"But Ijust paid 1.69 for this bottle of wine last week.How is it that the price is 2.25?"

There are at least three things going on that have caused the price of wine to rise.All haveto do with the supply and demand factors of economics.

    The first factor is that people are drinking more wine than ever before.This demand formore wine has increased wine sales in America at the rate of 15 percent a year.

    The second factor is that the supply of wine has stayed relatively the same, which meansthat the same number of bottles is produced each year.Wine producers are trying to open upnew land to grow more grapes.But in at least three wine producing areas of the world-France,Germany, and California --- new vineyards (葡萄园)will not be useable in the near future.Wines are produced in other countries, such as Italy, Spain, and Portugal, as well as Argentine,Australia, Austria, and Chile.And these wines will be seen more often on the American market.But none of these countries will be able to fill the good wines.

    The third factor is that costs of wine production are soaring.The workers who make wine are asking for more money, and the machinery needed to press the grapes is becoming more expensive.

    When the demand for something is greater than the supply, prices go up.When productioncosts, meaning the price of labor and machinery rise, the producer adds this increase to the price of the wine.For these reasons, that bottle of wine now costs 2.25 instead of 1.69.

What is the main idea of this passage?

        A.Every year people drink more wine.

        B.Countries won't be able to fill the demand for good wines.

        C.The prices of things go up when the demand for them is greater than the supply.

        D.The supply of wine will always be less than demand.

This passage is written to .

    A.describe where wine is produced 

    B.persuade people drink more beer

        C.explain why the price of wine is rising

        D.describe why wine is a favorite drink to many Americans

The underlined word "soaring" means"   .

    A.adding quickly       B.reducing fast   

    C.demanding badly D.increasing fast

An Israeli law banning too skinny models went into effect with the start of 2013. The law, approved last March in Israel, requires models to prove they have maintained a Body Mass Index (BMI) of at least 18.5 for three months before a fashion show. That means a woman who is 5'8''tall can weigh no less than 119 pounds.

“This law is another step in the war against eating disorders,” said physician Adatto. “Underweight models,” he explained, “can no longer serve as role models for innocent young people who copy their false image of being skinny.”

But some critics in this country say it is misguided, focusing on weight instead of health. They also say the Israeli ban is bound to fail because of the strong power of the fashion industry. “I think it’s an approach that isn’t going to work.” Said eating disorder expert Susan Ice, who worked with an organization which creates a healthy working environment for models.

But Adatto told the reporter that he began to concern the issue after meeting an ambitious model who looked like she needed to be hospitalized. He said. “I realized that only legislation can change the situation. There was no time to waste, so many girls were dieting to death.”

However, the efforts to regulate models’ weight in Spain and Italy have not resulted in significant changes in part because of difficulties in determining reliable methods of measuring weight and health.

Still, folks including Ice say there’s no denying that images from Hollywood and the fashion industry can be difficult for young women to deal with. “Certainly I don't believe the modeling industry has caused the rise in eating disorders, but it makes it harder,” she says. “It’s a difficult recovery environment, worshiping thinness as the beauty ideal.”

1.What does BMI in the first paragraph refer to?

A. A measure of body health based on height and weight.

B. A worldwide prize for the healthiest model.

C. A new show held by those skinny models.

D. A kind of medicine to cure eating disorders.

2.One benefit the new Israeli law may bring is ________.

A. to change the working conditions of models

B. to lower the chance of skinny models’ death

C. to provide guidance for women worshiping thinness

D. to prevent models from suffering from eating disorders

3.In the opinion of the critics, the law won’t succeed because         .

A. it misleads young women to form a bad eating habit.

B. it doesn’t provide a proper approach that can work well.

C. it doesn’t create a healthy working environment for models.

D. the fashion industry is much too influential.

4.What caused Adatto to think that a law was needed to change the situation?

A. Meeting an ambitious but too skinny model.

B. Establishing his fashion model agent.

C. Being interviewed by a reporter.

D. Seeing a model die from eating disorders.

5.According to the passage, the new Israeli law banning skinny models is         .

A. practical                 B. controversial      C. acceptable                    D. Reasonable

 

Thousands of people have been killed in a massive(大规模的) earthquake in Japan. The quake -- the most powerful to hit Japan in more than 100 years -- caused massive damage and many people are missing and feared dead.

