IELTS Reading 練習 7 城市垂直農業（含題目+詳解）

Urban Vertical Farming

IELTS · 雅思備考 · 10 min read · 2026-04-25

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主題: Urban vertical farming and sustainability
文章重點: Vertical farming has become commercially real but its environmental case depends on clean electricity. It works for high-value greens, not staple crops.
難度: 中等 · Intermediate
建議時間: 17 分鐘

重要單字

vertical farming — growing crops in stacked indoor layers / 垂直農業
hydroponics — growing plants in nutrient water without soil / 水耕
aeroponics — growing plants by misting their roots / 氣霧栽培
photosynthesis — how plants make energy from light / 光合作用
closed-loop — a system that recycles its own resources / 閉迴路的
carbon footprint — the total CO2 emissions caused by an activity / 碳足跡

30 秒快速理解 30-second summary

Vertical farms grow crops indoors in stacked layers, using hydroponics or aeroponics and LED lighting. They save up to 95 per cent of water and need no pesticides, but they consume large amounts of electricity. On coal-heavy grids, the carbon footprint can be higher than field crops. Vertical farms are profitable today only for high-value items like salad greens, herbs and strawberries — not staples like wheat or rice.

逐段練習 Read paragraph by paragraph

1 段落 1 — From theory to commerce

Vertical farming — the practice of growing crops in stacked layers inside controlled indoor environments — has moved from a theoretical proposal to a commercial reality in less than two decades. The concept was popularised by the American ecologist Dickson Despommier in 2010, who argued that cities could meet a significant share of their fresh produce demand from buildings rather than fields. By 2023, commercial vertical farms were operating in more than thirty countries, with the largest single facility, in Dubai, producing more than three tonnes of leafy greens a day.

本段重要單字 (3)

stacked — placed on top of each other / 堆疊的
popularised — made widely known or accepted / 推廣、使流行
commercial — related to making money in business / 商業的

Quick Check · 隨堂小測

What did Dickson Despommier do for vertical farming in 2010?

A. He invented the technology from scratch.
B. He popularised the idea that cities could grow food in buildings.
C. He built the largest commercial farm in Dubai.

看答案 · Show answer

答案：B — B. He popularised the idea that cities could grow food in buildings.

The paragraph says he "popularised" the concept — note that "popularised" is not the same as "invented".

2 段落 2 — How vertical farms work

Most operations rely on either hydroponics, which circulates nutrient-rich water around plant roots, or aeroponics, which mists the roots directly. Soil is absent. Growth is driven by LED lighting tuned to specific wavelengths, typically a combination of red and blue light, which maximises photosynthesis while minimising wasted energy. Temperature, humidity and carbon-dioxide levels are tightly controlled, producing predictable yields unaffected by weather or season.

本段重要單字 (3)

circulates — moves around in a system / 循環
wavelengths — specific kinds of light measured by their length / 波長
yields — amounts of crop produced / 產量

Quick Check · 隨堂小測

Why are red and blue LEDs used rather than ordinary white light?

A. They are cheaper to manufacture than other LEDs.
B. They maximise photosynthesis while wasting less energy.
C. They sterilise the air around the plants.

看答案 · Show answer

答案：B — B. They maximise photosynthesis while wasting less energy.

The paragraph says red and blue LEDs are used because they "maximise photosynthesis while minimising wasted energy".

3 段落 3 — The advantages

Proponents highlight several advantages. Vertical farms use roughly 95 per cent less water than conventional agriculture, thanks to closed-loop irrigation. They require no pesticides, occupy little land and allow produce to be harvested metres from its point of sale, reducing transport emissions. Lettuce grown in a Tokyo vertical farm typically reaches supermarket shelves within six hours of cutting, against an average of five to seven days for imported equivalents.

本段重要單字 (3)

proponents — people who support an idea / 支持者
pesticides — chemicals used to kill insects on crops / 殺蟲劑
emissions — gases released into the air / 排放物

Quick Check · 隨堂小測

Which advantage of vertical farms is NOT mentioned in this paragraph?

A. They use far less water than conventional farms.
B. They produce cheaper lettuce than imports.
C. They cut transport emissions through nearby sale.

看答案 · Show answer

答案：B — B. They produce cheaper lettuce than imports.

The paragraph compares freshness (six hours versus five to seven days) — it does not say vertical-farm lettuce is cheaper.

4 段落 4 — The energy problem

Critics, however, point to energy. LED lighting, climate control and pumping together consume large amounts of electricity; unless this power comes from low-carbon sources, the climate benefits of reduced transport may be offset. A 2022 peer-reviewed study estimated that vertical farms in countries with coal-heavy grids produced lettuce with a carbon footprint up to four times higher than open-field equivalents.

本段重要單字 (3)

offset — cancel out by an opposite effect / 抵銷
peer-reviewed — checked by other experts before publication / 同行審查的
grid — a country's electricity supply network / 電網

Quick Check · 隨堂小測

Under what conditions can vertical farms be worse for the climate than field farms?

A. When the local electricity comes mainly from coal.
B. When transport distances are very long.
C. When pesticides are not used.

看答案 · Show answer

答案：A — A. When the local electricity comes mainly from coal.

The 2022 study found vertical farms in countries with "coal-heavy grids" produce lettuce with a carbon footprint up to four times higher.

5 段落 5 — Where it pays off

Current commercial viability remains narrow. Vertical farms produce economic returns mainly on high-value, short-shelf-life crops such as salad greens, herbs and strawberries. Staple crops — wheat, rice, potatoes — remain firmly the domain of traditional fields, and most analysts expect this to continue for the foreseeable future.

本段重要單字 (3)

viability — the ability to work successfully / 可行性
shelf-life — how long a product stays fresh / 保鮮期
staple crops — basic foods that people eat regularly / 主食作物

Quick Check · 隨堂小測

What does the writer suggest about the future of vertical farming for staple crops?

A. Wheat and rice will soon be grown mainly in vertical farms.
B. Staple crops are likely to keep being grown in traditional fields.
C. Staple crops have already replaced salad greens in vertical farms.

看答案 · Show answer

答案：B — B. Staple crops are likely to keep being grown in traditional fields.

The paragraph says staples "remain firmly the domain of traditional fields, and most analysts expect this to continue".

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閱讀前先看 Before you read

30 秒快速理解 30-second summary

逐段練習 Read paragraph by paragraph

1 段落 1 — From theory to commerce

2 段落 2 — How vertical farms work

3 段落 3 — The advantages

4 段落 4 — The energy problem

5 段落 5 — Where it pays off

每天 5 分鐘的系統練習

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