雅思阅读考试中每篇文章的长度为700-1300词。文体形式基本遵循说明文或议论文这两种模式中的一种。环球教育魏维老师选取剑桥雅思真题系列11中Test 1的第一篇文章，进行统计，全文共含771个单词（从标题开始计算，一直统计到文章正文最后一个单词）。

　　文章后的第一个题型为单句填空题，之前大魏老师已写过一篇文章"如何攻克雅思阅读单句填空题"，探讨本题型的解题策略与方法，本文不再赘述。

　　本文旨在通过这组题型及对应原文，分析官方出题原则，为各位考生梳理雅思阅读所考查的核心技能。

　　Questions 1-7

　　Complete the sentences below.

　　Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

　　Write your answers in boxes 1-7 on your answer sheet.

　　Indoor farming

　　1.Some food plants, including __________, are already grown indoors.

　　2.Vertical farms would be located in __________, meaning that there would be less need to take them long distances to customers.

　　3.Vertical farms could use methane from plants and animals to produce __________.

　　4.The consumption of __________ would be cut because agricultural vehicles would be unnecessary.

　　5.The fact that vertical farms would need __________ light is a disadvantage.

　　6.One form of vertical farming involves planting in __________ which are not fixed.

　　7.The most probable development is that food will be grown on __________ in towns and cities.

　　环球教育发现：以上每道题目指令清晰，官方在这组题目最开头设置了小标题Indoor farming，让考生能够更加专注于搜索原文中与标题以及第一题关键词有联系的内容。有一个常见疑问：为了解答出这7道题目，究竟在原文中需要阅读多少比例的有效内容呢？接下来，我们共同进行探寻：

　　Crop-growing skyscrapers

　　By the year 2050, nearly 80% of the Earth's population will live in urban centres. Applying the most conservative estimates to current demographic trends, the human population will increase by about three billion people by then. An estimated 109 hectares of new land (about 20% larger than Brazil) will be needed to grow enough food to feed them, if traditional farming methods continue as they are practised today. At present, throughout the world, over 80% of the land that is suitable for raising crops is in use. Historically, some 15% of that has been laid waste by poor management practices. What can be done to ensure enough food for the world's population to live on?

　　The concept of indoor farming is not new, since hothouse production of tomatoes and other produce has been in vogue for some time. (Q1出处，共23词)What is new is the urgent need to scale up this technology to accommodate another three billion people. Many believe an entirely new approach to indoor farming is required, employing cutting-edge technologies. One such proposal is for the 'Vertical Farm'. The concept is of multi-storey buildings in which food crops are grown in environmentally controlled conditions. Situated in the heart of urban centres, they would drastically reduce the amount of transportation required to bring food to consumers. (Q2出处，共21词) Vertical farms would need to be efficient, cheap to construct and safe to operate. If successfully implemented, proponents claim, vertical farms offer the promise of urban renewal, sustainable production of a safe and varied food supply (through year-round production of all crops), and the eventual repair of ecosystems that have been sacrificed for horizontal farming.

　　It took humans 10,000 years to learn how to grow most of the crops we now take for granted. Along the way, we despoiled most of the land we worked, often turning verdant, natural ecozones into semi-arid deserts. Within that same time frame, we evolved into an urban species, in which 60% of the human population now lives vertically in cities. This means that, for the majority, we humans have shelter from the elements, yet we subject our food-bearing plants to the rigours of the great outdoors and can do no more than hope for a good weather year. However, more often than not now, due to a rapidly changing climate, that is not what happens. Massive floods, long droughts, hurricanes and severe monsoons take their toll each year, destroying millions of tons of valuable crops.

　　The supporters of vertical farming claim many potential advantages for the system. For instance, crops would be produced all year round, as they would be kept in artificially controlled, optimum growing conditions. There would be no weather-related crop failures due to droughts, floods or pests. All the food could be grown organically, eliminating the need for herbicides, pesticides and fertilisers. The system would greatly reduce the incidence of many infectious diseases that are acquired at the agricultural interface. Although the system would consume energy, it would return energy to the grid via methane generation from composting non-edible parts of plants. (Q3出处，共22词) It would also dramatically reduce fossil fuel use, by cutting out the need for tractors, ploughs and shipping. (Q4出处，共18词)

　　A major drawback of vertical farming, however, is that the plants would require artificial light. (Q5出处，共15词) Without it, those plants nearest the windows would be exposed to more sunlight and grow more quickly, reducing the efficiency of the system. Single-storey greenhouses have the benefit of natural overhead light: even so, many still need artificial lighting. A multi-storey facility with no natural overhead light would require far more. Generating enough light could be prohibitively expensive, unless cheap, renewable energy is available, and this appears to be rather a future aspiration than a likelihood for the near future.

　　One variation on vertical farming that has been developed is to grow plants in stacked trays that move on rails. (Q6出处，共20词) Moving the trays allows the plants to get enough sunlight. This system is already in operation, and works well within a single-storey greenhouse with light reaching it from above: it is not certain, however, that it can be made to work without that overhead natural light.

　　Vertical farming is an attempt to address the undoubted problems that we face in producing enough food for a growing population. At the moment, though, more needs to be done to reduce the detrimental impact it would have on the environment, particularly as regards the use of energy. While it is possible that much of our food will be grown in skyscrapers in future, most experts currently believe it is far more likely that we will simply use the space available on urban rooftops. (Q7出处，共36词)

　　环球教育统计后发现：如果考生熟练掌握单句填空题的解题步骤，培养精读与泛读能力，则只需要从共771单词的全文篇幅中，有目的性的挑选阅读7个单句共155词，从而获得共13道题目中对应7道题目的分数。前者篇幅所占比例是20.1%，后者分数所占比例是53.8%。

　　换句话说，如果洞察雅思阅读出题原则，以及有针对性来提升自己的阅读技能，那么任何一位烤鸭可以实现只用阅读全文五分之一篇幅的内容，却能斩获一大半的分数。

　　最后总结，雅思阅读考试重点考查烤鸭的一种阅读理念或者说是阅读技能，即"精读中的泛读，泛读中的精读"（英文解释为A qualified IELTS candidate is able to switch from intensive reading to extensive reading or vice versa simultaneously when they complete one passage and its questions.） 希望各位烤鸭在平时备考中，刻意训练这方面的阅读技能。

　　参考答案如下：

　　第1题 -- tomatoes

　　第2题 -- urban centres/centers

　　第3题 -- energy

　　第4题 -- fossil fuel

　　第5题 -- artificial

　　第6题 -- (stacked) trays

　　第7题 -- (urban) rooftops