FOOD

FO R T HE FUTURE
A In 1845, a deadly disease struck the farms of Saving the Seeds
Ireland, killing all the Lumper potato plants.
D One solution to this problem is to collect and
The death of a single crop species might not
preserve the seeds of as many different plant
seem so important. But in Ireland, in 1845,
varieties as we can before they disappear.
people depended almost solely on the potato
This idea was first suggested by Russian
for food. The death of one species caused a
scientist Nikolay Vavilov. In the 1920s and
terrible famine.1 Now, some scientists are
1930s, he collected around 400,000 seeds from
worried that such a famine could happen
five continents. More recently, others have
again—but on a much wider scale.
continued the work he began. There are now
B Over the centuries, farmers have discovered around 1,700 seed banks in countries around
thousands of different species of food crops. the world. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault—
Each species has special qualities. Some can which preserves almost one million seed
be grown in very hot or cold climates. Others samples—has one of the largest collections.
are not affected by certain diseases. However,
E In the U.S. state of Iowa, Diane Ott Whealy
you won’t find many of these species in your
and her husband founded Heritage Farm—a
local supermarket. To feed the seven billion
place where people can store and trade seeds.
people on Earth, most farmers today are
Initially, Ott Whealy wanted to preserve
growing only species of plants that are easy
historic plant varieties, like the seeds her
to produce in large numbers. Meanwhile,
great-grandfather brought to the United States
thousands of other species are becoming
more than 100 years ago from Germany. But
extinct.2
the people at Heritage Farm don’t just store
C For example, in the Philippines, there were the seeds; they plant them. By doing this, they
once thousands of varieties of rice; now fewer are reintroducing foods into the marketplace
than 100 are grown there. In China, 90 percent that haven’t been grown for years. These
of the wheat varieties grown just a century ago food species are not just special in terms of
have disappeared. Experts believe that over the appearance or flavor. They also offer farmers
past century, we have allowed more than half of food solutions for the future, from the past.
the world’s food varieties to disappear.

1 A famine is a situation in which large numbers of people have little or no food.

2 If a species becomes extinct, it no longer exists.

14 Unit 1B
Unit 1B 15
READING COMPREHENSION

A. Choose the best answer for each question.

GIST 1. What is the reading mainly about?

a. how food species disappear
b. the need to preserve different food species
c. ways to increase the number of food species
PURPOSE 2. Why does the writer mention Ireland in the first
paragraph?
a. to give an example of why it is dangerous to
depend on a single crop species
b. to explain how worldwide interest in crop
varieties first developed This rare variety of wild
c. to describe how Irish researchers are searching corn now exists only in
for new crop varieties seed banks.

DETAIL 3. What is true about Nikolay Vavilov?

a. He was one of the first people to collect plant seeds.
b. He created the designs for the Svalbard Seed Vault.
c. He has worked in many seed banks around the world.
INFERENCE 4. Which statement would Diane Ott Whealy probably agree with?
a. Historic seeds are usually difficult to reintroduce to the marketplace.
b. It’s important to not only store seeds, but also plant them.
c. Foods grown from historic and new seeds generally have a similar taste.
INFERENCE 5. The infographic on page 15 shows .
a. that farmers in 1903 were producing less food than farmers today
b. that many different crop varieties were lost between 1903 and 1983
c. that today’s seed banks contain more varieties than those in 1903

MATCHING B. Match each statement with the place it describes.

a. China  b. Iowa, U.S.A.  c. Ireland  d. the Philippines  e. Svalbard

1. Historic plant varieties are being planted and sold here.

2. Many people died here because of a serious lack of food.

3. Only 10 percent of past wheat varieties now remain here.

4. There are now far fewer varieties of rice here than in the past.

5. One of the biggest seed banks in the world can be found here.

16 Unit 1B
READING SKILL

Identifying the Purpose of Paragraphs

Different paragraphs may perform different functions. Identifying their purpose can help you better
understand the organization of a text. Some paragraphs may have more than one function. Common
purposes include:

• to provide background information • to describe a situation or problem

• to introduce a topic • to report data as figures or statistics

• to present an argument • to summarize key ideas

• to offer or describe a solution • to provide examples or explanations

• to offer another side of an issue • to present a conclusion

IDENTIFYING A. Look back at Reading B. Choose the correct purpose of each paragraph.
PURPOSE
1. Paragraph A
a. to provide some historical background
b. to summarize the key ideas
2. Paragraph B
a. to offer another side of the issue
b. to describe a situation or problem
3. Paragraph C
a. to summarize some key ideas
b. to report data as supporting evidence
4. Paragraph D
a. to present a conclusion
b. to offer or describe a solution As well as seeds, some farmers are
5. Paragraph E working to preserve species of farm
a. to present an argument animals, such as this rare variety of
b. to provide an additional example chicken.

IDENTIFYING B. Now look back at Reading A. Note the purpose of each paragraph.
PURPOSE
1. Paragraph A:
2. Paragraph B:
3. Paragraph C:
4. Paragraph D:
5. Paragraph E:

Unit 1B 17
VOCABULARY PRACTICE

COMPLETION A. Complete the information. Circle the correct words.

Over 1,700 seed banks around the world keep seed

1
varieties / flavors from all 2qualities / continents
safe in the event of a large-3scale / produced global
crisis, such as a famine. The Svalbard Global Seed
Vault is one of the world’s largest. Director Cary Fowler
commented that the opening of the seed bank “marks
a 4seed / historic turning point in safeguarding the
world’s 5crop / flavor diversity.” The seeds are stored in
Cary Fowler inside the
a permanently chilled, earthquake-free zone 120 meters Svalbard Global Seed
above sea level, allowing them to remain high and dry. Vault on Spitsbergen
island
DEFINITIONS B. Match each word in red with its definition.
1. crop a. features or characteristics
2. scale b. how something tastes
3. seed c. to put forward an idea
4. produce d. important to the past
5. flavor e. a range of different types
6. variety f. to make or create
7. suggest g. the size or extent of something
8. historic h. part of a plant from which a new plant grows
9. continent i. land consisting of countries (e.g., Asia)
10. qualities j. a plant grown in large amounts, like wheat

COLLOCATIONS C. The adjectives in the box are used with certain nouns to mean “big” or “large.”
Complete the sentences using the words in the box.

high    strong    wide

1. Buffets often have a variety of dishes that you can try.

2. This coffee has a rather flavor.
3. The restaurant offers a range of -quality vegetarian options.

18 Unit 1B