【正文】 l fertil i zers usual y grow too fast to be ful of m uch nutri tion. They m ay look beautiful, but i nsi de there i s usual l y m ore water than vitam i ns and mi neral s. Wi th these di scoveri es, some farm ers and m any custom ers are begi nni ng to turn to ani c farm i ng. O rgani c farmi ng i s sim pl y farm i ng wi thout usi ng any chemi cals. They focus on keepi ng their soi l ri ch and free of di sease. A healthy soil reduces di sease and 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 fertil zer. They feel that thi s makes the soil i n thei r fi el ds ri cher i n m i neral s and so m ore fertil e. This al so keeps the ai r, soil , water and crops fre from chem i cal s. O rgani c farm ers al so use m any other m ethods to keep the soi l ferti l 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 soi l, 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 soil, for exam pl e, planting peanuts that use the ground’s surface fol lowed by vegetabl es that put down deep roots. Some ani c farm ers prefer pl anti ng gras between crops to prevent wi nd or water from carryi ng away the soi l, and then l eavi ng i t i n the ground to be e a natural fertil izer 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 damagi ng the envi ronm ent or peopl e’s heal th. An earl y farm er pi oneer Some peopl e thought Jia Si xi e was a lucky m an. H e had worked for the em peror and when he got ol d, he was abl e to go hi s hom etown to rel ax. Ji a Si xi e, however, had other plans. H e had al ways been i nterested i n agri cul ture and i ntended to do som ethi ng to m ake Chi nese farm i ng even better. Ji a Si xi e l ived i n the si x century AD. H e was born i n Yi du in Shandong provi nce and worked i n Gaoyang, whi ch is al so i n Shangdong. As he rode through the countrysi de on his journeys for hi s work he l ooked out at the fi el ds. Som e of them were grener and had m ore crops than others. Som e cows and sheep looked heal thi er than others too. H e was lost i n though. What coul d a farm er do to get good crops from hi s fi el ds? Surely there m ust be rul es that woul d hel p them. H e thought he coul d use his knowl edge to fi nd out the best ways for farm ers to grow crops and then write 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 col or. Then he told 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 i m prove the soil . H e advi sed farm ers to cl ear weeds from the ground before pl anti ng crops. They coul d either l et the ani m al s eat the weeds or turn the soil over so that the weeds were covered and would rot. Then he gave advi ce on Turi ng over the soi l. The first tim e each year, farm ers shoul d dig deepl y, but the second ti m e shoul d be l ess deep. Therefore the autum n pl oughi ng of the soil shoul d be deeper thant the spring 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 also grow di fferent pl ants next to each other i n the fiel d. H e al so gave adi ve on how to fish, keep a garden and even m ake wi ne. H e wrote down hi s i n a bok cal ed Qi Mi n Yao Shu, whi ch was consi dered an im portant sum mary of the knowl edge of farm i 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 agricul ture. Unit 3 A MASTER O F N ON VERBAL H UMO UR As Vi ctor 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 this better than Charlie Chaplin. H e bri ghtened the l i ves of Am eri cans and Bri ti sh through two worl d wars and the hard years i n between. H e m ade peopl e l augh at a tim e when they fel t depressed, so they coul d fel m ore content wi th thei r li ves. Not that Charl ie’s own life was easy! He was born in a poor famil y in 1889. H is parents were both poor music hal performers. You m ay fi nd it 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 tim e, especi al l y when the fami l y in e was often uncertai n. Unfortunatel y hi s father di ed, l eavi ng the fam il y even worse off, so Charl ie spent hi s chil dhood l ooki ng after hi s si ck m other and hi s brother. By hi s teens, Charli e had, through hi s humour, be e one of the m ost popular chil d actors i n Engl and. H e coul d m im e and act the fool doi ng ordi nary everyday tasks. N o one was ever bored watchi ng him hi s subtl e acti ng m ade everythi ng entertai ni ng. 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 charmi ng character, the li ttl e tram p, becam e known throughout the worl d. The tram p, a poor, homel es m an wi th a m oustache, wore l arge trousers, wornout shoes and a sm al round bl ack hat. H e walked around stiffl y caryi ng a wal ki ng sti ck. Thi s character was a soci al fai l ure but was l oved for hi s opti mi sm and determi nati on to over e al l di fi cul ti es. H e was the underdog who was kind 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