The wet rice fields of Asia are the most productive of all preindustrial intensive agricultural systems. As the term “wet rice” suggests, the method involves flooding the fields for most of the growing season.In some areas the water comes entirely from the natural rainfall of the monsoons, but the water level often is controlled by artificial irrigation. Most wet rice is, therefore,grown on the floodplains of rivers. In parts of Southeast Asia,southern China,and the Himalayan fringes, wet rice is grown on terraced hillsides originally constructed centuries ago.
Perhaps the most remarkable feature of wet rice cultivation is the capability of a plot to yield a harvest year in and year out, with little or no need to be left uncultivated for extended periods in order to recover its fertility.Indeed,where the seasonal availability of water is adequate, the same plot may yield two and even three harvests in a single year, being under almost continuous cultivation. This capability has been attributed to four factors.the protection from erosion the water gives the soil, the high water table of the rivers’ floodplains that reduces the leaching of nutrients from the soil,the replacement of soil nutrients by the silt carried in the rivers’ flooding, and nitrogen fixation (the conversion of atmospheric nitrogen into forms usable by plants) from the blue-green algae that live in the floodwater,The chief benefit of wet rice-its ability to grow in the same field year after year-is then related to the practice of flooding the fields and allowing the water to remain throughout most of the maturation period
Despite the advantages of their methods, wet rice farmers must solve problems relating to the management of water, because the proper supply of water at the proper time is so important for a good yield. It is more efficient if storage ponds or tanks, canals, ditches, and other improvements are held and managed communally, because less labor is required to construct and maintain them than if each family owned its own Water may be stored in small lakes or ponds or captured and held in tanks until it is used to flood the fields The water level must be controlled fairly precisely while the rice is growing If it rises too high, the plants will be unable to photosynthesize and if it falls too low, the benefits of having standing water in the fields will be reduced Unless the land is naturally flat, the plots, therefore, must be leveled to keep the height of the water constant in different areas of the field The water level must be controlled by low dikes, usually constructed of earth, which can be easily breached to dram the plot for the harvest.
Managing the supply of the water that is so critical in growing wet rice requires sophisticated organization, especially with respect to cooperative labor patterns and rights of access to both land and water. Each family may work its lands on its own, but who will construct and maintain public irrigation works? Who will decide when dikes, dams, ditches, and tanks need to be repaired, and how will the labor to repair them be coordinated? The water used on the fields of one family is not available to other families. How shall the consumption of water be coordinated? Who will get how much water and when? How. in short, will use rights to water be determined?
In one example of organizing the allocation of water to the fields,the Sinhalese of the dry zone of Sri Lanka draw water from a collectively owned rain-fed reservoir constructed of earth. All of the cultivated land of a village is in a single area, below the reservoir. The entire field is laid out into diked plots of equal size. Each plot receives a fixed amount of water from the communal reservoir, though the number of families working a single plot varies Poor families must share water rights of access to one plot with other families, whereas richer families have access to several plots. Assigning each plot (rather than each family) the same proportion of irrigation water reduces the chance that a given plot will receive insufficient moisture.
1
The wet rice fields of Asia are the most productive of all preindustrial intensive agricultural systems. As the term “wet rice” suggests, the method involves flooding the fields for most of the growing season.In some areas the water comes entirely from the natural rainfall of the monsoons, but the water level often is controlled by artificial irrigation. Most wet rice is, therefore,grown on the floodplains of rivers. In parts of Southeast Asia,southern China,and the Himalayan fringes, wet rice is grown on terraced hillsides originally constructed centuries ago.
Paragraph 1 suggests which of the following about the artificial irrigation of wet rice?
