The world economy has run into a brick wall. Despite countless warnings in recent years about the need to address a potential hunger crisis in poor countries and an energy crisis worldwide, world leaders failed to think ahead. The result is a global food crisis. Wheat, corn and rice prices have more than doubled in the past two years. And oil prices have increased more than three times since the start of 2004. These food-price increases, combined with increasing energy costs, will slow if not stop economic growth in many parts of the world and will even affect political stability. Practical solutions to these problems do exist, but we'll have to start thinking ahead and acting globally.
Here are three steps to ease the current food crisis and avoid the potential for a global crisis. The first is to promote the dramatic success of Malawi, a country in southern Africa, which three years ago established a special fund to help its farmers get fertilizer and seeds with high productivity. Malawi’s harvest doubled after just one year. An international fund based on the Malawi model would cost a mere $10 per person annually in the rich world, or $10 billion altogether.
Second, the U.S. and Europe should abandon their policies of paying partly for the change of food into biofuels (生物燃料). The U.S. government gives farmers a taxpayer-financed payment of 51 cents per gallon of ethanol (乙醇) changed from corn. There may be a case for biofuels produced on lands that do not produce foods — tree crops, grasses and wood products — but there’s no case for the government to pay to put the world’s dinner into the gas tank.
Third, we urgently need to weather-proof the world’s crops as soon and as effectively as possible. For a poor farmer, sometimes something as simple as a farm pond — which collects rainwater to be used in dry weather — can make the difference between a good harvest and a bad one. The world has already committed to establishing a Climate Adaptation Fund to help poor regions climate-proof vital economic activities such as food production and health care but has not yet acted upon the promise.
小题1: An international fund based on the Malawi model would______.
A．cost each of the developed countries $10 billion per year
B．give poor farmers access to fertilizer and highly productive seeds
C．decrease the food prices as well as the energy prices
D．aim to double the harvest in southern African countries in a year小题2:With the second step, the author expresses the idea that ______.
A．we should get alternative forms of fuel in any way
B．it is misleading to put tree crops into the gas tank
C．it is not wise to change food crops into gas
D．biofuels should be developed on a large scale小题3:Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A．The world has made a serious promise to build farm ponds.
B．A Climate Adaptation Fund has been established to help poor.
C．A rain-collecting pond is a simple safeguard against dry weather.
D．It makes a great difference whether we develop wood products or not.小题4:In the passage, the author calls on us to______.
A．slow down but not to stop economy
B．act now so as to relieve the global food shortage
C．achieve economic growth and political stability
D．develop tree crops, grasses and wood products