And of how to sell it. Emmanuel-Jones joins a herd of wealthy fugitives from city life who are bringing a new commercial know-how to British farming. Britain's burgeoning farmers' markets—numbers have doubled to at least 500 in the last five years—swarm with specialty cheesemakers, beekeepers or organic smallholders who are redeploying the business skills they learned in the city. "Everyone in the rural community has to come to terms with the fact that things have changed." Says Emmanuel-Jones. "You can produce the best food in the world, but if you don't know how to market it, you are wasting your time. We are helping the traditionalists to move on."
The emergence of the new class of superpeasants reflects some old yearnings. If the British were the first nation to industrialize, they were also the first to head back to the land. "There is this romantic image of the countryside that is particularly English," says Alun Howkins of the University of Sussex, who reckons the population of rural England has been rising since 1911. Migration into rural areas is now running at about 100,000 a year, and the hunger for a taste of the rural life has kept land prices buoyant even as agricultural incomes tumble. About 40 percent of all farmland is now sold to "lifestyle. buyers" rather than the dwindling number of traditional farmers, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
What's new about the latest returnees is their affluence and zeal for the business of producing quality foods, if only at a micro-level. A healthy economy and surging London house prices have helped to ease the escape of the would-be rustics. The media recognize and feed the fantasy. One of the big TV hits of recent years, the "River Cottage" series, chronicled the attempts of a London chef to run his own Dorset farm.
Naturally, the newcomers can't hope to match their City salaries, but many are happy to trade any loss of income for the extra job satisfaction. Who cares if there's no six-figure annual bonus when the land offers other incalculable compensations?
Besides, the specialist producers can at least depend on a burgeoning market for their products. Today's eco-aware generation loves to seek out authentic ingredients. "People like me may be making a difference in a small way," Jan McCourt, a onetime investment banker now running his own 40-hectare spread in the English Midlands stocked with rare breeds.
Optimists see signs of far-reaching change: Britain isn't catching up with mainland Europe; it's leading the way. "Unlike most other countries, where artisanal food production is being eroded, here it is being recovered," says food writer Matthew Fort. "It may be the mark of the next stage of civilization that we rediscover the desirability of being a peasant." And not an investment banker.
Which of the following details of Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones is INCORRECT?
A. He was born and brought up in Birmingham.
B. He used to work in the television industry.
C. He is wealthy, adventurous and aspiring.
D. He is now selling his own quality foods.
What have the 1600's machine gun and the present-day laser in common?
A. Both were approved by the monarch.
Both were granted by King Henry Ⅵ.
C. Both were rejected by the Department of Trade.
D. Both were patented.
一个国家计算机的应用水平直接标志着一个国家的科学现代化水平。 ()
A. 正确
B. 错误
For many countries there are two legal means for obtaining technology. to permit multinational companies to conduct business within their borders and the use of licensing agreements. Japan rank high among the nations that have. gone to some lengths to keep foreign -owned companies out of industries connected with national defense, and the case of Japan is commonly cited for the idea that such a policy is feasible. In this case, multinational ownership is not important fox-the efficient transfer of technological information between nations; the use of licensing agreements is just as efficient.
For over a hundred years Japan has consistently spent large sums of money and considerable human resources in an effort to obtain technology. Her ability to negotiate has been strengthened by the fact that most of the technology she wanted was not very secret. Japan's position has also been strengthened by the fact that her internal market was large, so that access to this market could be offered to multinational companies as an incentive for them to grant licenses. Besides, Japan's work force was literate and disciplined, so it was capable of applying the information it acquired. Finally, American and European companies might take a large share of the world market if they were not limited by licensing agreements.
Conditions of this sort, coming together in one nation, may well be unique, and the case of Japan may therefore not actually demonstrate that licensing is just as efficient as multinational ownership for the transfer of technology. In fact, Japan may be finding this method of operation less effective than in the past, as her needs for outside technology now require information which belongs to only a few companies and is more closely held. Further- more, her need to use the markets of other countries is beginning to weaken its negotiating power she once had because of her control of her access to her internal market.
Which of the following is NOT a reason for foreign companies to be will ing to license the use of their technology?
A. The technology required by Japan is not secret.
B. It might be easier for foreign companies which has transferred tech nology to Japan to enter the Japanese market.
C. Japan possesses high-quality workers.
D. Licensing help Japan in expanding into the world market.