer using natural waste from animals as fertilizer. They feel that this makes the soil in their fields richer in minerals and so more fertile. This also keeps the air, soil, water and crops free from chemicals. Organic farmers also use many other methods to keep the soil fertile. They often change the knd of crop in each field every few years, for example, growing corn or wheat and then the next year peas or soybeans. Crops such as peas or soybeans put important minerals back into the soil, making it ready for crops such as wheat or corn that need rich and fertile soil. Organic farmers also plant crops to use different levels of soil, for example, planting peanuts that use the ground’s surface followed by vegetables that put down deep roots. Some anic farmers prefer planting grass between crops to prevent wind or water from carrying away the soil, and then leaving it in the ground to bee a natural fertilizer for the next year’s crop. These many different anic farming methods have the same goal: to grow good food and avoid damaging the environment or people’s health. An early farmer pioneer Some people thought Jia Sixie was a lucky man. He had worked for the emperor and when he got old, he was able to go his hometown to relax. Jia Sixie, however, had other plans. He had always been interested in agriculture and intended to do something to make Chinese farming even better. Jia Sixie lived in the six century AD. He was born in Yidu in Shandong province and worked in Gaoyang, which is also in Shangdong. As he rode through the countryside on his journeys for his work he looked out at the fields. Some of them were greener and had more crops than others. Some cows and sheep looked healthier than others too. He was lost in though. What could a farmer do to get good crops from his fields? Surely there must be rules that would help them. He thought he could use his knowledge to find out the best ways for farmers to grow crops and then write a book to help them. In doing so he collected information from farmers who did well, studied it and did experiments to find the best way. For example, he studied ways of keeping seeds and advised farmers to choose seedheads which had the best color. Then he told them to hang them to dry all winter. The next spring the seeds should be knocked out of their seedheads and planted. He studied how to improve the soil. He advised farmers to clear weeds from the ground before planting crops. They could either let the animals eat the weeds or turn the soil over so that the weeds were covered and would rot. Then he gave advice on Turing over the soil. The first time each year, farmers should dig deeply, but the second time should be less deep. Therefore the autumn ploughing of the soil should be deeper thant the spring ploughing. He suggested changing crops in the field every year: rive one year and wheat the next so that they would always get good harvests. They should also grow different plants next to each other in the field. He also gave adive on how to fish, keep a garden and even make wine. He wrote down his in a book called Qi Min Yao Shu, which was considered an important summary of the knowledge of farming. For centuries after Jia Sixie died, it was studied by Chinese farmers and students of agriculture. Unit 3 A MASTER OF NONVERBAL HUMOUR As Victor Hugo once said, “Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face”, and up to now nobody has been able to do this better than Charlie Chaplin. He brightened the lives of Americans and British through two world wars and the hard years in between. He made people laugh at a time when they felt depressed, so they could feel more content with their lives. Not that Charlie’s own life was easy! He was born in a poor family in 1889. His parents were both poor music hall performers. You may find it astonishing that Charlie was taught to sing as soon as he could speak and dance as soon as he could walk. Such training was mon in acting families at that time, especially when the family ine was often uncertain. Unfortunately his father died, leaving the family even worse off, so Charlie spent his childhood looking after his sick mother and his brother. By his teens, Charlie had, through his humour, bee one of the most popular child actors in England. He could mime and act the fool doing ordinary everyday tasks. No one was ever bored watching himhis subtle acting made everything entertaining. As time went by, he began making films. He grew more and more popular as his charming character, the little tramp, became known throughout the world. The tramp, a poor, homeless man with a moustache, wore large trousers, wornout shoes and a small round black hat. He walked around stiffly carrying a walking stick. This character was a social failure but was loved for his optimism and determination to overe all difficulties. He was the underdog who was kind even when others were unkind to him. How did the little tramp make a sad situation entertaining? Here is an example from one of his most famous films, The Gold Rush. It is the midnieenth century and gold has just been discovered in California. Like so many others, the little tramp and his friend have rushed there in search of gold, but without success. Instead they are hiding in a small hut on the edge of a mountain during a snowstorm with nothing to eat. They are so hungry that they try boiling a pair of leather shoes for their dinner. Charlie first picks out the laces and eats them as if they were spaghetti. Then he cuts off the leather top of the shoes as if it were the finest steak. Finally he tries cutting and chewing the bottom of the shoe. He eats each mouthful with great enjoyment. The acting is so convincing that it makes you believe that it is one of the best meals he has ever tasted! Charlie Chaplin wrote, directed and produced the films the starred in. In 1972 he was given a sp