《昆明理工大学博士研究生招生入学考试试题》2008英语

Tractors offer many features that are attractive to farmers. There are, for example, numerous attachments: cultivators that can penetrate the soil to varying depths, rotary hoes that chop weeds; spray devices that can spray pesticides杀虫剂 in lands 100 feet across, and many others.

A piece of equipment has now been invented or adapted for virtually every laborious hand or animal operation on the farm. In the United States, for example, cotton, tobacco, hay, and grain are planted, treated for pests and diseased, fertilized, cultivated and harvested by machine. Large devices shake fruit and nut from trees, grain and blend feed, and dry grain and hay. Equipment is now available to put just the right amount of fertilizer in just the right place, to spray an exact row width, and to count out, space, and plant just the right number of seeds for a row.

Mechanization is not used in agriculture in many parts of Latin America, Africa. Agriculture innovation is accepted fastest where agriculture is already profitable and progressive. Some mechanization has reached the level of plantation agriculture in parts of the tropics, but even today much of that land is laboriously worked by people leading draft animals pulling primitive plows.

The problems of mechanization in some areas are not only cultural in nature. For examples, tropical soils and crops differ markedly from those in temperate areas that the machines are designed for, so adaptations have to be made. But the greatest obstacle to mechanization is the fear in underdeveloped countries that the workers who are displaced by machines would not find work elsewhere. Introducing mechanization into such areas requires careful planning.

76. Which of the following best summarize the main idea of the first paragraph?

A. The introduction of machines into agricultural work created rebellions by the workers.

B. The use of internal-combustion engine run by gasoline became the chief power for the farm working.

C. The mechanization of agricultural work gradually robbed many farmers of their work.

D. Steam power began to be used in farming machines in the 1860s to yield production.

77. In some areas of Latin America,

A. mechanization is not yet used in agriculture.

B. mechanization is accepted fastest.

C. a lot of farm work is still done in the traditional way.

D. primitive plows are no longer in use.

78. By saying that “the problems of mechanizing some areas are not only cultural in nature”, the author means

A. mechanization is not yet introduced in some areas for reasons other than culture.

B. human and animal labor in some areas are less expensive.

C. different kinds of tools are used in different cultures.

D. culture is the only factor that obstacles the introduction of mechanization.

79. Which of the following statements about farmer’s attitude to mechanization is true?

A. Farmers are all very happy to work with farming machines.

B. Nearly all the farm works can be done by the machines, so many farmers go to work in cities.

C. farm works become easy for the workers, so they love mechanization.

D. Farm works don’t need many workers, so they are anxious about their own job opportunities.

80. According to the passage, we can infer that

A. mechanization can be introduced to all areas for economic growth.

B. human and animal labor in most areas are required.

C. mechanization should be considered carefully in some countries.

D. different kinds of mechanized farming tools are used in different cultures.