Cigarette smoking is a health hazard of sufficient importance in the United States to warrant appropriate remedial action. It wa

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问题     Cigarette smoking is a health hazard of sufficient importance in the United States to warrant appropriate remedial action. It was 50 years ago this month that America’s surgeon-general sounded that warning, marking the beginning of the end of cigarette manufacturing—and of smoking itself—as a respectable activity. Some 20m Americans have died from the habit since then. But advertising restrictions, smoking bans and stigma have had their effect: the proportion of American adults who smoke has dropped from 43% to 18%; smoking rates among teenagers are at a record low. In many other countries the trends are similar.
    The current surgeon-general, Boris Lushniak, marked the half-century with a report on January 17th, declaring smoking even deadlier than previously thought. He added diabetes, colorectal cancer and other ailments to the list of ills it causes, and promised "end-game strategies" to stamp out cigarettes altogether.
    Were that to happen America’s three big tobacco firms, Altria, Reynolds and Lorillard, could be snuffed out, too. Public health officials plot the same fate for multinationals that supply other markets. The hit list includes Philip Morris International (PMI), which along with Altria makes Marlboro, the top-selling global brand; Japan Tobacco; and British American Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco of Britain.
    They are a hardy group, unlikely to be frightened. But the methods they have used to withstand a half-century of battering by regulators may be losing power. In the rich world, where the economy is stagnant, smokers are trading down to cheaper puffs. The regulatory climate in developing countries is becoming more hostile. New technologies such as e-cigarettes promise to deliver nicotine less riskily. Big tobacco firms may master them, but it would be a radical shift, similar to converting the car industry from internal-combustion engines to battery power. David Adelman of Morgan Stanley, an investment bank, does not "see anything that’s reversing the conventional tobacco business model." But the model needs adjustment.
    Some reasons for Mr. Adelman’s confidence are sound. Advertising bans and the industry’s status prevent would-be competitors. When cigarette-makers raise prices, smokers cough up. Global consumption keeps rising, thanks largely to population growth in poorer countries. The cigarette giants indulge investors with big dividends and share buy-backs; they have flocked to tobacco share.
When the price of cigarette goes up, smokers may ______.

选项 A、have a cough
B、stop buying it
C、be reluctant to buy it
D、quit smoking at once

答案C

解析 根据题干中的“when the price of cigarettes goes up”定位到第五段第二行:When cigarette—makers raise price…其中“goes up”对应“raise”。故本题答案非常好找,但是不好理解。答案句是“smokers cough up”。即使不认识“cough up(咳出,掏出,勉强说出)”,我们也可以通过排除法来解题。首先选项A,have a cough(咳嗽),这么字面意思的词可以先排除。其次,选项B,stop buying it和选项D,quit smoking at once表达意思差不多,因此这两项可以排除。从而我们可以得出答案为选项C,be reluctant to buy it(不情愿购买,勉强购买)。
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