Organic (有机的) farming is a type of agriculture that benefits from the recycling and use of natural products. Use of dried plants not only saves money, but also ensures the growth of crops. The technique is characterized (具有……的特征) by the use of green manure (肥料), biological pest control methods and special farming techniques to keep soil productive. Limiting the use of man­made chemicals or completely doing away with (去掉) them reduces the risk of diseases. Today, organic farming is a major and preferred industry around the world. Organically grown products have a huge market, with farmlands covering about 10% of the total world farmland. The initial effort made by Sir Albert Howard, the Father of Organic Farming, has paid off.

Advantages of Organic Farming：
1. The economics of organic farming are characterized by increasing profits (利润) through reduced water use and reduced soil erosion (侵蚀).
2. Organic farming produces the same crops as those produced through traditional farming methods, but uses half the energy, and holds 40% more top soil.
3. Farming the organic way enables farmers to get rid of weeds without the use of any chemicals.
4. The use of green pesticides (杀虫剂) is environmentally friendly and does no harm to human’s health.
Disadvantages of Organic Farming：
1. Organic methods of farming produce less, compared to traditional farming techniques.
2. Organic agriculture does little to fight global climate change. Though organic farming practices are recognized as giving out less CO₂, but not to a significant degree.
However, though there are some disadvantages to organic farming, farms where organic methods for cropping have been used have more advantages than traditional farms. Organic agriculture is surely better in the long term.
【小题1】Organic farming uses the manure made from ________.

A．expensive soil	B．dried plants
C．harmful pests	D．man­made chemicals

【小题2】The underlined sentence in Paragraph 1 shows that Sir Albert Howard ____.

A．worked hard for nothing

B．succeeded in organic farming

C．spent all his time on organic farming

D．didn’t expect organic farming to be successful

【小题3】According to the passage, compared to traditional farming, Organic farming ________.
a.is more environmentally friendly
b.produces a lot more food
c.uses less energy
d.results in more weeds in the farmland
e.is better for human’s health

A．abc

B．acd

C．ace

D．bce

【小题4】The author’s attitude toward organic farming is ________.

A．anxious	B．hopeless
C．unclear	D．optimistic