1 . Shrinkflation has made British shoppers unhappy. For years, producers have quietly shrunk product sizes rather than rise prices. A multipack(合装包)of Fazzles, used to cost £1 ($1.36) and contain eight bags. Now it contains six. Cadbury’s Creme Eggs used to come by the half-dozen; now they come in fives. Quality Street, a chocolate box, weighed 1.2kg in 2009; today, just 650g.

The logic of Shrinkflation is that consumers are less likely to notice it than its alternative: higher prices. For years, the government has worked on the same principle. Taxpayers paid roughly the same, but government services became worse. Now an era of price increases in the form of tax rises has begun. In a nasty combination of inflation and shrinkflation, voters will be expected to pay more for less.

It will be an awkward shift. Since coming to power in 2010, the Conservatives (保守党) have used shrinkflation just as retailers do. In the early austerity (财政紧缩) years, the government shrank (收缩，减少), but its cost did not. As a percentage of GDP, it fell from a peak after the financial crisis of 46% of GDP to 39%. Taxes stayed around their historic norm of about 32% of GDP. But citizens received fewer services.

And, as when shoppers fail to notice the missing packet of Frazzles, voters did not care much at first. Weekly bin collections became fortnightly or monthly. Once-generous legal aid became mean; in-work benefits fell; police solved fewer crimes. But eventually voters and shoppers start to feel confused. Was a box of Quality Street always so small? Were the police always so used to fraud (诈骗)? Moreover, shrinkflation cannot continue forever. Just as people will not buy an empty packet of Frazzles, taxpayers will not pay for government services that are not provided at all. Eventually prices must rise — as the Conservatives are discovering. By 2026 the tax burden will be 36% of GDP, the highest since the post-war era, under Clement Atlee. This will cause several problems such as one of expectations. Atlee’s government promised a new Jerusalem (耶路撒冷): voters accepted higher taxes in return for a welfare(福利)state. Similarly, when New Labour governments raised taxes in the 2000s, they provided more in return. They increased national insurance, in order to bring heath care spending in line with other European countries. Schools were rebuilt and repaired; civic art, though sometimes of questionable quality, appeared in town squares.

Unfortunately, this time higher spending will at best stop things getting worse. Sajid Javi, the health secretary, admits that the health-and social-care systems will struggle even after a 2.5 percentage-point rise in national insurance,

“Is that all we get for £12bn” asked the Daily Mail, a newspaper that lends to see eye-to-eye with the Conservatives, when the plan to cut hospital waiting-lists was announced. British voters are often said to want American taxes and a European welfare government. Instead, they face paying European taxes for services as insufficient as those in American.

1. Shrinkflation refers to the process of items ______.

A．shrinking in size or quantity while their prices remain the same

B．shrinking in size or quantity while their prices become higher

C．expanding in sire or quantity while their prices remain the same

D．expanding in size or quantity while their prices become lower

2. What can be learned about the consumer psychology in Britain nowadays?

A．Consumers will pay higher taxes for government services.

B．Consumers are more sensitive to price increases in products.

C．Consumers can hardly notice the changes in government services.

D．Consumers are unwilling to pay for government services.

3. What is the writer’s attitude toward New Labour governments in Para 4?

A．Critical.

B．Unconcerned.

C．Supportive.

D．Doubtful.

4. What can be inferred from the passage?

A．Both inflation and shrinkflation exist in Britain.

B．The Americans pay high taxes for poor services.

C．The British government will be costlier with fewer services.

D．The Daily Mail is in favor of the current economic policy.

2 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

The EU, US and their allies have agreed to cut off a number of Russian banks from the main international payment system, Swift. The possessions of Russia’s     1     (center) bank will also be frozen, limiting Russia’s ability     2     (access) its overseas reserves.

“This     3     (intend) to cut off these institutions from international financial flows, which will     4     (massive) restrict their global operations,”     5     German government spokesman said. Russia is heavily reliant     6     the Swift system for its oil and gas exports. The joint sanctions (制裁) are the severest measures imposed to date on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.     7     the move could also harm Western businesses doing business with Russia.

Swift, or the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication is a secure messaging system     8     makes fast, cross-border payments possible, enabling international trade.     9     (base) in Belgium, it facilitates transactions (交易) between more than 11,000 banks and financial institutions across the globe     10     (economic), but has no authority to make sanction decision itself.

