It is a good time to be a fisherman. The global fish-price index of the UN's Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) hit a record high in May. Changing consumer diets, particularly in China, explain much of the sustained upward movement. High oil prices, which increase the cost of fishing and transportation, also add to the price of putting fish on the table. Not all fish are created equal, however. There are two types offish production; "capture" (or wild) and "aquaculture" (or farmed). And they seem to be on different tracks. Fish such as tuna, the majority of which is caught wild, saw much bigger price increases than salmon, which is easier to farm. Overall, the FAO's price index for wild fish nearly doubled between 1990 and 2012, whereas the one for farmed fish rose by only a fifth. What explains this big difference? The amount of wild fish captured globally has barely changed in the past two decades. The ceiling, of about 90m tonnes a year, seems to have been reached at the end of the 1980s. Overfishing is one reason, as is the limited room for productivity growth, particularly if consumers want high quality. Patrice Guillotreau of the University of Nantes tells the story of a fleet in France that decided to trawl, rather than line-catch, its tuna. It brought more back to shore, but the fish were damaged. It could not be sold as high-value fillets and was only good for canning. The old ways of catching fish are still best if you want the highest profits, says Mr Guillotreau. In contrast, the farmed-fish industry continues to make productivity improvements. Fish farms have found crafty ways to use lower quantities of fish meal as feed. In the early days of aquaculture, it could take up to ten pounds of wild fish to produce one pound of salmon. Now the number is down to five. That may still be an inefficient use of protein, but the ratio is set to improve further. Fish farms have also become more energy-efficient, meaning that they are less affected by higher energy prices. And they have learned how to handle diseases better, reducing the quantity of fish that ends up being unsellable. As a result of all these improvements, the global production of farmed fish, measured in tonnes, now exceeds the production of beef. Output is likely to continue growing: the FAO estimates that by 2020 it will reach six times its 1990 level.

单选题 The global fish price is growing because of______.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】解析：细节题。根据题干the global fish price定位到首段第二句，其中hit a record high=growing。答案句来自后两句，关键词分别是changing consumer diets“消费者饮食习惯改变”和high oil prices，which increase the cost of fishing and transportation“高昂的油价抬高了捕捞和运输成本”。总结起来就是两个原因使鱼价上涨：一是消费者饮食习惯改变，即市场需求高；二是成本高。选项[A]the shortage of fishermen“渔夫紧缺”；该项对应首句，与本题答案无关。[B]ever-increasing oil prices“油价不断上涨”；对应最后一句，属于鱼价上涨的原因之一，但是片面不完整，故排除；[C]the change of Chinese diets“中国人饮食习惯的改变”；该项也属于原因之一，与[B]一样属于片面选项。[D]high market demand and cost “高市场需求和高成本”；该项符合答案要求，故本题选择[D]。

单选题 Tuna and salmon are mentioned to show that______.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】解析：例证题。根据tuna and salmon定位到第二段第四句。答案句来自下一句：Overall，the FAO’s price index for wild fish nearly doubled between 1990 and 2012，whereas the one for farmed fish rose by only a fifth．文章举金枪鱼和三文鱼的例子，是为了说明野生鱼的价格涨幅大，而养殖鱼的价格相对涨幅小，即野生鱼比养殖鱼更珍贵，选项[C]wild fish is more precious than farmed fish“野生鱼比养殖鱼更珍贵”为答案。选项[A]salmon is not as expensive as tuna“三文鱼不如金枪鱼贵”；[B]tuna is more popular among consumers“金枪鱼更受消费者欢迎”；这两项围绕salmon和tuna讨论，明显是表面选项，故可以排除。选项[D]the prices of fish are in fact decided by FAO“鱼类价格实际上由联合国粮食与农业组织决定”；该项表述纯属无中生有。综上，本题选择[C]。

单选题 According to Patrice Guillotreau, the price of wild fish is decided by its______.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】解析：细节题。根据Patrice Guillotreau定位到第四段。题目问“野生鱼价格由什么决定”，而该段没有出现wild fish一词，但上文提到tuna“金枪鱼”是野生鱼，故本段的tuna即指野生鱼。本题答案句来自中间两句：It brought more back to shore，but the fish were damaged．It could not be sold as high-value fillets and was only good for canning．其中the fish指tuna。这两句说明，金枪鱼受损，就不能高价卖出，只能制作成罐头，暗示了野生鱼质量好才能卖出高价格，即野生鱼价格由其质量决定。上一段最后一句的if consumers want high quality也与本段内容有所关联，其中的high quality也是答案提示，故本题选择[A]quality“质量”。选项[B]size“大小”；[C]quantity“数量”；[D]popularity“受欢迎程度”；这三项均无法从文中找到对应内容，故排除。综上[A]正确。

单选题 The production of farmed fish is growing due to the following reasons except______.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】解析：细节题。根据the production of fanned fish，growing等词定位到最后一段。题目问“养殖鱼产量增加的原因”，对应句子为最后一段首句：As a result of all these improvements，the global production of farmed fish，measured in tonnes，now exceeds the production of beef．由该句可知养殖鱼产量增加是因为these improvements“这些进步”，而these improvements指代的内容来自上一段，即答案句来自第五段。该段讲到三个因素使养殖鱼产量增加，没有提到的即符合题目要求。第一个因素来自第五段第二句：Fish farms have found crafty ways to use lower quantities of fish meal as feed．其中lower quantities of fish meal as feed“减少鱼饲料”=[D]reduction of fish feed“鱼饲料减少”；故排除[D]。第二个因素来自倒数第二句：Fish farms have also become more energy-efficient，meaning that they are less affected by higher energy prices．其中energy-efficient“节能”=[C]energy conservation“节约能源”；故排除[C]。第三个因素来自最后一句：And they have learned how to handle diseases better，reducing the quantity of fish that ends up being unsellable．其中handle diseases better“更好应对疾病”=[A]disease control“疾病控制”；故排除[A]。剩余选项[B]lower labour cost“低劳动力成本”；该项属于无中生有，符合题目要求，故本题选择[B]。

单选题 The most suitable title for the text is______.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】解析：主旨题。文章首段引出话题：全球鱼类价格上涨。第二段指出：并非所有鱼类都涨幅相同，并引出野生鱼和养殖鱼这两个种类，接下来几段分别讨论野生鱼和养殖鱼上涨幅度不同的原因。选项[A]Wild Fish：Demand Decides Price“野生鱼：需求决定价格”；该项突出讨论野生鱼，全文只有第三、四两段突出讨论野生鱼，该项属于片面选项，故排除。[B]The Rising Price of Rare Wild Fish“稀有野生鱼价格上涨”；该项同样突出野生鱼，与[A]一样为片面选项。[C]Farmed Fish：Making Improvements“养殖鱼：不断进步”；该项突出养殖鱼，而文章只有第五、六段重点讨论养殖鱼，该项同属于片面选项，故排除。[D]The Price of Fishes：Rising Differently“鱼类价格：上涨幅度不同”；该项符合文章主旨，尤其rising differently强调了不同鱼类涨幅不同，故该项为答案。