The next time you eat a piece of chocolate, be sure to enjoy it, because according to two of the world's largest chocolate makers--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 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 in 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 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 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! 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
C
Scientists recently found three animal species living two miles below the surface of the Mediterranean Sea, where the super-salty waters don't have oxygen . They're multicellular , which means their bodies have many cells. They each are as small as a large grain of sand. But they are animals. The most exciting thing about these creatures, say the scientists, is that they obviously don't need oxygen to live. What biologists know about life so far is that only single-celled living things can live in places that have no oxygen, and that multicellular organisms can visit these places, but not live there. These newly found creatures could _ . Finding animals down there was so surprising that the scientists couldn't believe it. At first, "we thought they were dead bodies," Roberto Danovaro, a scientist at the Polytechnic University of Marche in Ancona, Italy, told Science News. To find out whether the animals could actually live there Danovaro and his colleagues brought up more samples from the ocean floor. Studying the animals in the new samples showed that they appeared to be alive. The researchers did more tests, and found that some of the animals had eggs--which suggests they were reproducing . Also in the samples were old skins, suggesting that the animals had lived there long enough to grow. Finally, pictures taken showed that the insides of the animals appear to be adapted to live in an environment that has no oxygen. These clues suggest the animals don't need oxygen, but the evidence is indirect, which means that scientists still have not observed how the animals live without oxygen. This means more studies are needed, but the scientists think they're on the right track. And if they're right, biologists will need to rethink what they know about where animals live. More studies are needed to prove _ . A) where single-celled animals can live B) how the newly found animals live without oxygen C) whether the multicellular creatures can live underwater D) why the super-salty waters have no oxygen
B
Q: BEIJING - The country's top health officials state that an international charity's decisions not to give millions of dollars to Chinese organizations that fight AIDS and other diseases will not bring about the end of those organizations. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria announced on Monday that it will withhold $95 million from the $270 million in grants it had planned to give China. That decision came as the result of months of discussion between the charity and Chinese officials. On the mainland, a large number of programs meant to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS have received money from the Global Fund. Many observers now fear that the announced cut will undermine those organizations' work. Chen Zhu, the minister of health, said officials have found a way to limit the harm. "In the coming five years, the Chinese government will constantly increase its financial support of social organizations, particularly those that work to control and prevent HIV/AIDS." Chen said while addressing the 6th Experience Exchange Conference of International Cooperation Program on HIV/AIDS in China on Monday. In a recent survey of more than 200 organizations taking part in the fight against HIV/AIDS on the mainland, nearly 80 percent of them said they had received grants from the Global Fund. About 83 percent of them said they will find it difficult to continue operating without financial support from abroad, it said. Official statistics showed the Global Fund has given China $548 million in grants since 2003. Xia Jing, leader of a Beijing-based grassroots organization dedicated to controlling AIDS, said: "We were like children fostered by foreign milk. As foreign money began to be withdrawn from China, we were faced with serious financial hardships." Han Mengjie, executive director of Global Fund China Programs, said the Chinese government has fully recognized the important role social organizations play in controlling diseases. "The work done and efforts made by such organizations must be sustained for... How much money will China have received from Global Fund by the end of this year ? A) $818 B) $548 C) $ 270 D) $723
A: D
Perhaps the most extraordinary building put up in the nineteenth century was the Crystal Palace which was built in Hyde Park for the Great Exhibition of 1851. The Crystal Palace was different from all the other buildings in the world, for it was made of iron and glass. It was one of the biggest buildings of all the time and a lot of people from many countries came to see it. Plenty of goods were sent to the exhibition from all parts of the world. There was also a great deal of machinery on show. Though in those days, traveling was not as easy as it is today, steamboats carried thousands of visitors across the Channel from Europe. On arriving in England, they were taken to the Crystal Palace by train. There were six million visitors in all, and the money from the exhibition was used to build museums and colleges. Later the Crystal Palace was moved to the South London. It remained one of the most famous buildings in the world until it was burnt down in 1936. What happened to the Crystal Palace in 1936? A) It caught a terrible fire. B) It disappeared suddenly. C) It went to the South of London. D) It was rebuilt.
A