Fill in each blank with a proper word chosen from the box.
Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one word more than you
need.
|
A.
decline B. invested C. scratching D. harvest E. farmers F. barely
G.
occurrence H. implementation I. unmarketable J. adjustments K. enemies
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Like many people acting on the desire to eat healthy and
local, Acropolis resident Eduardo Jimenez decided to plant a garden in his
backyard. He ploughed the soil, he planted the seeds, and he even set up a
fence to keep out the deer. Eduardo did everything right. Or so it seems.
However, when {#blank#}1{#/blank#} time has come, he has not one tomato, bean, or
leaf of lettuce to show for his hard work. How did this happen? The answer
comes in the form of a small, brown, particularly smelly insect: the stink bug.
Unlike their picky cousins, stink bugs feed on some 300
species of plants, including figs, blueberries, corn, and kiwi fruits as well
as soybeans, peas, and weeds. Although they do little damage to the plant
itself, they make the fruits and vegetables {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. For this reason, stink bugs pose the
most serious threat to the big agriculturalists and macro farm operators. Macro
farmers have more {#blank#}3{#/blank#} in their produce, and therefore have more to
lose. While hobbyists like Eduardo are left to face the disappointment of an
unsuccessful garden, macro farmers are forced to live with the loss of entire
tracts of cash crops—a fact that has left many {#blank#}4{#/blank#} able to clothe their children or put food on
the table.
Last season alone, several New Jersey pepper farmers saw 75%
of their crops damaged. Pennsylvania lost half of its peach population, and,
according to the US Apple Association, apple farmers in the mid-Atlantic states
lost $37 million. This year could be worse. As a result of this {#blank#}5{#/blank#} in the supply of fresh fruits and vegetables,
shoppers have seen {#blank#}6{#/blank#}—sometimes quite dramatic—in prices at
the grocery store. Prices of apples in Maryland are up 8%. In the
north-Atlantic states, prices for peppers shot up an astonishing 14%. Not only
are these items becoming more expensive, but they are also getting harder to
find. Last week, Marge Jenkins of Athens, Georgia reported having to check
three different stores before encountering a decent batch of peas. And this,
she assures us, is a regular {#blank#}7{#/blank#}. Accidentally brought from Asia, the
stink bug has no natural {#blank#}8{#/blank#} in America, and thus its population is rising
sharply. Reported sightings of stink bugs are becoming increasingly numerous,
as the dried, brown, trapezoidal(不规则四边形) shells of the dead bugs are
everywhere in some areas. This has farmers and scientists alike {#blank#}9{#/blank#} their heads in search of a remedy. Hope, they
believe, may lie with an Asian parasitic wasp(黄蜂), which helpfully lays its eggs inside
stink bug eggs.
The larvae(幼虫) of the wasp consume the stink bug
from the inside. But the {#blank#}10{#/blank#} of such a solution is still several years
away, as scientists must first determine if it is safe for the wasp to be
introduced into America. Until then, some farmers are resorting to homemade
traps. Others have even contemplated the use of peacocks and praying mantises,
which, they imagine, will gulp down the little stinkers.
