ACT English Practice Test 92: Coffee in the Shade

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Coffee in the Shade

Who would have thought that there was any connection between a cup of coffee and a bird, butterfly, or even a bat? Such seems to be the case, methods for cultivating coffee plants have gradually changed over the past 30 to 40 years. Coffee plants were first discovered growing hundreds of years ago. The plants grew under a wide canopy of forests, which protected the coffee plants' tender leaves from the burning sun. As coffee was introduced to growers would naturally attempt to simulate the plants' preferred natural habitat. coffee plantations all over the world could be found growing successfully in the shade of tall trees. These trees provided more than shade for were also home and protection for many species of birds, reptiles, insects, and other plants.

Over the past several decades, a new kind of coffee plant, one which in open sunlight. Sun-grown coffee produced as much as three times the yield of shade-grown coffee in the same time and space.

the high demand for coffee throughout the world makes the sun-grown method of coffee production appear to be the best method.

[1] It has been discovered, however, that there are some unanticipated consequences to using this newer method of growing coffee. [2] First, which can wash away the soil's nutrients and minerals.

[3] Ornithologists alarming decreases in some species of songbirds that migrate to the northern United States. [4] This necessitates an increased use of fertilizers and additives, which is labor-intensive and liable to create health risks. [5] Second, forests are taken down to make way for sun-grown coffee plants, native and migratory no longer have a home. [6] This is threatening many species, and the effect is now being examined and recorded. [7] Finally, more pesticides and insecticides are used in the sun-grown method, all of which take their toll on both the environment and the long-term health of the coffee plants themselves. 74

Today, shade-grown coffee is more difficult to find and thus more costly. Sitting out on the patio with a morning cup of coffee may soon be a much quieter experience in some locations due to the decimation of certain local songbird species. the connection between coffee production and the environment, perhaps they will be willing to pay the higher prices, encouraging growers to return to the more natural method of producing this world-wide staple.

English practice 30