In a street largely unchanged since it was built in the 1800s, Hobart’s Battery Point is probably the last place you would expect to find a farm.

In one corner of Peter Handy’s backyard is a controlled environment unit that houses vertical pastures (垂直牧场), the first of its kind in the southern hemisphere (半球). Mr. Handy is changing the definition of what it means to be a farmer. “I know it’s really funny, because when people say to me, ‘Where’s your farm?’, I’ll say ‘it’s in Battery Point’ and they’re like, ‘No, there’s no farms in Battery Point’,” he said “People think the Martians have landed because we’ve got this massive, big pink light that comes out of it from the bottom but other than that, they’d have no idea.”

Not just a backyard project, Mr. Handy is running a business. “It’s here because I need to be as close to my customers, the chefs and restaurants of Hobart,” he said. “I aim to use the least amount of food miles as possible and make this a super-efficient business.”

Using LED lights and hydroponic nutrients, the farm grows leafy greens, root vegetables and flowering plants. “I don’t have to worry about floods, wind, wild animals, electric fences, turning the soil over,” Mr .Handy said. Using 95 percent less water than traditional farming, the farm ticks the box environmentally. “I mean, this is definitely not the answer to food sustainability in the world. But it’s definitely a part of it.”

Science writer Julian Cribb believes a world food crisis is coming, due to a combination of loss of water, loss of topsoil, climate change and overuse of poisons. “We’re going to need to change the nature of the way we produce food and change the human diet at the same time,” he said, “and new urban farming methods would see most of the world’s great cities feeding themselves.”

Mr. Cribb said Australia was still quite a way off from adopting urban farming. But he believes that it poses a rather unique opportunity for Australian farmers to sell their expertise to cities, teaching people to grow food in urban environments.

【小题1】What might people think of Mr. Handy’s farm?

A．Scared.	B．Impressed.
C．Disappointed.	D．Confused.

【小题2】What does Mr. Handy say about his farm?

A．It is not affected by weather.

B．It mainly plants and sells flowers.

C．It serves customers from near and far.

D．It is the solution to food sustainability.

【小题3】What’s the purpose of Mr. Gribb’s words in paragraph 5?

A．To praise his contribution to science.

B．To explain how urban farming works.

C．To stress the necessity of urban farming.

D．To present the seriousness of the food crisis.

【小题4】What’s the passage mainly about?

A．Cities are struggling to get food.

B．Technology is changing people’s life.

C．Peter Handy is a successful businessman.

D．Food production is being moved into cities.