Unit6 At one with nature Longji Rice Terraces 配套练习 2022-2023学年外研版 2019 必修第一册.docx

PAGE PAGE 5 Unit6 At one with nature Longji Rice Terraces 配套练习 学 习 材 料 Longji Rice Terraces 1 Imagine mountains wrapped in silver water, shining in the spring sun. Summer sees the mountains turn bright green with growing rice. During autumn, these same mountains are gold, and in winter they are covered in sheets of white frost. These are the colours of the Longji Rice Terraces. 2 These terraces were built by the local Zhuang and Yao people, to whom Guangxi is home. Starting in the Yuan Dynasty, work on the terraces took hundreds of years, until its completion in the early Qing Dynasty. Reaching as far as the eye can see, these terraces cover tall mountains, often from the bottom to the very top. 3 So why did these people go to so much trouble to turn the entire mountains into terraces? Firstly, there are few large, flat areas of land in the region. Building the terraces therefore meant that they could increase the areas in which they could grow rice. Secondly, although the region has plenty of rain, the mountains are steep and Earth is shallow. The flat terraces catch the rainwater and prevent the soil from being washed away. 4 But perhaps what is most significant is the way in which people have worked in harmony with nature to make these terraces and grow rice. The terraces are cleverly designed, with hundreds of waterways that connect with each other. During the rainy season, it is along these waterway that rainwater moves down the mountains and into the terraces. The sun heats the water and turns it into vapour. This forms clouds from which rain falls down onto the mountain terraces once again. These terraces also provide a perfect environment for birds and fish, some of which feed on insects that can harm the rice crops. 5 Although modern technology could help produce more crops, the rice growers are people for whom traditions hold much value. This knowledge is passed down through families, which means that new generations continue to use ancient meth