AIt is used only in areas where there is little natural rainfall
BIt is most easily accomplished when the rice fields are located on the floodplains of rivers
CIt is considered one of lhe most important developments of industrial agriculture
DIt was not yet in use when (he terraced hillsides were originally constructed
2
Perhaps the most remarkable feature of wet rice cultivation is the capability of a plot to yield a harvest year in and year out, with little or no need to be left uncultivated for extended periods in order to recover its fertility.Indeed,where the seasonal availability of water is adequate, the same plot may yield two and even three harvests in a single year, being under almost continuous cultivation. This capability has been attributed to four factors.the protection from erosion the water gives the soil, the high water table of the rivers’ floodplains that reduces the leaching of nutrients from the soil,the replacement of soil nutrients by the silt carried in the rivers’ flooding, and nitrogen fixation (the conversion of atmospheric nitrogen into forms usable by plants) from the blue-green algae that live in the floodwater,The chief benefit of wet rice-its ability to grow in the same field year after year-is then related to the practice of flooding the fields and allowing the water to remain throughout most of the maturation period
The phrase “attributed to” in the passage is closest in meaning to
Adivided into
Breduced
Cexplained by
Dproven by
3
Perhaps the most remarkable feature of wet rice cultivation is the capability of a plot to yield a harvest year in and year out, with little or no need to be left uncultivated for extended periods in order to recover its fertility.Indeed,where the seasonal availability of water is adequate, the same plot may yield two and even three harvests in a single year, being under almost continuous cultivation. This capability has been attributed to four factors.the protection from erosion the water gives the soil, the high water table of the rivers’ floodplains that reduces the leaching of nutrients from the soil,the replacement of soil nutrients by the silt carried in the rivers’ flooding, and nitrogen fixation (the conversion of atmospheric nitrogen into forms usable by plants) from the blue-green algae that live in the floodwater,The chief benefit of wet rice-its ability to grow in the same field year after year-is then related to the practice of flooding the fields and allowing the water to remain throughout most of the maturation period
According to paragraph 2, the flooding of wet rice fields is responsible for each of the following benefits EXCEPT
Areduced erosion
Bharvests that increase yearly in amount
Cthe regular addition of nutrients to the soil
Dnitrogen fixation
4
Perhaps the most remarkable feature of wet rice cultivation is the capability of a plot to yield a harvest year in and year out, with little or no need to be left uncultivated for extended periods in order to recover its fertility.Indeed,where the seasonal availability of water is adequate, the same plot may yield two and even three harvests in a single year, being under almost continuous cultivation. This capability has been attributed to four factors.the protection from erosion the water gives the soil, the high water table of the rivers’ floodplains that reduces the leaching of nutrients from the soil,the replacement of soil nutrients by the silt carried in the rivers’ flooding, and nitrogen fixation (the conversion of atmospheric nitrogen into forms usable by plants) from the blue-green algae that live in the floodwater,The chief benefit of wet rice-its ability to grow in the same field year after year-is then related to the practice of flooding the fields and allowing the water to remain throughout most of the maturation period
What is the role of the last sentence of paragraph 2?
ATo apply the ideas of the paragraph to a new case
BTo summarize the ideas of the paragraph
CTo emphasize a surprising consequence of the ideas of the paragraph
DTo explain why the ideas of the paragraph are important
5
Despite the advantages of their methods, wet rice farmers must solve problems relating to the management of water, because the proper supply of water at the proper time is so important for a good yield. It is more efficient if storage ponds or tanks, canals, ditches, and other improvements are held and managed communally, because less labor is required to construct and maintain them than if each family owned its own Water may be stored in small lakes or ponds or captured and held in tanks until it is used to flood the fields The water level must be controlled fairly precisely while the rice is growing If it rises too high, the plants will be unable to photosynthesize and if it falls too low, the benefits of having standing water in the fields will be reduced Unless the land is naturally flat, the plots, therefore, must be leveled to keep the height of the water constant in different areas of the field The water level must be controlled by low dikes, usually constructed of earth, which can be easily breached to dram the plot for the harvest.
