VOA慢速英语:Some Crops Can Help Farmers Prepare for Disasters

take up拿起,开始从事,吸收

接受(提议)

例句：I'd like to take up your offer of a ride into town.
      我愿接受你的邀请, 搭你的车进城。

占去

例句：I won't take up much of your time.
      我不会占用你很多时间。

      This thing takes up all my attention.
      这件事占用我所有的注意力。

2.The deep and extensive roots of sunflowers make them another good candidate for resisting extreme conditions.

make用作使役动词表示 “使；使成为” 时，可跟复合结构，即“make+宾语+宾语补足语”，其中的宾语补足语可以是不带to的不定式、过去分词、形容词或名词。现将make的复合宾语结构小结如下：
     一、“make＋宾语＋n.” 意为“使、让某人 / 某物(成为)……”。如：
     We made him captain of our football team. 我们推选他作我们足球队队长。
     We made him our monitor. 我们选他当班长。
     二、“make＋宾语＋adj.” 意为 “使某人 / 某事(变得)……”。如：
     The news that our team had won made us very happy. 我们队赢了的消息使我们大家非常高兴。
     We must make the rivers clean. 我们必须净化河水。
     友情提示：当宾语是不定式短语或从句时，多用it作形式宾语。如：
     I made it a condition that everybody must be on time. 我提出一个条件，人人都要准时。
     The heavy rain made it impossible for us to go out. 大雨使得我们无法出去。
     三、“make＋宾语＋do sth.（不带to的不定式）”意为 “使某人做某事”。如:
     What makes the grass grow? 什么东西使得草生长？
     Our teacher makes us feel more confident. 老师使得我们感到更自信了。
     友情提示：在被动语态中，此类结构中省略的动词不定式 to 要还原。如：
     The boy was made to work twelve hours a day. 这个男孩被迫每天干十二个小时的活。
     Every day I am made to have an egg and some milk. 我每天不得不吃一个鸡蛋，喝一些牛奶。

3.North Dakota grows more hectares of sunflowers than any other American state.

more than any other比较级表示最高级

比较级表示最高级的几种情况：

1)、直接使用比较级

①How beautiful she sings! I've never heard a better voice.

= She has the best voice I've ever heard.

她唱得多好啊！这是我听到的最美的歌喉。

②I have never read a more interesting novel.

= It is the most interesting novel I've ever read.

这是我读过的最有趣的小说。

2)、比较级 + than + the other + 复数名词/ + any other + 单数名词/ + any of the other + 复数名词

①She goes to school earlier than the other girls.

她比其他女孩早上学。

②He works harder than any other student.

她学习最用功。

③China is larger than any of the other countries in Asia.

中国是亚洲最大的国家

3)、比较级 + than + anything/ anyone else

①George did more work than anyone else.

乔治干活最多。

②Tom cared more for money than for anything else

汤姆最喜欢钱。

4)、在比较句型中使用 "no", "nobody", "nothing" 等词。

①I like nothing better than swimming.

我最喜欢游泳。

②Nobody can do the work better than he did.

这项工作他做得最出色。

③No other building is as grand as the new hotel.

新建的宾馆是当地最豪华的。