Removing banks from Swift is considered to be a severe measure because almost all banks use the system.

3 . Recently, there is a view on the Internet that “the rise of pig price will lead to the rise of other food prices, thus leading to a substantial rise in overall prices”. It should be said that this judgment is not scientific. We should objectively understand the position of pork price in the overall price and its possible linkage effect.

At present, the main problem faced by the pork price is the lack of pork production capacity, which has nothing to do with inflation and will not lead to inflation. The rise of pork price only affects the upstream and downstream of pig industry and other related products such as meat, but has limited impact on the overall price. At present, China's agricultural product supply is sufficient; the production capacity of consumer goods is constantly improving; the service supply is more diversified, and the monetary policy remains stable, which provides a solid foundation for the stable operation of prices.

Keeping prices, especially the prices of important people's livelihood commodities, basically stable is related to the basic life of the people. In the face of rising pork prices, the state's policy of ensuring supply and stabilizing prices continues to increase. From choosing the right opportunity to put frozen meat reserve to starting the price subsidy mechanism, from rectifying the improper restriction and prohibition measures to protecting the land for pig farms, from special financial support to financial insurance escort, all departments are taking measures. With the gradual effectiveness of the measures, the price of pork will be stable in the future. It is worth noting that the data of the Ministry of Commerce on September 10th shows that the increase of pork wholesale price has fallen back from the previous week (from September 2nd to 8th).

1. From the first paragraph of the article, what’s the correct point of view we can get?

A．The rise of pig price will lead to the rise of other food prices, which will lead to the sharp rise of overall prices.

B．The rise of pig price will lead to the decrease of other food prices, which will lead to the sharp decline of overall price.

C．People should objectively understand the position of pork price in the overall price and its possible linkage effect.

D．It is not important to understand the position of pork price in the overall price and the linkage effect it can produce.

2. According to the second paragraph, we can know why the price of pork is rising?

A．The reason for the rise of pork price is related to inflation.

B．The reason for the rise of pork price is related to the death of pigs.

C．The reason for the rise of pork price is related to market demand.

D．The reason for the rise of pork price is related to the lack of pork production capacity.

3. According to the third paragraph of the article, what will be the price of pork in the future?

A．The price of pork will keep rising.	B．The price of pork will probably be stable.
C．The price of pork will not be stable.	D．The price of pork will never be stable.

4. The most suitable title for this article is _______.

A．The Price of Pork Is Rising.

B．What will People Do in the Face of Rising Pork Prices?

C．The Impact of Rising Pork Prices.

D．The Impact of Rising Pork Prices on People.

4 . The sharing economy is an economic model known as a peer-to-peer(P2P)based activity of getting, providing, or sharing goods and services that is often promoted by on-line platforms (平台) It allows persons and groups to make money from the assets (资产) which is not _______ .In a sharing economy, underused assets such as parked cars and spare bedrooms can be _______ when they are not used. In this way, physical assets are shared as _______ .

Concerns about the sharing economy often includes the uncertainty about _______ .While businesses offering rent services are often _______ by local governments, people who don’t have official permission to _______ rent services may not be following these rules or paying the costs. This could mean putting them in a better position that makes it possible for them to ask _______   prices to get a bigger market share.

Another _______ is that lack of watching over businesses will lead to _______ uses of both buyers and sellers in the sharing economy. There have been many cases ________ known to the public like hidden cameras in rented rooms, lawsuits (诉讼)over ________ treatment of ridesharing drivers by the platforms ________ employ them, and even murders of customers by real or ________ ridesharing providers.

There is also a fear that lots of information shared on online platforms can create racial or sex bias (偏见) among users. This can happen when users are allowed to ________ who they will share their homes or cars with, or because of the database of users with poor credit history or bad behaviour ________ .

1.

A．in danger

B．in use

C．in order

D．in hand

2.

A．taken out

B．picked out

C．rented out

D．sold out

3.

A．services

B．supplies

C．gifts

D．goals

4.

A．values

B．customers

C．markets

D．rules

5.

A．managed

B．punished

C．provided

D．judged

6.

