The Farmers of Cades Cove（高一）

Nearly all the land in the GREat Smoky Mountains National Park is hilly and covered with dense1 forest. But tucked away here and there between the mountains are a few pockets of fertile2 farmland. One such place is Cades Cove in Tennessee. It is a level valley just five miles long and two miles wide.

       In 1818, the first settlers came to Cades Cove on foot along an old Indian trail that led over the mountains from North Carolina. More settlers came in the following years. They farmed the land in the valley. They raised cattle, sheep, and hogs3 in clearings at the tops of the mountains.

       In time, mills were built to grind4 the farmers’ corn. A general store sold goods brought in from over the mountains. There were churches and a school.

       The nearest town was 12 miles away over a rough mountain road, but people seldom went there. They got almost everything they needed from their farms or forest. At Cades Cove the soil was rich for farming. There were trout5 in the streams. The forest held deer, wild turkey bear, nuts, berries, and honey from wild bees.

       Today, Cades Cove is part of the National Park, but the government permits a few descendants of the old settlers’ families to farm there. They remain because they like the way of life. They enjoy being able to produce their own food. They enjoy living in a small community in the middle of beautiful mountains.

New words and expressions

       1. dense adj. 密度大的

       2. fertile  adj. 肥沃的；富饶的

       3. hog  n. 猪

       4. grind v. 磨碎

       5.trout  n. 鳟鱼

Write True(T) or False(F) after each statement.

       1. The first settlers came to Cades Cove on foot.

       2. The story does not say so, but it makes you think that today no one lives in Cades Cove.

       3. The people who live in Cades Cove enjoy being able to produce their own food.

Key:T F T