How Super Are Supermarkets?
Buying e week's groceries is tiring. You want to get it over and done with quickly, so you head for the nearest supermarket, you find everything you need under one roof, and you feel glad that those days of going in and out of different shops in the high street are over. Supermarkets seem to be a big plus. There is a downside, though.
In the UK 90% of all the food people consume is bought at 5 different supermarket chains. This makes these companies extremely powerful, which lets them use their huge buying power to squeeze small suppliers to get the best deal. Milk is a good example. Supermarkets like to use things like milk, which is the top of almost everyone's shopping list to attract customers. To offer the lowest price possible to the consumer, the supermarkets force dairy farmers to sell milk at less than the cost of production. Supermarkets guarantee their good profits while farmers are left struggling to make ends meet, and the taxpayer pays to support the system without even knowing it.
It would be nice if local grocers supported local agriculture. But for the big supermarkets this just doesn't make sense. Supermarkets don't want little farmers thinking they can decide prices. So supermarkets have started a global search for the cheapest possible agricultural produce. In many supermarkets it is difficult to find anything which is produced locally.
UK farmers used to grow a lot of apples. Not anymore. In 1999 36% of apples were imported. By 2015 the figure had risen to 80% and the domestic production of apples had fallen by two thirds. The consumer might just be happy to get a reasonably priced meal made up of foods from Thailand, Spain, Italy and Zambia, but we should also bear in mind the Influence on local producers.
Then there's packaging. Supermarkets like everything to be packed and wrapped so it can be piled neatly on shelves. Supermarkets produce nearly 10 million tons of waste packaging in the UK every year, of which less 5%is recycled. Some supermarkets make sure that large recycling bins are obvious in their car parks, showing that they are environment-friendly. But that is just an image.
When a new supermarket is planned there are claims about the number of new jobs that will be created. Unfortunately, the number of jobs lost in the area is larger than the number of new positions in the supermarket. On average each new supermarket leads to the loss of 276 jobs.
However, the modern world is all about shopping, and the freedom to buy whatever you what, so it would be impossible to stop people shopping at some particular kind of shop. But some measures do need to be taken when small suppliers lose profits, local producers suffer, sea levels rise and jobs are lost, anyway, we can't just care about a free car park and special offers.
Different people may bid for different things.
态度一 | 态度二 | 你的观点 |
当考试结果不如人意时，情绪低落，丧失信心，不再继续努力。 | 当考试失败时，分析并找出失败的原因，鼓励自己，增强自信，避免再犯同样的错误。 | 失败乃成功之母…… |
要求：1、词数：150左右；2、可根据内容要点适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；3、开头已经给出，不计入总词数。
As middle school students, we have all taken examinations of different types and
—________. It was too hot.
Sometimes you'll hear people say that you can't love others until you love yourself. Sometimes you'll hear people say that you can't expect someone else to love you until you love yourself. Either way, you've got to love yourself first and this can be tricky. Sure we all know that we're the apple of our parents' eyes, and that our Grandmas think we're great talents and our Uncle Roberts think that we will go to the Olympics. But sometimes it's a lot harder to think such nice thoughts about ourselves. If you find that believing in yourself is a challenge, it is time you build a positive self-image and learn to love yourself.
Self-image is your own mind's picture of yourself. This image includes the way you look, the way you act, the way you talk and the way you think. Interestingly, our self-images are often quite different from the images others hold about us. Unfortunately, most of these images are more negative than they should be. Thus changing the way you think about yourself is the key to changing your self-image and your whole world.
The best way to defeat a passive self-image is to step back and decide to stress your success. That is, make a list if you need to, but write down all of the great things you do every day. Don't allow doubts to occur in it.
It very well might be that you are experiencing a negative self-image because you can't move past one flaw or weakness that you see about yourself. Well, roll up your sleeves and make a change of it as your primary task. If you think you're silly because you aren't good at math, find a tutor. If you think you're weak because you can't run a mile, get to the track and practice. If you think you're dull because you don't wear the latest trends, buy a few new clothes. But remember, just because you think it doesn't mean it's true.
The best way to get rid of a negative self-image is to realize that your image is far from objective, and to actively convince yourself of your positive qualities. Changing the way you think and working on those you need to improve will go a long way towards promoting a positive self-image. When you can pat yourself on the back, you'll know you're well on your way. Good luck!