A．offer

B．order

C．accept

D．stop

7.

A．higher

B．lower

C．full

D．right

8.

A．case

B．opinion

C．topic

D．concern

9.

A．impolite

B．impatient

C．improper

D．impossible

10.

A．highly

B．widely

C．narrowly

D．deeply

11.

A．official

B．special

C．unfair

D．equal

12.

A．which

B．who

C．where

D．when

13.

A．formal

B．unique

C．dishonest

D．specific

14.

A．cheat

B．choose

C．impress

D．recognize

15.

A．errors

B．styles

C．details

D．records

5 . With the F1FA 2022 World Cup kicking off in Qatar next month, manufacturers of the tournament’s official product in Yiwu, Zhejiang province, say business has been brisk despite the challenging global business environment.

“We are near the end of the sales related to the World Cup. We will probably deliver all goods out by the end of the month, ” said Wu Xiaoming, a sporting equipment seller at Yiwu International Trade Market. Wu’s company has official authorization to produce goods for the 2022 World Cup. “The third quarter is often the slack season for small goods exports, but due to World Cup-related products, it has turned into boom season instead,” said Wu. “As a result, our orders increased by 70 percent compared to the same period last year.”

In the past two years, because of COVID-19, there have been fewer overseas traders who are able to come to Yiwu for business, yet overseas demand has remained strong. The epidemic in Yiwu in early August led to a slowdown in exports, prompting businesses to increase the share of their online sales. “Most customers chose to communicate with us online. We can display the materials and styles of the products to customers through livestreaming (直播),”   explained Wu. “Although our workload increased, our customer experience has improved. All the World Cup orders have been sent out.”

According to Yiwu Customs, in the first eight months of this year, Yiwu exported 3.82 billion yuan ($536.8 million) of sporting goods. and 9.66. billion yuan of toys. By region, exports to Brazil were 7.58 billion yuan, up 56.7. percent compared to the same period last year, while exports to Argentina and Spain reached 1.39 billion yuan (up 67.2 percent) and 4.29 billion yuan (up 95.8 percent) respectively.

Although the number of orders increased, profits were not as high as expected due to the high cost of raw materials and other factors. Wu said the price of raw materials rose by 15 percent, and fixed costs such as labor also rose this year. In addition, they had to pay a large amount for shipment.

“Our current priority is not profit but to attract customers and enable the business to operate normally,” said Wu. “The external influence is temporary, and we are full of confidence for the future.”

1. What does the underlined word “brisk” in Paragraph l probably mean?

A．Prosperous.

B．Depressing.

C．Unstable.

D．Average.

2. What can we learn from Wu’s words in Paragraph 2?

A．Wu is very confident about the future of the industry.

B．Shipment of World Cup-related product is undergoing.

C．Sales related to the World Cup will begin soon this month

D．This third quarter remains a slack season like previous years

3. Which is NOT a reason for the decrease of profit mentioned in the text?

A．Rise of labor cost.	B．Increased shipping fee.
C．High cost of raw materials.	D．Live streaming for traders.

4. Which is the best title for this passage?

A．Yiwu traders worrying about the World Cup.

B．Exciting report on export from Yiwu Customs.

C．“Made in Yiwu” keeping popular at Qatar 2022.

D．Small commodity firms facing challenges in pandemic.

6 . With coffee beans in short supply worldwide and Chinese consumers expanding their coffee habit, Yunnan province beans have increasingly appeared in major coffee chains in China.

Yunnan, the largest coffee planting area in China, is blessed with high altitudes and suitable climate for planting high-quality coffee beans. The province is the source of more than 99% of domestically (国内地) produced coffee.

Last year, Brazil, the world’s largest coffee producing country, experienced extreme weather, including drought and frost, which caused a decrease in output of nearly 20%. The epidemic (疫情) is another reason for the price increase. The COVID-19 pandemic has hampered the timely transportation of coffee beans to overseas markets.

With coffee from international markets in short supply, Yunnan has drawn attention of coffee chains in China.

Ye Peng, a coffee farmer in Pu’er, Yunnan, for more than a decade, said she has seen the prices of orders double from last year. With advanced planting technologies and higher quality local coffee beans, her company ships its product to famous coffee chains such as Starbucks and Manner Coffee.

