In the following text, some sentences have been removed. For Questions (41-45), choose the most suitable one from the list A-G t

admin2011-03-11  57

问题     In the following text, some sentences have been removed. For Questions (41-45), choose the most suitable one from the list A-G to fit into each of the numbered blank. There are two extra choices, which do not fit in any of the gaps.  
    In 1959 the average American family paid $ 989 for a year’s supply of food. In 1972 the family paid $1,311.That was a price increase of nearly one-third. Every family has had this sort of experience. Everyone agrees that the cost of feeding a family has risen sharply. 41.______.  
    Many blame the farmers who produce the vegetables, fruit, meat, eggs, and cheese that stores offer for sale. According to the U. S. Department of Agriculture, the farmer’s share of the $1,311 spent by the family in 1972 was $ 521.This was 31 per cent more than the farmer had received in 1959.  
    But farmers claim that this increase was very small compared to the increase in their cost of living. 42.______These include truck drivers, meat packers, manufacturers of packages and other food containers, and the owners of stores where food is sold. They are among the "middlemen" who stand between the farmer and the people who buy and eat the food. Are middlemen the ones to blame for rising food prices?  
    Of the $1,311 family food bill in 1972, middlement received $ 790, which was 33 percent more than they had received in 1959.It appears that the middlemen’s profit has increased more than farmer’s. 43.According to economists at the First National City Bank, the profit for meat packers and food stores amounted to less than one percent. During the same period all other manufacturers were making a profit of more than five percent. By comparison with other members of the economic system both farmers and middlemen have profited surprisingly little from the rise in food prices.  
    44.______The economists at First National City Bank have an answer to give housewives, but many people will not like it. These economists blame the housewife herself for the jump in food prices. They say that food costs more now because women don’t want to spend much time in the kitchen. Women prefer to buy food which has already been prepared before it reaches the market.  
    Vegetables and chicken cost more when they have been cut into pieces by someone other than the one who buys it. A family should expect to pay more when several "TV dinners" are taken home from the store. These are fully cooked meals, consisting of meat, vegetables, and sometimes dessert, all arranged on a metal dish. The dish is put into the oven and heated while the housewife is doing something else. Such a convenience costs money. 45.  
    Economists remind us that many modem housewives have jobs outside the home. They earn money that helps to pay the family food bills. The housewife naturally has less time and energy for cooking after a day’s work. She wants to buy many kinds of food that can be put on her family’s table easily and quickly. "If the housewife wants all of these, " the economists say, "that is her privilege, but she must be prepared to pay for the services of those who make her work easier. "  
    It appears that the answer to the question of rising prices is not a simple one. Producers, consumers, and middlemen all share the responsibility for the sharp rise in food costs.  
    [A] However, some economists believe that controls can have negative effects over a long  period of time. In cities with rent control, the city government sets the maximum rent that a landlord can charge for an apartment.
    [B] Farmers tend to blame others for the sharp rise in food prices. They particularly blame  those who process the farm products after the products leave the farm.
    [C] Thus, as economists point out: "Some of the basic reasons for widening food price  spreads are easily traceable to the increasing use of convenience foods, which transfer much of the time and work of meal preparation from the kitchen to the food processor’s plant. "
    [D] But some economists claim that the middleman’s actual profit was very low.  
    [E] Who then is actually responsible for the size of the bill a housewife must pay before she  carries the food home from the store’?
    [F] But there is less agreement when reasons for the rise are being discussed. Who is really  responsible?
    [G] Economists do not. agree on some of the predictions. They also do not agree on the value  of different decisions.  Some economists support a particular decision while others criticize it.

选项

答案E

解析 前面讲了农民,食品加工商以及中间商的理由,那么接下来在逻辑上应该是询问究竟该谁负责了,而后文也说经济学家给出了答案。结合选项,可以选出B。   
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/06p4777K
0

随机试题
最新回复(0)