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  3. One of the least appreciated but most remarkable developments of the past 60 years is the extraordinary growth of American agric

One of the least appreciated but most remarkable developments of the past 60 years is the extraordinary growth of American agric

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问题     One of the least appreciated but most remarkable developments of the past 60 years is the extraordinary growth of American agriculture. Farming now accounts for about one tenth of the gross domestic product yet employs less than 1 percent of all workers. It has accomplished this feat through exceptionally high growth in productivity, which haskept prices of food lowand thereby contributed to rising standards of living. Furthermore, the exportable surplus has kept the trade deficit from reaching unsupportable levels. Agriculture not only has one of the highest rates of productivity growth of all industries, but this growth appears to have accelerated during the past two decades.
    Over the period 1948 to 2004, total farm production went up by 166 percent. The land used for farming dropped by one quarter over the 56-year period, and investment in heavy farm equipment and other capital expenditures decreased by 12 percent. Several developments drove these changes, beginning with the replacement of the remaining horses by tractors immediately after World War II and with the expanding use of fertilizers and pesticides. Later came the adoption of hybrid seeds, genetic engineering of plants and improved livestock breeding. A key element was the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) extension service. Operating through land-grant universities and other organizations, it educated farmers on biotechnology, pest management and conservation.
    For many years, critics have claimed that modern agriculture is not sustainable, one of the major assertions being that it encourages erosion, which will eventually wash away most of the topsoil. Lost topsoil, the argument goes, is virtually irreplaceable because it takes up to 300 years for one inch of soil to form.
    But a detailed study of two large areas, the Southern Piedmont and the Northern Mississippi Valley Loess Hills, showed that based on 1982 data, soil loss has dropped sharply from the very high rates of the 1930s. The study attributed the decrease in soil erosion to the USDA, which urged farmers after World War II to adopt conservation practices such as strip cropping, whereby alternating rows are planted, and leaving plant residues in the fields year-round to inhibit water runoff.
    Despite being a robust contributor to the U.S. economy, modern agriculture is not without a dark side. Runoff of fertilizers, antibiotics and hormones degrade the  environment and can upset the local ecology. If not grown properly, genetically modified crops could spread their DNA to conventional species.
The "dark side" (Lines 1-2, Paragraph 5) implies that modern agriculture will
选项 A、have a great impact on the U.S. economy development.
B、lead to ecology pollution, if improperly controlled.
C、have to decrease the soil erosion.
D、change the DNA of conventional species.
答案B
解析 观点态度题。根据最后一段的内容可知现代农业也有负面影响，即题干中的dark side，根据文中的degrade the environment及upset the local ecology可知。B项符合文意。第5段未讲到现代农业对美国经济的影响，故A不可选；C项讲的是好的方面，与dark side相反；D项忽略文中的假设条件If not…也不可选。
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