Baoshan Chunzheng Coffee Company is a major coffee provider in Yunnan. It provides coffee beans to Yum China, which operates fast food chains KFC and Pizza Hut (必胜客) in the country.

With promising markets at home and abroad, there are more and more coffee farmers and coffee factories in Yunnan.

1. Why is Yunnan province suitable to grow coffee beans?

A．It is with high altitudes and proper climate.

B．It is a spring city with no summer or winter.

C．People in Yunnan are fond of drinking coffee.

D．Local government encourages people to grow them.

2. What is Paragraph 3 mainly about?

A．Foreign coffee markets.	B．The weather and transportation.
C．The COVID-19 pandemic.	D．Reasons for increased prices.

3. What does the underlined word “hamper” in Paragraph 3 mean?

A．Speed up

B．Slow down.

C．Update.

D．Change.

4. What can we learn from the passage?

A．The prices of coffee are decreasing for many reasons.

B．Brail is no longer the biggest coffee producing country.

C．Most of the Yunnan coffee beans are transported abroad.

D．Many people in Yunnan are willing to enter the coffee markets.

7 . 阅读下面短文, 在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式.

China’s foreign trade is expected     1    (post) stable growth this year, despite unexpected challenges,     2    (include) high raw material costs and fierce     3     (compete) from Southeast Asian countries. The profitability of exporters in most sectors     4    (improve)during the past 6 months, according to a survey by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade in Beijing. Major challenges facing foreign trade enterprises, such as high costs of logistics, have eased, the survey showed.

“It is worth     5     (note) that trade data got better not only from quarter to quarter, but also from month to month during     6     second quarter. June is likely to have witnessed a strong foreign trade rebound and more     7     (energy) economic recovery,” said Liu Ying, a researcher at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China. The survey showed more than 25 percent of enterprises registered positive quarter-on-quarter revenue growth,     8     nearly 20 percent said they have secured profit growth from a quarter ago.

More than 26 percent of the respondents     9     (be) confident about year-on-year revenue growth, and about 28 percent expect their revenues to be at least the same     10     last year’s level.

8 . BEIJING — The Chinese economy has shown positive signs of stabilizing (稳定), but it’s hard to judge what it will be next year, governor of China’s central bank said on Thursday.

Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People’s Bank of China, made the remarks on a panel discussion with delegates from the financial field to the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which opened here on Thursday morning.

China’s economic momentum (推进力) will depend on not only domestic conditions, but also changes brought by the global financial crisis, said Zhou, who is also a CPC delegate to the national congress.

“It has become increasingly clear that the Chinese economy is now moving towards a better direction,” he said.

Due to the impact of the debt crisis in Europe, China’s economy began slowing this year. The Chinese economy expanded only 7. 4 percent year-on-year in the third quarter of 2012, marking a downturn for seven straight quarters, the National Bureau of Statistics of China said.

As the government adopted a series of fiscal (财政的) and monetary measures and speeded up the approvals of investment projects to spur the slowing economy, the domestic economy has stabilized since September with better indicators, Zhou said.

He said it’s hard to judge how the global financial crisis will continue to affect the Chinese economy because the spreading of the European debt crisis and the so-called fiscal cliff problem in the United States have increased uncertainties of the world economy.

“We need to monitor the effect on our economy of the monetary, easing policies launched recently by the United States and the European Union,” he said.

China is likely to maintain the policy continuity to some extent in 2013, but will leave enough room to make the policy targeted and flexible.

1. What is the attitude of Zhou Xiaochuan towards the Chinese economy at present?

A．Doubtful.

B．Negative.

C．Optimistic.

D．Unknown.

2. The underlined word “spur” in the sixth paragraph probably means “______”.

A．cause

B．expand

C．decrease.

D．encourage.

3. What caused China’s economy slowing in 2012?

A．Global financial crisis.

B．The debt crisis in Europe.

C．Fiscal cliff problem in the US.

D．The Chinese economy policy.

4. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A．The People’s Bank of China published the economic statistics of China.

B．The Chinese economy policy will have a chance of flexibility in 2013.

C．The world economy is uncertain.

D．The global financial crisis has a great effect on the Chinese economy.

9 .

