A
From the nation's earliest days, farming has played a very important role in American economy and culture. Early in the nation's life, farmers were seen as typical examples of economic qualities such as hardworking, honest, kindhearted and independent.
American farmers think a number of factors lead to the success of their agriculture: The American Midwest has some of the richest soil in the world. Rainfall is enough over most areas of the country; even in some areas where there is not enough rainfall, the rivers and underground water can also support the farming. Besides, large capital investments (资本投入) and highly trained farmers have also been used to develop American agriculture.
The first two decades of the 20th century turned out to be the golden age of American agriculture. Farm prices were high as the demand (需求) for goods increased and land values rose. With the development of technology, the food production continued to increase. The good years of the early 20th century ended with falling prices following World War Ⅰ. At the end of World War Ⅱ， the farm economy faced the challenge of overproduction. During that time, because of progress in technology, some advanced machines and chemicals related to farming were widely used, and that meant production per hectare (公顷) was higher than ever. Today, we see a different set of farms trying to meet consumers'demands all over the world.
We can see a lot of changes on American agriculture over time. In 1940, there were 6 million farms averaging 67 hectares each. By the late 1990s, there were only about 2.2 million farms averaging 190 hectares in size. During the same period, farm employment decreased greatly — from 12.5 million in 1930 to 1.2 million in the 1990s. While production has doubled over the last 50 years, the number of farms has dropped by more than twothirds. Today, about 150,000 American farmers produce most of our food.
【语篇解读】 本文是一篇说明文。文章主要介绍了美国农业的历史及发展状况。
1．What did people think of farmers in America's early days?
A．People thought very highly of them.
B．People didn't like some of their lifestyles.
C．They didn't get enough attention from the society.
D．They were important for the development of technology.
答案与解析：A 推理判断题。根据第一段中的“farmers were seen as typical examples of economic qualities such as hardworking, honest, kindhearted and independent.”可知，在美国历史上，人们对农民的评价很高。
2．What does Paragraph 2 mainly talk about?
A．Why American agriculture is successful.
B．The social support for American agriculture.
C．How American farmers develop their agriculture.
D．The natural environment for American agriculture.
答案与解析：A 主旨大意题。通读第二段内容可知，本段主要讲述了美国农业之所以取得成功是有很多方面的原因的，并列举了一些原因。
3．How does the author mainly develop Paragraph 3?
A．By giving examples.
B．By giving descriptions.
C．By following the order of time.
D．By following the order of importance.
答案与解析：C 篇章结构题。根据第三段中的“The first two decades of the 20th century、World WarⅠ、At the end of World WarⅡ”和Today等信息点可知，第三段是按时间顺序展开的。
