1 . He hurt his leg yesterday. ______ why he can’t come to ______ party.
A.That’s; tonight | B.That’s; tonight’s | C.It’s; tonight | D.It’s; tonight’s |
2 . People used to value more about college name than college major but today an increasing number of students would rather choose a popular major in a less famous college than a random(随意的)major in a big-name school. What’s your idea? Which is more important? College major or college name?
Please write a short passage in about 150 words to express your idea. List TWO REASONS to support your idea.
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3 . 词组替换
1. He made use of his experience as a photographer to make a documentary programme.2. To get the accurate answer, they looked up information in many books.
3. The economy needs more skilled workers very much, yet millions remain unemployed and unemployable.
4. Many families have been separated by war and revolution.
5. The concert was excellent --- there were lots of well-known songs with some new ones added.
4 . The houses there were modest but neat, with new lawns that seemed oddly green and out of place in the uniformly brown s
5 . All my studying, reading, thinking, traveling have t
6 . The Daily Mail, in the United Kingdom, even i
7 . Ant, music, drama and dance are hugely b
8 . We occupied the land, the forests, the rivers; we e
9 . She was faced with a dilemma whether to give up her career with a p
10 . 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 |
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. |
A.Critical. | B.Unconcerned. | C.Supportive. | D.Doubtful. |
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. |