For more than forty years the cost of food has been rising. It has now reached a point where a growing number of people believe that it is far too high, and that bringing it down will be one of the great challenges of the twenty-first century. That cost, however is not in immedinte cash. In the West at least, most food is now far cheaper to buy in relative terms than it was in 1960. The cost is in the collateral damage of the very methods of food producties that have made the food cheapers in the pollution of water. In enervation of soil, the destruction of wildlife, the harm to animal welfare and the threat to human health caused by moders industrial agriculture.
Which one of the following is the appropriate meaning 'enervation" in the context of the extract?
After help, we can use object + infinitive (with or without to).
| Can you help me (to) find my ring? (NOT | |
| Thank you so much for helping us (to) repair the car. | |
| Our main task is to help the company (to) become profitable. |
Help can also be followed directly by an infinitive without an object.
| Would you like to help pack? |
If you say that you cannot/can’t help doing something (especially in British English), you mean that you can’t stop yourself, even if you don’t want to do it.
| She’s a selfish woman, but somehow you can’t help liking her. | |
| Excuse me – I couldn’t help overhearing what you said. | |
| Sorry I broke the cup – I couldn’t help it. |
Can’t help can be followed by but + infinitive (without to), with the same meaning as can’t help verb + ing. This is common in American English.
| I can’t help but wonder what I should do next. |
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