Historically, the term “fair trade” has meant many things. The Fair Trade League was 1 in Britain in 1881 to restrict 2 from foreign countries. In the United States, businesses and labor unions 3 “fair trade” laws to construct what economist Joseph Stiglitz calls “barriers to imports.” These so called “anti-dumping(反倾销)” laws allow a company that 4 a foreign one of selling a product below cost to request that the government charge special taxes to protect it from “unfair” 5 .
Such dark protectionist thoughts are far from the 6 of the organizers of the United Kingdom’s annual “Fairtrade Fortnight”. Their 7 aim is to raise the price paid to developing-country farmers for their 8 by cutting out the inflated profits of the middlemen on whom they 9 for getting their goods to distant markets. Fair-trade products 10 cocoa, coffee, tea, and bananas do not compete with domestic European production, and 11 do not have a protectionist motive(动机).
This is how it works: In 12 for being paid a guaranteed price and meeting “agreed labor and environmental standards” (minimum wages, no farm chemicals ), poor-country farming cooperatives(合作社) receive a FAIRTRADE mark for their products, given 13 by the FAIRTRADE Labeling Organization. This mark 14 supermarkets and other businesses to sell the products at a higher than 15 price . Third-world farmers get their income increased , 16 first-world consumers get to feel virtuous: a marriage made in heaven.
The fair-trade movement, 17 in the 1980’s, has been growing rapidly. In a significant breakthrough in 1997, the British House of Commons 18 to serve only fair-trade coffee. By the end of 2007, more than 600 producers’ organizations, 19 1.4 million farmers in 58 countries, were selling fair-trade products. Today, a quarter of all bananas in UK supermarkets are sold under a FAIRTRADE mark. But FAIRTRADE-labeled products still represent a very 20 share – typically less than 1% – of global sales of cocoa, tea, coffee, etc.
A.discovered B.founded C.encouraged D.promoted
A.imports B.exports C.output D.trade
A.disobey B.break C.use D.study
A.suspects B.needs C.wants D.advertises
A.agreement B.contract C.game D.competition
A.worries B.minds C.comments D.projects
A.educational B.political C.worthy D.immediate
A.favour B.benefit C.interest D.produce
A.depend B.spend C.look D.apply
A.as B.like C.with D.for
A.instead B.otherwise C.therefore D.anyhow
A.fear B.store C.preparation D.exchange
A.secretly B.publicly C.officially D.successfully
A.urges B.enables C.orders D.forces
A.normal B.potential C.lowest D.best
A.when B.while C.as D.but
A.launched B.arranged C.invented D.developed
A.wanted B.refused C.had D.decided
A.telling B.representing C.Choosing D.receiving
A.small B.little C.good D.large