The question of what children learn, and how they should learn it, is continually being debated and redebated. Nobody dares any longer to defend the old system, the parrot-fashion（way of learning by repeating what others say）of learning lessons, the grammar-with-a-whip（鞭子）system, which was good enough for our grandparents. The theories of modern psychology have stepped in to argue that we must understand the needs of our children. Children are not just small adults; they are children who must be respected as such.
Well, you may say, this is as it should be, and a good idea. But think further. What happens? “Education” becomes the responsibility not of teachers, but of psychologists. What happens then? Teachers worry too much about the psychological implications（暗示） of their lessons, and forget about the subjects themselves. If a child dislikes a lesson, the teacher feels that it is his fault, not the child's. So teachers worry whether history is “relevant” to modern young children. And do they dare to recount stories about violent battles? Or will this make the children themselves violent? Can they tell their classes about children of different races, or will this encourage racial hatred? Why teach children to write grammatical sentences? Oral expression is better. Sums? Arithmetic? No; real-life mathematical situations are more understandable.
You see, you can go too far. Influenced by educational theorists, who have nothing better to do than write books about their ideas, teachers leave their teaching-training colleges filled with grand, psychological ideas about children and their needs. They make complicated preparations and try out their “modern methods” on the long-suffering children. Since one “modern method” rapidly replaces another, the poor kids will have well been fed up by the time they leave school. Frequently the modern methods are so complicated that they fail to be understood by the teachers, let alone the children; even more often, the relaxed discipline so necessary for the “informal” feeling the class must have, prevents all but a handful of children from learning anything.
Although problems are a part of our lives, it certainly doesn't mean that we let them rule our lives forever. One day or the other, you'll have to stand up and say – problem, I don't want you in my life.
Problems with friends, parents, girlfriends, husbands, and children – the list goes on. Apart from these, the inner conflicts within ourselves work, too. These keep adding to our problems. Problems come in different shapes and colors and feelings.
But good news is that all problems can be dealt with. Now read on to know how to solve your problems.
Talk, it really helps. What most of us think is that our problem can be understood only by us and that no talking is going to help. Talking helps you move on and let go.
Write your problems. When you write down your problems, you are setting free all the tension from your system. You can try throwing away the paper on which you wrote your problems. By doing this, imagine yourself throwing away the problems from your life.
Don't lose faith and hope. No matter what you lose in life, don't lose faith and hope. Even if you lose all your money, family… you should still have faith.
Your problems aren't the worst. No matter what problem you get in life, there're another one million people whose problems are huger than yours. Your problems might just seem big and worse, but in reality they can be removed.
Go about and solve your problems because every problem, however big or small, always has a way out.
A. But the truth is that when you talk about it, you're setting free the negative energies that have been gathering within you.
B. When we have a problem, a pressing, critical, urgent, life-threatening problem, how do we try and solve it?
C. Tell yourself: when they can deal with them, why can't I?
D. Of course, we've been fighting troubles ever since we were born.
E. We can often overcome the problem and achieve the goal by making a direct attack.
F. Having a personal diary can also be of huge help if you don't want a real person to talk with.
G. With faith and hope, you can rebuild everything that you lose.
— 5∶32，Jack. But my watch isn't quite ________—it gains 2 minutes every day.
— Yes, that might why he didn't do well on the test.
Hotel Clerk: Hi, can I help you?
Man : Yes. I'd like a room the night, please. The sign outside says you have vacancies(空房)
Hotel Clerk: Yes, only a couple. I guess nobody wants to drive in such (storm) weather.
Man : I surely don't. How much are the rooms?
Hotel Clerk: They are ﹩50 a .
Man : That's fine.
Hotel Clerk: I can give you Room 14. It is right beside the coffee shop. I just need you (sign) the register.
Man : There you go. I am (awful)hungry, Is the coffee shop still open?
Hotel Clerk: Yes, it is until nine o'clock. If you want anything after that, there are a couple of machines (sell) soft drinks, chocolate bars, and so on.
Man : Thank you. By way, is there a television in the room?
Hotel Clerk:Yes, we've got cable(光缆) TV.
Man : Oh, that's great.
Hotel Clerk:Well, here is your key. you need anything else, please call me.
Man : Ok. Thanks again.
— ____ what he has got.