The 8.9 magnitude quake struck Friday(March 11) off Japan's eastern coast, and prompted(引发) tsunami warnings(海啸警报)across the Pacific as far away as South America and the U.S. West Coast. Several days after a 8.9-magnitude earthquake and resulting 10-meter-high tsunami devastated the coastline. The United States Geological Survey says it was the fifth largest earthquake since 1900. The largest, with a 9.5 magnitude, shook Chile(智利) in 1960.

  In Japan, the tsunami swept away boats, cars and hundreds of houses in coastal areas north of Tokyo. The quake shook buildings in the Japanese capital and caused several fires. All train and subway traffic in Tokyo has been stopped, and thousands of people there were unable to get back home. People are just trying to find clean water. Food supplies are running out. In the convenience stores, there are no rice balls left. There is no bottled water left. People are facing a really serious situation in the days ahead for these people that are living in areas that were only moderately(普通的) damaged. The final death toll could range from the thousands to tens of thousands, depending on how many of these communities are gone.

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the government would do everything it can to minimize(使降到最低) the effects of the disaster. And in Washington, President Obama said the United States is ready to help the people of Japan.

1.The underline word damage means_____________ in the article.

A.illness

B.disaster

C.terror

D.danger

2.Which is true according to the passage?

A.Thousands of people have been killed in a massive earthquake in Japan.

B.Only people in areas that were only moderately damaged are facing a really serious situation in the days.

C.The tsunami devastatednot only the coastline in Japan, but also the areas across the Pacific as far away as South America and the U.S. West Coast.

D.The massive earthquake caused the tsunami.

3.According to the passage, which earthquake is the largest one since 1990 ?

A.the one happened in Japan on March 11, 2011

B.the one in Chile in 1960

C.the fifth largest earthquake since 1900

D.We don't know.

4.If you're in Tokyo these days, what you can't get from the convenience store?

A.newspapers and magazines

B.some medicine

C.paper napkins and toothpastes

D.rice balls and bottled water

5.The passage can't be in/on __________.

A.March 10th newspapers

B.TV

C. Internet

D. Radios

 

About 97% of the world’s water is salty and is found in our oceans and seas. But, as we can’t drink sea water, how can it be important?

Every part of our seas and oceans contains an amazing number of animals and fish that live at different ocean depths. Most of the different species of animals and fish depend on simple plants for their food. These simple plants called algae (海藻) drift near the surface of the ocean and use sunlight to turn carbon dioxide and water into food and oxygen. In fact, algae produce over half of the oxygen people breathe. How important sea water is!

Each plant or animal in our seas and oceans is an important link in a food chain. The algae are eaten in large amounts by microscopic animals, which are in turn consumed by larger animals. These food chains are delicately balanced.

The bad news about the food chains in the oceans is that they are under threat because of man. People once thought that the oceans were so big that it didn’t matter if we dumped rubbish into them or caught huge quantities of fish and whales for food. But we now know this is not true and fish stocks in the oceans have started to drop.

Thankfully, the world is taking steps to protect the future of our oceans by introducing international agreements to protect marine habitats. Most countries have introduced fishing restrictions to protect fish stocks in the oceans and new techniques are being pioneered to cope with pollution. Finally, the importance of protecting oceans is being made known to more people. This is just the beginning of a long process to protect the oceans for our future. We depend on the oceans for fish which are an important part of the human diet. How important sea water is! 

46. Which of the following is the proper order of the food chain?

A. small animals→algae→microscopic animals→large animals→man

B. algae→microscopic animals→large animals→larger animals→man

C. small animals→algae→large animals→microscopic animals→man

D. microscopic animals→algae→large animals →larger animals→man

47. People used to think that the rubbish thrown into the sea ________.

A. wouldn’t harm the fish in the sea   B. would change the balance of the food chain

C. would be broken down in the sea   D. wouldn’t do much harm to the sea

48. From the passage, we learn that _________. 

A. most fish and sea animals live at the surface of the seas

B. it is very difficult to break the balance of a food chain

C. excessive fishing has caused the decrease in fish stock

D. it won’t be long before the problems concerning oceans will be solved

49. Which of the following is NOT a way being used to protect oceans?

A. The use of international agreements.   

B. Forbidding fishing to protect fish stocks.

C. The use of new techniques.          

D. Raising people’s awareness of the need to protect oceans.

50. What would be the best title of the passage?

A. The importance of seawater.

B. Life in the oceans.

C. How to protect food chains.

D. How to deal with seawater pollution.

 

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