D Middlemen’s Limited Share in the Additional Profit
E Farmers’ Denial of Increased Profit
F Housewives’ Need to Find Jobs
5．Many people agree that food prices have increased sharply but they have failed _____
6．The farmers have not been benefited very much__________.
7．Housewives have to pay for the time they save_____________.
8．The economists have come to the conclusion that the cause of increased food prices lies in ____________.
A Nor have the middlemen
B to increase the prices for food
C that they cannot agree on the causes of the increase in prices
to agree on the reasons for the increase
E by buying prepared food
F the popularization of convenience food
答案及解析：
1．文章标题分析：Why Does food cost so much
借助文章中相关的句子对文章主题进行进一步的了解：
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.
补充：
average: n. 平均, 平均数adj. 一般的, 通常的, 平均的 vt. 平均为
synonyms: fair, medium, middle, ordinary, usual
e.g. What is the average rainfall for August in your country?
你们国家八月份的平均降雨量是多少?
on (an) average通常；按平均
2．对概括大意的备选项进行分析，抓住核心词。
A The Cost of Convenience
B A Surprising Answer Given by the Economists
C The Effect of Inflation
D Middlemen’s Limited Share in the Additional Profit
E Farmers’ Denial of Increased Profit
F Housewives’ Need to Find Jobs
分析：被选项中D和E在语意上相关：都与利润相关，而且有成对比的对象：中间人和农夫
补充：
Deny vt 否认；否定；拒绝相信
e.g. He said that I had stolen his bicycle, but I denied it.
他说我偷了他的自行车，可是我否认了。
Synonyms: refuse, reject
3．看指定段落，确认小标题。
A The Cost of Convenience
B A Surprising Answer Given by the Economists
C The Effect of Inflation
D Middlemen’s Limited Share in the Additional Profit
E Farmers’ Denial of Increased Profit
F Housewives’ Need to Find Jobs
3 But farmers claim that this increase was very small（when it is） compared to the increase in their cost of living. （该句中含有But应该重点考察，且该句句意与E对应一致）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. 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?（该句仅仅提出了关于“中间人是否获利的问题”，而并没有表述出D的含义）
E．分析：注意到段落中多处出现了farmers，但同时也出现了Middlemen，因此答案很可能出自于D和E。借助相关语句的句意判断E与段首句的大意一致，而D的说法在该段中并不能推导出，因此答案为E。
补充：
sharp: adj. 锋利的，尖的,敏捷的；灵敏的; 突然的；急剧的adv.准时地；整
at seven oclock sharp 七点整
a sharp knife 锋利的小刀
a sharp turn to the left 向左急转
Compare vt比较；对照; 比作
e.g. Mans life is often compared to a candle.
人生常被喻为蜡烛。
e.g. Living in a town cant compare with living in the country in many respects.
在许多方面城市生活比不上在乡村生活。
Blame vt. 责备
e.g. They blamed the secretary for the delay of the plan.
他们怪罪秘书造成计划延误。
be to blame 应受谴责
e.g. The driver was not to blame for the traffic accident.
那次交通事故不应该责怪司机。
A The Cost of Convenience
B A Surprising Answer Given by the Economists
C The Effect of Inflation
D Middlemen’s Limited Share in the Additional Profit
F Housewives’ Need to Find Jobs
4 Of the $1,311 family food bill in 1972, middlemen 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. But some economists claim that the middleman’s actual profit was very low.(该句句意与D一致) 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 others manufacturers were making a profit of more than 5 per cent. By comparison with other members of the economic system both farmers and middlemen have profited surprisingly little from the rise in food prices.
责任编辑：wangpeng6151
