I’m going to report on a case study of a programme which has been set up to help rural populations in Mozambique, a largely agricultural country in South-East Africa.
The programme worked with three communities in Chicualacuala district, near the Limpopo River. This is a dry and arid region, with unpredictable rainfall. Because of this, people in the area were unable to support themselves through agriculture and instead they used the forest as a means of providing themselves with an income, mainly by selling charcoal. However, this was not a sustainable way of living in the long term, as they were rapidly using up this resource.
To support agriculture in this dry region, the programme focused primarily on making use of existing water resources from the Limpopo River by setting up systems of irrigation 【Q31】, which would provide a dependable water supply for crops and animals. The programme worked closely with the district government in order to find the best way of implementing this. The region already had one farmers’ association, and it was decided to set up two more of these. These associations planned and carried out activities including water management, livestock breeding and agriculture, and it was notable that in general, women 【Q32】 formed the majority of the workforce.
It was decided that in order to keep the crops safe from animals, both wild and domestic, special areas should be fenced off where the crops could be grown. The community was responsible for creating these fences, but the programme provided the necessary wire 【Q33】 for making them.
Once the area had been fenced off, it could be cultivated. The land was dug, so that vegetables and cereals appropriate to the climate could be grown, and the programme provided the necessary seeds 【Q34】 for this. The programme also provided pumps so that water could be brought from the river in pipes to the fields. However, the labour was all provided by local people, and they also provided and put up the posts 【Q35】 that supported the fences around the fields.
Once the programme had been set up, its development was monitored carefully. The farmers were able to grow enough produce not just for their own needs, but also to sell. However, getting the produce to places where it could be marketed was sometimes a problem, as the farmers did not have access to transport 【Q36】, and this resulted in large amounts of produce, especially vegetables, being spoiled. This problem was discussed with the farmers’ associations and it was decided that in order to prevent food from being spoiled, the farmers needed to learn techniques for its preservation. 【Q37】
There was also an additional initiative that had not been originally planned, but which became a central feature of the programme. This was when farmers started to dig holes for tanks in the fenced-off areas and to fill these with water and use them for breeding fish 【Q38】 – an important source of protein. After a time, another suggestion was made by local people which hadn’t been part of the programme’s original proposal, but which was also adopted later on. They decided to try setting up colonies of bees 【Q39】, which would provide honey both for their own consumption and to sell.
So what lessons can be learned from this programme? First of all, it tells us that in dry, arid regions, if there is access to a reliable source of water, there is great potential for the development of agriculture. In Chicualacuala, there was a marked improvement in agricultural production, which improved food security and benefited local people by providing them with both food and income. However, it’s important to set realistic timelines for each phase of the programme, especially for its design 【Q40】, as mistakes made at this stage may be hard to correct later on.
The programme demonstrates that sustainable development is possible in areas where …
Complete the notes below.
Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.
听前预测：提示词为 was, 此处应填名词。
题目解析：本题的难点在于题干中没有特别好的定位词，且此处要填的是主语信息，因此在做题过程中需要结合听前预测和对语义的理解抓取答案。在听到与题干中 main priority 相关的信息 focused primarily on 时可判断答案信息即将出现，可锁定答案句：“... by setting up systems of irrigation, which would provide a dependable water supply for crops and animals.” 其中 provide a dependable water supply 替换了题干中的 ensure the supply of water，故根据预判信息，可知答案为 Irrigation
听前预测：定位词为 farmers' associations; 提示词为 was done by，此处应填名词。
题目解析：本题在预判过程中需要理解题干的整体意思以及提示词的作用，由题干可知，此处应填能完成大部分工作的名词信息，可能是一类人，也可能是某种动物或工具。定位词 farmers' associations 以单数形式出现后，可锁定答案句：“... and it was notable that in general, women formed the majority of the workforce.” 其中 formed the majority of the workforce 替换了题干中的 Most of the work was done by，故根据预判信息，可知答案为women。
听前预测：定位词为 fences; 提示词为 provided、for，此处应填名词。
题目解析：本题难度稍大，考生需要在预判过程中把握好讲座的整体结构，从而判断应填入的信息性质和内容。由题干可知，此处考查的是制作 fences 所需的材料类名词，在做题的过程中带着这个预判信息去听即可。通过定位词 fences 可锁定答案句：“... but the programme provided the necessary wire for making them.”其中 them 指代的就是前面的 fences，因此答案为wire(s)。
听前预测：定位词为 crops; 提示词为题干前的项目符号“-”，此处应填名词。
题目解析：同上一题，考生需要在预判过程中把握好讲座的整体结构，从而判断应填入的信息性质和内容。此外，通过题干前的项目符号可知，本题与上一题为并列关系。本题定位词 crops 被替换为具体的 vegetables and cereals，答案句为：“... the programme provided the necessary seeds for this." 其中 appropriate 替换了题干中的 suitable，因此答案为 seed(s)。
听前预测：定位词为 labour、fences; 提示词为题干前的项目符号“-”、for，此处应填名词
题目解析：通过题干前的项目符号可知，本题与上一条信息 labour 为并列关系。定位词 labour 原词重现后，答案信息由并列信号词 and 引导：“... they also provided and put up the posts that supported the fences around the fields." 故根据预判信息，可知答案为 posts。
听前预测：定位词为 marketing、produce; 提示词为 lack of，此处应填名词。
题目解析：定位词 produce 原词重现后，另一定位词 marketing 以动词形式出现，不难听出，答案句为：“... as the farmers did not have access to transport..." 其中 was sometimes a problem 替换了题干中的 was sometimes difficult，did not have access to 替换了题干中的 lack of，直接抓取其后的名词 transport 即可。
听前预测：定位词为 Training、food; 提示词为 food，此处应填名词。
题目解析：本题难度较大，既要听出题干中信息与录音中信息的替换，又要消化答案句中的指代用法。定位词 food 原词重现后，答案信息随即出现：“... the farmers needed to learn techniques for its preservation.”其中 learn 对应定位词 Training， techniques 替换了题干中的 methods，its 指代的就是前面的 food，因此答案为 preservation。
听前预测：定位词为 Farmers; 提示词为 could be kept，此处应填名词。
题目解析：本题不难，由题干可知，此处考查的是可以存放的物品类名词或可以饲养的动物类名词。定位词 Farmers 原词重现后，带着预判信息去抓取物品类或动物类名词，很容易即可找到答案 fish(es)，录音中的 dig holes for tanks in the fenced-off areas 和 fill these with water 对应题干中的 made special places，breeding 替换了题干中的 be kept。
听前预测：定位词为 Local people; 提示词为 keeping，此处应填名词。
题目解析：本题的考查方向与上一题的相似，考查的也是可以存放的物品类名词或可以饲养的动物类名词。定位词 Local people 原词重现后，带着预判信息很容易即可找到答案 bees，录音中的 After a time 替换了题干中的later，another suggestion 替换了题干中的 suggested。
听前预测： 定位词为 Enough time; 提示词为 the、phase，此处应填形容词或名词。
题目解析：在听到上一条信息 food and income 时可判断答案信息即将出现，答案信息由转折信号词 However 引导出来：“... it's important to set realistic timelines for each phase of the programme, especially for its design ...”其中 especially 替换了题干中的 particularly，故根据预判信息，抓取可修饰 phase 的名词 design 即可。注意此处定位词 Enough time 被替换为了 realistic timelines，不太容易听出，所以在做题时不可以只盯着定位词。