In early April,Justin Stephen,a farmer from a town in south India's Niligiri mountains,was hard-pressed.As India's lockdown came into effect on the midnight of March 25,the prime season for harvesting avocados (牛油果) was just beginning.Every month,from February to September,the trees on Stephen's two-acre farmlands produced a rich harvest of roughly 4000 avocados.The fruit stays fresh only three days after being picked.So getting the produce to market as quickly as possible is a priority.
Even in previous years,Stephen had difficulty connecting with key markets in Indian cities and transporting the avocados on time because his farm,bordering a jungle,wasn't as accessible.There wasn't a reliable network of trucks to transport the products.And transport costs were high.
In mid-April,when he was staring at mounting financial losses and crop wastage,a friend suggested that he contact Harvesting Farmer Network (HFN),a website run by Ruchit Garg,a tech entrepreneur (企業(yè)家).Garg runs a tech company called Harvesting,which uses satellite data and artificial intelligence to identify,measure and monitor cropland.
When social media erupted with videos of anxious farmers throwing produce into rivers and onto streets because of the pandemic (瘟疫) travel restrictions,Garg's heart went out to them. "I could feel their pain.I knew I had to do something," he said.
Garg launched HFN on April 12 to address some of the farmers' challenges.Farmers can join HFN free of charge and display their fresh produce to customers across India.If a customer is interested in buying,they place their order on the site.Once farmers receive their orders,they can organize deliveries to the customers themselves.For farmers unable to arrange for transport,Garg has arranged for lorries and HFN vehicles to transport produce from the farms to the customers.
So far,he says that HFN has helped deliver over one million pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables from over 2000 farmers to customers across the country.
(1)What made Justin Stephen in a state of great difficulty in April?
C
C
A.Farm work on his own land.
B.A shortage of fruit harvesters.
C.Produce transportation and sales.
D.Physical discomfort from lockdown.
(2)What inspired Garg to launch Harvesting Farmer Network?
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D
A.Huge commercial profits.
B.Advancement of the technology.
C.His judgment on the sudden disease.
D.Farmers' loss on their abandoned produce.
(3)What is a benefit of applying Garg's HFN?
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D
A.Increasing storage quality.
B.Saving transportation costs.
C.Reducing harvesting time.
D.Improving marketing efficiency.
(4)What is the purpose of the text?
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C
A.To explain a social problem.
B.To tell a heart-warming story.
C.To recommend a high tech project.
D.To inform a marketing experience.