The word “captured” in the passage is closest in meaning to
Atrapped
Btransported
Cshared
DCleaned
6
Despite the advantages of their methods, wet rice farmers must solve problems relating to the management of water, because the proper supply of water at the proper time is so important for a good yield. It is more efficient if storage ponds or tanks, canals, ditches, and other improvements are held and managed communally, because less labor is required to construct and maintain them than if each family owned its own Water may be stored in small lakes or ponds or captured and held in tanks until it is used to flood the fields The water level must be controlled fairly precisely while the rice is growing If it rises too high, the plants will be unable to photosynthesize and if it falls too low, the benefits of having standing water in the fields will be reduced Unless the land is naturally flat, the plots, therefore, must be leveled to keep the height of the water constant in different areas of the field The water level must be controlled by low dikes, usually constructed of earth, which can be easily breached to dram the plot for the harvest.
According to paragraph 3, uneven land must be leveled before it is suitable for wet rice growing because
Aless water is needed to flood every part of a field when the field is level
Bthe heght of water in which rice plants are growing must be kept constant
Cthe waler levels in the fields must be reduced for the harvesl
Ddraining the plots for the harvest is faster when the land is leveled
7
Managing the supply of the water that is so critical in growing wet rice requires sophisticated organization, especially with respect to cooperative labor patterns and rights of access to both land and water. Each family may work its lands on its own, but who will construct and maintain public irrigation works? Who will decide when dikes, dams, ditches, and tanks need to be repaired, and how will the labor to repair them be coordinated? The water used on the fields of one family is not available to other families. How shall the consumption of water be coordinated? Who will get how much water and when? How. in short, will use rights to water be determined?
According to paragraph 4 in wel rice areas all of the following are problems that require cooperation to solve EXCEPT
Adeciding how available water should be distributed among its different users
Borganizing labor to repair water storage facilities
Carranging for the construction of irrigation works
Densuring that enough workers are available to cultivate each plot
8
In one example of organizing the allocation of water to the fields,the Sinhalese of the dry zone of Sri Lanka draw water from a collectively owned rain-fed reservoir constructed of earth. All of the cultivated land of a village is in a single area, below the reservoir. The entire field is laid out into diked plots of equal size. Each plot receives a fixed amount of water from the communal reservoir, though the number of families working a single plot varies Poor families must share water rights of access to one plot with other families, whereas richer families have access to several plots. Assigning each plot (rather than each family) the same proportion of irrigation water reduces the chance that a given plot will receive insufficient moisture.
Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in thepassage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information
APoor families who must share a plot have access to less water from the communal reservoir than do rich fames who have their own plots
BEach plot receives the same amounl of waler from the communal reservoir regardless of the number of families who work that plot which varies depending on their wealth
CBecause each plot receives the same amounl of water from the communal reservoir, poor families have access to just as much water for their plots as wealthy families do
DThe amount of watereach plot receives from the communal reservoiris fixed according to the wealth of the families who have access Io that plot
9
The wet rice fields of Asia are the most productive of all preindustrial intensive agricultural systems. [■] As the term “wet rice” suggests, the method involves flooding the fields for most of the growing season. [■] In some areas the water comes entirely from the natural rainfall of the monsoons, but the water level often is controlled by artificial irrigation. [■] Most wet rice is, therefore,grown on the floodplains of rivers. [■] In parts of Southeast Asia,southern China,and the Himalayan fringes, wet rice is grown on terraced hillsides originally constructed centuries ago.
Look at the four squaresthat indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage
Moreover, wet rice is cultivated more widely and feeds more of this continent s rural populations than any othercrop.
Where would the sentence best fit？Click on a square sentence to the passage.
10
Wet rice farming ensures high yearly productivity forthe cultivation of Individual plots of land.
AThe most remarkable feature of wet rice farming is that crops can be continuously grown underwaler without the need fornutrients
BStoring waterand controlling the level of the waterare essential forsuccessful wet rice farming
CAlthough most of the cultivated land of a Sinhalese village is restricted to a particulararea below the reservoir, other plots are located outside the dry zone of Sri Lanka
DThe practice of flooding wet rice fields and allowing the waterto remain forextended periods allows the fertility level of individual fields to remain stable while tho land is cultivated year after year
EOrganization of communal waterstorage labor, and distribution requires a sophisticated management system
FEach Sinhalese family not only works its own lands but also helps to determine how much of its water consumption should be shared with other families
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