A farm planted levels or floors is called a vertical（垂直的）farm. A skyscraper type building can house a vertical farm. Since the garden is built upwards，rather than outwards，it requires much less space than a conventional farm.
The world is quickly running out of room for conventional farming. Vertical farms could be a key to this situation. An 18story vertical farm could feed as many as 50,000 people，all in an area which is the size of the average city block. Vertical farms in the city could cut down on transportation costs as well. Think about the amount of fuel it takes to transport food from farmland to city. The resources saved would be surprising. Besides saving travel time，food would be delivered in fresher condition and with less damage.
There is a growing concern about the use of pesticides(杀虫剂) in agriculture today. But the vertical farm would be a greenhouse type environment, avoiding the need for a large number of pesticides. Vertical farms can be built in a contained space，therefore they are an excellent solution for living well in an environment far different from our own. Hydroponics(水耕法) could be a big part of vertical gardening. This would reduce the amount of soil needed to grow food. Of course，not all food does well with this type of planting，but there are many crops that actually seem to do better.
In some climates，a lack of sunlight creates a short growing season. The solar power option may not work as well here. The addition of grow lights would make it possible to grow crops in vertical gardens in these areas .In other words，we could grow crops in areas where we never could before.
Vertical farms may just be a concept for now，but they are a concept that will solve many of our problems in the future.
【小题1】According to the passage, a vertical farm .A．is mainly built outwardsB．is dependent on solar powerC．is planted on levels upwardsD．is only an environmental friendly farm【小题2】Compared to the conventional farm, the vertical farm can .A．depend far less on sunlightB．greatly increase the use of soilC．help to protect the limited gardensD．reduce the use of harmful pesticides【小题3】It can be learned from the passage that vertical farms .A．have been put into useB．only use hydroponics to grow food C．need less room than conventional farmsD．may increase the transportation costs【小题4】What would be the best title for the passage?A．Vertical farms for our futureB．Ways to deal with future problemsC．Vertical farms and green skyscrapersD．Making Full Use of Our Limited LandC
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(答案→)C
解析：文章就是讲述了未来的垂直农业的具体情况。
【小题1】推理题。根据第一段2,3行Since the garden is built upwards，rather than outwards，it requires much less space than a conventional farm.
【小题2】推理题。根据第2段1,2行内容The world is quickly running out of room for conventional farming. Vertical farms could be a key to this situation.可知D正确。
【小题3】推理题。根据第2段3,4,5三行Vertical farms in the city could cut down on transportation costs as well. Think about the amount of fuel it takes to transport food from farmland to city. The resources saved would be surprising.可知C正确。
【小题4】主旨大意题。通读全文可知文章就是关于未来的垂直农业。