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When people think of farming today, they usually picture a tractor (ÍÏÀ­»ú) rather than horses in the farmland£®That's because tractors that relied on engines revolutionised farming in the late 1800s£®Now a new type of tractor can do the same in the 21st century£®

Agriculture has been changing dramatically in the last few decades£®The push for innovation is fed by the need to produce larger amounts of food for a growing world population£®Autonomous tractors may be the key to solving this challenge£®They can be used to carry out labour­intensive (ÀͶ¯Ãܼ¯ÐÍ) farming while allowing farmers to do other work£®A big plus is that it can increase crop output while reducing costs because the autonomous machines can work in all weather conditions without any rest£®

Part of push for automation is a shortage of farm workers due to people's desire to have higher paying jobs with better work conditions£®Farm owners are competing against companies like Amazon and restaurants that are raising wages to attract workers£®“With labour shortages and the increase in the hourly wages that have to be paid in order to be competitive, all of a sudden automation seems like a more reasonable decision£¬”said David Swartz, a professor at Penn State University£®

Many believe the time is ripe for an autonomous revolution because robotics is already in use in agriculture£®One company that is working to bring autonomous tractors into mainstream farming is Blue and White Robotics, an Israeli agricultural technology company, whose mission is to make a fully autonomous farm£®The company released an autonomous tractor kit in February 2021 that can be fixed on any existing tractor£®The kit includes camera detection, speed controls, as well as an anti­crash system£®Blue and White's kit is being used by West Coast growers in the USA£®It may soon come to a farm near you£®

1£®What contributes to the agricultural revolution according to Paragraph 2?

A£®The urge to feed more people£®

B£®The extreme weather conditions£®

C£®The need to reduce farming cost£®

D£®The desire for automatic farming£®

2£®What is Swartz's attitude to automation?

A£®Critical£®                          B£®Negative£®

C£®Supportive£®                        D£®Tolerant£®

3£®What can be inferred about Blue and White's kit?

A£®It has been widely used£®

B£®It can be made in many firms£®

C£®It can improve safety of tractors£®

D£®It will detect the way of farming£®

4£®What may be a suitable title for the text?

A£®Automation Is Transforming Agriculture

B£®Big Companies Are Making a Difference

C£®Driverless Tractors Are Worth Investing

D£®Traditional Farming Is Falling out of Date