农作物的新时代

付莲萍

科技公司正在开发利用微生物和海藻种植农作物，这类农作物可以帮助农民减少氮的使用，进而减少对水道及环境的污染。

1Technology companies are raising hundreds of millions ofdollars to develop farm products that use microbes（微生物）and seaweed to grow crops. The move comes at a time whenfertilizer prices are very high and increasing attention is be?ing paid to how food is produced around the world.

2Microbes， including fungi（真菌）and viruses， have been available for years as treat⁃ments to protect plants from insects and disease， with mixed outcomes， but developers areincreasingly using them as natural ways to support crops while keeping up crop productionlevels.

3The new microbial fertilizers are sometimes called biostimulants. Such productscould help farmers use less nitrogen， a fertilizer that can pollute waterways and create agas that has environmental effects. Canada wants to cut fertilizer emissions by 2030， whilethe European Union aims to reduce fertilizer usage.

4Denmark⁃based Novozymes is one of the biggest sellers of bio⁃agricultural products.One product contains a fungus that grows alongside plant roots and releases a crop nutrientfrom the soil. Yara International of Norway says that its biostimulants are based on sea⁃weed and other substances.

5Another product from the start⁃up Pivot Bio has microbes that take in sugar from the roots of corn， wheat， or sorghum plants， producing an enzyme that changes nitro⁃gen to a crop nutrient. The company says that farmers have already used it on more than400，000 hectares and it also raised $430 million last year from investors. The $3 billionbiostimulants industry is to grow by 12 to 15 percent each year over the next five years.

6Microbial fertilizers are largely unregulated， with few studies on how effective theyare at developing crops. Besides， not everyone is convinced that biostimulants work. For ex⁃ample， University of Minnesota soil scientist Daniel Kaiser has tested Pivot’s PROVENproduct over the past two seasons. He used it on six areas with reduced nitrogen fertilizertreatments， but only one area showed an improved yield.

7Currently， only a small number of American states require companies to supply dataon the effectiveness of microbial fertilizers. And the US Environmental Protection Agencyhas only issued draft guidance for public review. In Europe， the European Union decides torequire data on biostimulants starting in July 2022.

Reading Check

Detail

1. Whats the result of using microbes to protect plants？

A. It has two sides.

B. It is of little help.

C. It is very effective.

D. It gains great support.

Inference

2. How can we describe the new microbial fertilizers？

A. Cheap.

B. Powerful.

C. Eco?friendly.

D. Absorbable.

Inference

3. What can we infer about the product with microbes in paragraph 5？

A. It is more and more popular.

B. It can attract many researchers.

C. It will replace traditional fertilizers.

D. It helps to increase production greatly.

Inference

4. What’s the author’s attitude towards microbes？

A. Uncertain.

B. Supportive.

C. Negative.

D. Objective.

Language Study

Difficult sentences in the text

1. The move comes at a time when fertilizer prices are very high and increasing atten⁃tion is being paid to how food is produced around the world. 当肥料价格非常高，人们越来越关注世界各地如何生产粮食的时候，此举来得正是时候。

【点石成金】这是一个主从复合句，句中when引导的是一个定语从句，从句是由and连接的两个并列的简单句。

2. Another product from the start⁃up Pivot Bio has microbes that take in sugar fromthe roots of corn， wheat， or sorghum plants， producing an enzyme that changes nitrogen to acrop nutrient. 初创公司Pivot Bio的另一款产品含有能从玉米、小麦或高粱根部吸收糖分的微生物，由此产生一种酶，将氮转化为作物养分。

【点石成金】本句中的that take in sugar from the roots of corn， wheat， or sorghumplants为that引导的定语从句;producing an enzyme that changes nitrogen to a crop nutri⁃ent作结果状语;that changes nitrogen to a crop nutrient为that引导的定语从句，修饰先行词enzyme。