Not long ago, people could only buy organic food in small shops. Today it is common in most major supermarkets. The reason for the increase is that more and more people are demanding food grown without chemicals. Since the 1990s, organic farm production has gone up 20 percent every year. This pattern is expected to continue around the globe.
Australia leads the world in land used for organic agriculture. It has four times as much land devoted to organic farming as all of Asia. However, most of the land is not very fertile, and it only produces a modest amount of food. Argentina is a distant second, followed by Brazil, the United States and China. In Africa, only a very small amount of land is registered for organic farming. That does not mean Africa relies on chemicals. In fact, many farmers do not use chemicals because they cannot afford them. Yet there are no programs for these farmers to prove they do not use chemicals. Without these programs their food can never be approved organic.
India has had the most dramatic recent increase in organic farming. Like many other countries, India sees continual growth in organic food sales around the world. This, of course, leads to growth in profits. Like India, many countries are trying to increase commercial organic farming to get a share of the sales. This has led to criticism. Some people believe that organic farming should not just be about making money. They think the goal is to help the environment. Others say organic farming will not continue if it is not profitable. They say that people should be able to make money while providing food that is healthy to mankind.
语篇解读：随着有机食品的热销，近年来有机农业也在逐步升温。但是，人们对有机农业的快速发展却看法不一。
1．What is the passage mainly about?
A．Organic food has become much more common.
B．People do not want to eat food with chemicals in it.
C．Farming organically is growing around the world.
D．Countries all want to make money by organic farming.
解析：选C 主旨大意题。通读全文可知，本文举例说明了有机农业在全球的快速发展：澳大利亚拥有世界上最多的有机农田，阿根廷、巴西、美国和中国紧随其后，印度在有机农业方面的发展最为迅速。因此选C。
2．Why do people want to increase organic farming?
A．More and more people demand chemicals to grow food.
B．Profits from organic farming help make approval programs.
C．There are fewer chemicals available to the human beings.
D．Organic food is good for the earth and the human beings.
解析：选D 细节理解题。根据最后一段倒数第三句和最后一句可知，人们想发展有机农业的原因是有机农业有利于环境，且对人的身体健康有好处。
3．From the passage, it can be said that ________.
A．India uses the least land to farm organically
B．the US is the fourth largest organic farming country
C．Brazil uses less land to farm organically than China
D．China and India have the same amount of organic farmland
解析：选B 细节理解题。根据第二段前四句可知，澳大利亚拥有世界上最多的有机农田，阿根廷、巴西、美国和中国紧随其后。因此，B项正确。
4．It can be inferred from the passage that ________.
A．people who eat food with chemicals have shorter lifespan
B．India will soon become the largest grower of organic food
C．more countries will farm organically as the environment gets worse
D．there will be fewer organic farms if demand for organic food goes down
解析：选D 推理判断题。根据第一段和最后一段第四、五句可知，因为有机食品的热销，有机农业才得以迅速发展。由此可推知，如果人们对有机食品的需求量降低了，有机农业的规模也会随之变小。
