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set-up, separate… from, in turn, carry out, over time, focus on |
LONDON (Reuters)—Organic fruit is delivered right to the doorstep. That is what Gabriel Gold prefers, and he is willing to pay for it. If this is not possible, the 26-year-old computer technician will spend the extra money at the supermarket buying organic food.
"Organic product is always better," Gold said. "The food is free of pesticides, and you are generally supporting family farms instead of large farms. And more often than not it is locally grown and seasonal, so it is tasty. " Gold is one of the growing number of shoppers buying into the organic trend ， and supermarkets across Britain are counting on more like him as they grow their organic food business. But how many shoppers really know what they are getting, and why are they willing to pay a higher price for organic product? Market research shows that Gold and others who buy organic food can generally give clear reasons for their preferences—but their knowledge of organic food is far from complete. For example, small quantities of pesticides can be used on organic products. And about three quarters of organic food in Britain is not local but imported to meet the growing demand. "The demand for organic food is increasing by about one third every year, so it is a very fast-growing market," said Sue Flock, a specialist in this line of business.
When Sarasota students took bite of a freshly picked watermelon or mango, they knew the fruit came from a five-acre farm right in Sarasota instead of thousands of miles away, (fresh) and more nutritional.
The Sarasota Farm to School program is (actual) part of an initiative (倡议) headed by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, (plan) to increase Florida-based produce served in schools and offer healthier choices to students. In addition to nutritional value it offers, the program is (education) as well, allowing students to get involved in the agricultural side of working in the gardens.
Students from the program come out each Monday (harvest) crops that will eventually go to 67 Sarasota County cafeterias. The farm is crowded various kinds of fruits，squash, sunflowers and corn. For now, the farm is in its first growing season. Crops that (grow) in May are just starting to be harvested. Outside of the farm, students are engaging in (参与) some taste tests with they get from the gardens. It's through these tasting sessions that either a student or a farmer can get some (inform) about what crops should populate the farm.
Growing up on a small farm, I lived a life that I took for granted. My father worked in the city as a plumber (水暖工). He was not highly educated, but he was smart, looking at problems in an engineer's way. He was a man made of leather, brass and chewing tobacco who tried to teach my brother and me useful things, including respect. He also had a temper and was strict with us, for he would scold us when we made some careless mistakes. Sometimes, my father seemed like a distant enemy to me and I didn't like him very much.
One day I came home from primary school and his car was already there. Once inside, I was told by my mother that he didn't feel well. His back hurt. My father never missed work; in fact, when he came home, he went to the barn to work even more. I remember looking at him secretly around the corner as he lay on his bed in the middle of the day.
Later, my mother told me he got multiple myeloma (多发性骨髓瘤), a type of cancer. As the cancer grows, the person will shrink because the disease destroys the body's energy and the abnormal antibodies cause problems for other cells and tissue. Bones eventually look like Swiss cheese, and when they break, they may never heal. But I didn't realize that my father's time was rather limited and just treated him the same way I used to.
For the last year of my father's life, his entire day consisted of rising from his hospital bed in the living room and walking to his chair to sit and think. He was predictably in that chair when I came home one day during the ninth grade. I do not remember where my mother and brother were, but the two of us were alone.
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He asked me to sit down and what he told me still moves me these decades later.
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At that moment, I realized that he was doing more than telling.
