本书试图按教育部新制定的《大学英语课程教学要求》，为已经达到大学英语一般要求的学生，提供适合于提高阶段英语学习的教材。本教材选择农业工程的前沿性科普知识为内容，拓宽学生的知识面，使学生在学习英语的过程中，了解农业科技领域的创新与发展；同时通过听、说、读、写、译训练，进一步提高英语综合应用能力，为开展双语教学、直接阅读英语科技文献和用英语进行科技交流打下一定基础。

Unit One Sustainable Farming

Text A The New Sustainable Farm

Text B The Pros and Cons of Modern Farming

Unit Two Agricultural Mechanization

Text A Greatest Achievements---Agricultural Mechanization

Text B Potato Seed Cutting to Improve Planter Spacing

      Powell Manufacturing--Tobacco Mechanization Specialist

Unit Three Cropping Techniques

Text A Escalating Diversity and Stability to a Higher Level

Text B Farmscaping to Enhance Biological Control

Unit Four Chemical Control

Text A Drift Control

Text B "Natural" Biopesticide to Be Developed

Unit Five Soil Management

Text A Plant Nutrients, Soil Fertility and Grid Sampling

Text B Acid Eats into Farm Incomes

Unit Six Water Resources

Text A Rainwater Harvesting: a New Water Source

Text B Water Scarcity: Forecasting the Future with Soottv Data

Unit Seven Energy Resources

Text A Oceans of Electricity

Text B Power Harvests

Unit Eight Food Processing

Text A Computers Control Flexible Manufacturing

Text B The Potential of Electro-Technologies for the Processing

      of Foods

Unit Nine Automation

Text A Agricultural Automation in the New Millennium

Text B Robot Milkers Expected to Double

      in Ontario by Year.End

Unit Ten Remote-Sensing Technologies

Text A Remote Sensing Keeps an Eye on Natural Resources

Text B Agriculture Remote Sensing: Getting a Closer Look

Glossary

Key to Exercises

Chinese Translation for Text A

New Words

Phrases and Expressions

Proper Names