Unit2 Working the Land-Reading(1)

Unit2 Working the Land Reading

A Pioneer for All People Although he is one of China's most famous scientists,

Yuan Longping considers himself a farmer, for he works the land to do his research. Indeed, his sunburnt face and arms and his slim, strong body are just like those of millions of Chinese farmers,

for whom he has struggled for the past five decades. Dr Yuan Longping grows what is called super hybrid rice.

In 1974, he became the first agricultural pioneer in the world to grow rice that has a high output. This special strain of rice makes it possible to produce one-third more of the crop in the same fields.

Now more than 60% of the rice produced in China each year is from this hybrid strain. Born into a poor farmer's family in 1930, Dr Yuan graduated from Southwest Agricultural College in 1953.

Since then, finding ways to grow more rice has been his life goal. As a young man, he saw the great need for increasing the rice output.

At that time, hunger was a disturbing problem in many parts of the countryside. Dr Yuan searched for a way to increase rice harvests without expanding the area of the fields.

In 1950, Chinese farmers could produce only fifty million tons of rice.