The next time you eat a piece of chocolate, be sure to enjoy it, because according to two of the world’s largest chocolate maker—Mars Inc and Barry Callebaut, the treat may soon be in short supply. The problem? We are consuming the candy at a faster pace than farmers can grow cocoa. The can manufacturers say that in 2013, people consumed 70,000 tons more cocoa than was produced. Experts say that this is the worst supply-demand imbalance they have experienced m more than 50 years.

Parts of the reason for the condition is the large reduction in supply, caused by a continuous drought in the west African countries of Ivory Coast and Ghana, where more than 70 percent of the world’s cocoa is produced. Additionally, a certain disease known as frosty pod has destroyed 30 to 40 percent of global cocoa production. As a result, many farmers have turned to more profitable and easier grown crops like corn. This means that even if conditions improve, cocoa production may never get back to normal.

Meanwhile, the world is only getting hungrier for chocolate. The biggest increase in demand is from the residents of emerging market countries like India. Though their consumption is nowhere close to the amount European devour, their newly acquired amount for the treat, is making a huge dent (凹痕) in an already tight market.

There is also the growing desire for dark chocolate, which contains more than 70 percent cocoa compared to normal chocolates. Experts believe that if consumption continue at this pace, cocoa deficits (差額) could swell to one million tons by 2020 and to an even more worrisome, two million tons, by 2030.

Not surprisingly, cocoa prices have risen by 60% since 2012, a cost that manufacturers have offset by raising the prices of everyone’s favorite candy. As the situation worsens, the price of chocolate can only rise—so be sure to enjoy piece of the sweet treat, like it is your last!

1.The underlined phrase “supply—demand imbalance” probably means .

A. People consume more chocolate than production

B. Farmers grow more cocoa than people’s demand

C. More and more people like eating chocolates now

D. Chocolates are becoming more and more expensive

2.It is hard to raise cocoa production probably because .

A. The weather is changeable in the west Africa

B. A certain disease spread around the world

C. Many farmers don’t grow any longer

D. It is impossible for conditions to be improved

3.Where has the demand of chocolate been increasing greatly according to the passage?

A. In Asia B. In Africa

C. In Europe D. In America

4.According to the author’s prediction, we can know that .

A. Chocolate will become cheap sooner or later

B. The farmers will produce more cocoa in 2030

C. The price of chocolate will be going up all the way

D. Dark chocolate will be more popular than common one

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假定你是李華,你校外教David對(duì)中國(guó)傳統(tǒng)文化很感興趣。學(xué)校邀請(qǐng)著名書法家沈鵬到校舉行書法講座。請(qǐng)給David發(fā)一封電子郵件,邀請(qǐng)他來(lái)參加并介紹講座的有關(guān)事宜。

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2)講座地點(diǎn):藝術(shù)樓演講大廳;

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注意:

1)詞數(shù)100左右;

2)可以適當(dāng)增加細(xì)節(jié),以使行文連貫;

3)開頭和結(jié)尾已為你寫好。

參考詞匯:calligraphy書法;improvise v. 即興表演

Dear David,

I’m writing to invite you to the lecture on Chinese calligraphy, ____________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours,

Li Hua

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She looks like any other schoolgirl, fresh-faced and full of life. Sarah Thomas is looking forward to challenge of her new A-level course .But unlike school friends, 16-year-old Sarah is not spending half-term 1. (rest). Instead, she is earning $6500 a day as 2. model in New York.

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刪除:把多余的詞用斜線(\)劃掉。

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The Oxford English Dictionary is thinking of adding the Chinese word “tuhao”to its latest edition.The word had become popular in China during the past few months to describe rich people who spend money in wasteful ways.“Tuhao”has been caught on in western countries,either.Similar people are described likewise in his countries.

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Chinese idea and cannot be easily translated into English. Hopefully,China’s influence for the world will continue to be strengthened with an increasing number of Chinese words adopting by foreign dictionaries.

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假定你是李華,你的英國(guó)好友 Peter 8月份打算來(lái)中國(guó)旅游,想先學(xué)習(xí)一些中文,卻不知道如何入門。你決定幫助他,寫一份郵件告訴他你的想法。要點(diǎn)如下:

1) 你給他的學(xué)習(xí)建議

2) 介紹你的幫助計(jì)劃

3) 對(duì)結(jié)果的展望

注意:

1) 詞數(shù)100詞左右;

2) 可以適當(dāng)增加細(xì)節(jié),使行文連貫;

3) 郵件開頭結(jié)尾已為你寫好。

Dear Peter,

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

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Yours,

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Our checkout-free shopping experience is made possible by the same types of technologies used in self-driving cars: computer vision, sensor fusion, and deep learning. Our “just walk out technology” automatically detects when products are taken from or returned to the shelves and keeps track of them in your virtual cart. When you’re done shopping, you can just leave the store. Shortly after, we’ll charge your Amazon account and send you a receipt.

We offer delicious ready-to-eat breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack options made fresh every day by our on-site chefs and favorite local kitchens and bakeries. Our selection of foodstuff ranges from bread and milk to cheeses and locally made chocolates. You’ll find well-known brands we love, plus special finds we’re excited to introduce to customers. For a quick home-cooked dinner, pick up one of our chef-designed Amazon Meal Kits, and you can make a meal for two in about 30 minutes.

Our 1,800-square-foot shopping space is conveniently compact(緊湊的), so busy customers

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Amazon Go is currently only open to Amazon employees in our testing program, and will be open to the public soon.

1.From the passage, we can learn that Amazon Go .

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C. is open to the public D. uses unknown technologies

2.What is mainly discussed in Paragraph 3?

A. When Amazon Go charges. B. How Amazon Go works.

C. Where Amazon Go lies. D. What Amazon Go sells.

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C. using their Amazon accounts D. scanning smartphones when leaving

4.The main purpose of the passage is to .

A. encourage people to shop online B. advise people to work for Amazon

C. inform people of a new concept store D. tell people of the shopping experience

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