Part1 Getting to Know Organics

Monica要帮妈妈买菜准备招待客人，购物清单里包括了有机食品，Monica从妈妈那里了解到什么是有机食品。

Monica: Hey Mom, I’m heading to the store. Do you want anything?

Mom: Sure, I could use a few things. Could you pick me up a couple carrots, a bag of potatoes, some green onions…

Monica: Whoa whoa whoa, hold your horses there Mom! Let me get some paper.

Mom: Sorry. I guess I need more than just a few things.

Monica: No kidding! Alright. Paper, pen, and…go!

Mom: Okay, the carrots, potatoes, and green onions like I said. Then, about three or four sweet peppers, roughly half a kilo of chicken wings, a few heads of garlic, and two or three 1)eggplants.

Monica: Jeeze Louise Mom, are you feeding an army here?

Mom: You could say that. Your grandma’s in town this weekend, so the whole family’s going to be at ours for dinner on Sunday.

Monica: Awesome! ①I haven’t seen Gran in a coon’s age. I’ll give you a hand with cooking if you need.

Mom: It would be great if you 2)pitched in. Thanks!

Monica: No problem, Mom. Anyway, ②I’m off.

Mom: Okay, see you…oh Monica, wait!

Monica: Yup?

Mom: Make sure you buy organic. If you can’t find organic, give me a call and we’ll change the game plan.

Monica: Is it really that important?

Mom: Definitely.

Monica: You know, I don’t even know what that is: organic. What does that actually mean?

Mom: ③At the root, it basically just means that no chemicals were used in the process of growing this thing you’re about to stuff your face with.

Monica: Chemicals? What chemicals?

Mom: Oh like fertilizers and 3)pesticides for crops or growth 4)hormones and 5)antibiotics for livestock.

Monica: But don’t they kind of need that stuff? I mean, what if the cows get sick? It’s just: too bad, so sad―see you later Betsy? That seems a little harsh.

Mom: Of course not, honey! If the livestock gets sick, a farmer is obviously going to give them some meds, but he’s not 6)shooting the animals up 24/7 when they’re not even sick.

Monica: Farmers do that?

Mom: Oh yeah. And it’s not easy on the poor things.

Monica: Wow, I never knew. But wait, what about the fertilizers and pesticides? Don’t the farmers actually need that stuff?

Mom: Well, technically speaking, they don’t need them, but they certainly don’t hurt.

Monica: So organic farmers 7)are stuck without them?

Mom: Not at all. There are lots of other options like natural fertilizers or doing 8)crop rotation to avoid pests.

Monica: So then why does anyone use the chemicals?

Mom: You underestimate the power of old-fashioned laziness honey.

Monica: Ah, I see. It’s just more work to be organic, eh?

Mom: I knew I raised a smart girl!

Monica: Haha, alright. I’ll get the organic stuff. See you 9)in a bit!

Mom: Bye baby!

Smart Sentences

① I haven’t seen Gran in a coon’s age. 我好长时间没见到外婆了。

a coon’s age: a very long time（非常长时间）。例如：

Who? John Levin? I haven’t heard that name in a coon’s age.

谁？约翰•莱文吗？我有好长时间没听到他的名字了。

② I’m off. 我出发了。

to be off: leave a place（离开）。例如：

She was off again after helping me with my résumé.

她在帮我搞好简历后又走了。

③ At the root, it basically just means that no chemicals were used in the process of growing this thing you’re about to stuff your face with. 最初它的基本意思是你准备狼吞虎咽的食品，在其生长过程中没被施加任何化学药品。

stuff one’s face: eat greedily（贪婪地吃）。例如：

Amy, stop stuffing your face with the cake and help me with the dishes.

艾米，别再啃蛋糕了，来帮我收拾碗碟。