The American seafood staple of Maine lobster, or “lobsta” as they say in Maine, is becoming very popular on Asian dining tables. Maine lobsters were a featured course at last year’s state dinner when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the White House. Now, the creatures with claws are becoming a big export to Asia.

The lobster’s home is in the Atlantic Ocean, anywhere from Newfoundland in Canada to North Carolina in the United States. But nearly 90 percent of the fishery activity happens in the state of Maine.

And the prices for fresh lobster have risen to a higher level. “Three years ago, the price was mediocre. We averaged around $2.50 to $3 per pound (or nearly half a kilogram) for the year,” said Chris Welch, a lobster boat captain. “This year, the price has been excellent. It’s better than I can remember in a lot of years.”

During one morning, a lobster order was being prepared for shipment to Hong Kong. The biggest challenge in shipping was logistics. Shippers have only 36 hours from the time lobsters are packed until arrival in China. Any lobster arriving after that time loses quality.

American shellfish (水生有壳动物) exports have grown rapidly in recent years. More than 23,000 kilograms of that type of seafood is exported to Asia every week via air. “We primarily export lobsters to Asia; probably about 80 percent to China and the other 20 percent to some other Asian countries,” said lobster dealer Stephanie Nadeau. “The countries of Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Korea and Japan are big lobster fans,” he said.

1. According to the text, we can know that most fishing of lobsters is done in ________.

A．Newfoundland

B．North Carolina

C．Maine

D．the Atlantic Ocean

2. Which of the following statements is false according to the text?

A．China is the largest lobster import country in Asia.

B．American shellfish imports have grown sharply in recent years.

C．The lobsters can only stay high-quality within one and a half days while being shipped.

D．In a way, the popularity of lobsters in Asia has something to do with President Xi Jinping’s visit to the White House.

3. Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?

A．Maine Lobsters Becoming Popular in China

B．President Xi’s Visit to the White House

C．The Price of Lobsters 5 Times Higher than Before

D．Sales of American Shellfish Growing Rapidly Worldwide

4. The text is most probably taken from ________.

A．a research paper	B．a geography textbook
C．an advertisement	D．a newspaper report

10 . As part of Africa’s COVID-19 recovery strategy, it should invest (投资) in its young people and in digital technology resources, which experts’ said would offer a solution for unlocking a new era of intra-African (非洲内部的) trade and growth.

According to the United Nations, Africa has the youngest population in the world, with 70 percent of people in sub-Saharan Africa being younger than 30.

The UN recognizes the continent’s young people as critical to the success of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, which took effect at the beginning of last year, and has called for their involvement in policy making and implementation.

The African Export-Import Bank, also known as Afreximbank, likewise called on Tuesday for an increase in intra-African trade and financing, with the continent’s young people and technology resources playing important roles.

Benedict Oramah, president and chairman of Afreximbank, said industrial revolutions seen in other countries were largely owed to a young and capable workforce.

“It is our view that the youth will be the catalytic force of the development of Africa. This asset (资本) in our hands is perhaps the greatest resource, an asset much more valuable than all the oil and mineral resources,” Oramah said in speech at the ongoing 29th Annual Meetings of Afreximbank in Cairo, Egypt.

“The African youth are beginning to make significant contributions to economic transformation across the continent,” he added.

Oramah said Africa should turn to its own resources, driving investment and development by leveraging Africa’s human capital and technological potential, in order to accelerate intra-African trade and commerce.

Young people are ready to make giant progress in a single continental market and could become the drivers of the continent’s integration and intra-African trade, Oramah said.

1. What does the United Nations think of young people in Africa?

A．They need to invest more money in technology.

B．They are too young to shoulder the responsilities.

C．They should get involved in policy making in Africa.

D．Their success should be recognized by the government.

2. What is important to the increase in intra-African trade according to Oramah?

A．Oil and mineral resources.	B．Youth and technology resources.
C．Investment from other countries	D．Better policies of the UN.

3. What does the underlined word “catalytic” in paragraph 6 mean?

A．Last.

B．Traditional.

C．Expensive.

D．Promoting.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Young People Seen as Key to Africa’s Growth	B．Great Progress Made in African Economy
C．UN’s New Policies on Developing Africa	D．Afreximbank’s Contributions to Africa