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.

    The U. S. Postal Service (USPS) is losing billions of dollars a year. The government company that delivers "small mail" is losing out to email and other types of electronic communication. First-class mail amount fell from a high point of 104 million pieces in 2000 to just 64 million pieces by 2014.

    Congress permits the 600.000-empIoyee USPS to hold a monopoly (垄断) over first-class and standard mail. The company pays no federal, state or local taxes; pays no vehicle fees; and is free from many regulations on other businesses. Despite these advantages, the USPS has lost $52 billion since 2007, and will continue losing money without major reforms.

    The problem is that Congress is preventing the USPS from reducing costs as its sales decline, and is blocking efforts to end Saturday service and close unneeded post office locations. USPS also has a costly union-dominated workforce that slows the introduction of new ideas or methods down. USPS workers earn significantly higher payment than comparable private-sector workers. The answer is to privatize the USPS and open postal markets to competition. With the rise of the Internet, the argument that mail is a natural monopoly that needs government protection is weaker than ever.

    Other countries facing declining letter amounts have made reforms Germany and the Netherlands privatized their national postal companies over a decade ago, and other European countries have followed suit. Britain floated shares of the Royal Mail on its stock exchange in 2013. Some countries, such us Sweden and New Zealand, have not privatized their national postal companies, but they have opened them up to competition.

    These reforms have driven efficiency improvements in all of these countries. Additional number of workers have been reduced, productivity has risen and consumers have benefited. Also, note that cost-cutting measures—such as closing tone post offices—are good for both the economy and the environment.

    Privatization and competition also encourage new changes. When the USPS monopoly over "extremely urgent" mail was stopped in 1979, we saw an explosion in efficient overnight private delivery by firms such as FedEx.

    The government needs to wake up to changing technology, study postal reforms abroad and let businessmen reinvent our out-of-date postal system.

—Yeah, I ___________ about it in the newspaper.

    Research shows that pets help reduce stress．Do you know why and how?

    For those who love animals,  it's virtually impossible to stay in a bad mood when a pair of loving puppy eyes meets yours, or when a super - soft cat rubs up against your head． Research supports the mood - enhancing benefits of pets．A recent study found that men with AIDS were less likely to suffer from depression if they owned a pet． According to a study, men with AIDS who had pets were only about 50 percent more likely to report symptoms of depression, compared to men with (AIDS who didn't have pets．）

    While ACE inhibiting drugs can generally reduce blood pressure, they aren't as effective on controlling spikes in blood pressure due to stress and tension．However, in a recent study, a group of patients who got dogs or cats were found to have lower blood pressure and haut rates than those having no pets．When they heard of the results, most of those in the non - pet group went out and got pets !

    Whether we walk our dogs because they need it, or are more likely to enjoy a walk when we have companionship, dog owners do spend more time walking than non - pet owners, at least if we live in an urban setting．Because exercise is good for stress management and overall health, owning a dog can be credited with increasing these benefits．

    When we're out walking, having a dog with us can make us more approachable and pave people a reason to stop and talk, thereby increasing the number of people we meet, giving us an pop corduroy to increase our net - work of friends and acquaintances, which also has great stress management benefits．

    Peels can be there for you in ways that people can't．They can offer love and companionship, and can also enjoy comfortable silence, keep secrets and are excellent companions．And they could be the best killer to loneliness．In fact, research shows that nursing home residents reported less loneliness when visited by dogs than when they spent time with other people !  All these benefits can reduce the amount of stress people experience in response to feelings of social isolation and lack of social support from people．

    For most people, Christmas is a time to relax in the company of family and friends. But for Santa Claus, and the thousands of fake Santas who impersonate（模仿） him every year, the Christmas season is time to get to work.

    Although Santa Claus waits until Christmas Eve to take his famous sleigh (雪橇) ride, Santa impersonators can be found at shopping malls around America throughout the six weeks leading up to December 25. "When you see Santa talking with kids at your local mall, that's when you know Christmas really is on the way," says Mary Lewine of New York City.

    With the excitement of Christmas, people often forget about the real people behind the red robes （长袍) and white beards, but being a mall Santa. is a tough job. "There is more to it than just sitting in a chair. There is more to it than just a red suit," said Timothy Connaghan, who has worked as a Santa for.38 years. "Children can really put the wear and tear on you.”

    A recent survey showed some of the challenges that mall Santas face every year. About 90 percent of Santas claimed that children pulled their beards to see if they were real, and 60 percent said that up to ten kids cough or sneeze on them every day. Even more disturbing, one-third of the Santas admit to having children wet themselves while sitting on their laps.

    So why would anyone take this job? For Ben Brauch, a retired high school teacher who has worked as a Santa for the last six years, the answer is simple-the children. "I see maybe 12,000 kids in a six-week period.

    It's hard work, but it's worth it because you get to play with kids." In fact, Brauch loves his job so much that he keeps his white beard long all year.

    A qualified doctor who rarely practiced but instead devoted his life to writing．He once said: “Medicine is my lawful wife, and literature is my lover．” Russian writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, was a great playwright and one of the masters of the modern short story．

    When Chekhov entered the Moscow University Medical School in 1879, he started to publish hundreds of comic short stories to support his family．After he graduated, he wrote regularly for a local daily newspaper．

    As a writer he was extremely fast, often producing a short story in an hour or less．Chekhov's medical and science experience can be seen through the indifference (冷漠) many of his characters show to tragic events．In 1892, he became a full time writer and published some of his most memorable stories．

    Chekhov often wrote about the sufferings of life in small town Russia．Tragic events control his characters who are filled with feelings of hopelessness and despair．

    It is often said that nothing happens in Chekhov's stories and plays．He made up for this with his exciting technique for developing drama within his characters．Chekhov's work combined the calm attitude of a scientist and doctor with the sensitivity(敏感) of an artist．

    Some of Chekhov's works were translated into Chinese as early as the 1940s．One of his famous stories, The Man in a Shell, about a school teacher's extraordinarily orderly life, was selected as a text for Chinese senior students．

    Perhaps the most interesting person I have ever met in my life is an Italian professor of philosophy who teaches at the University of Pisa. 1 I last met this man eight years ago, I have not forgotten his 2 qualities. First of all, I respected his 3 to teaching. Because his lectures were always well-prepared and clearly delivered, students crowded into his classroom. His followers liked the fact that he 4 what he taught. Furthermore, he could be counted on to explain his ideas in an 5 way, introducing such aids to 6 as oil paintings, music, and guest lecturers. Once he 7 sang a song in class in order to make a point clear. 8, I admired the fact that he would talk to students outside the classroom or talk with them 9 the telephone. Drinking coffee in the café, he would easily make friends with students. Sometimes he would 10 a student to a game of chess. 11, he would join student groups to discuss a variety of 12: agriculture, diving and mathematics and so on. Many young people visited him in his office for 13 on their studies; others came to his home for social evenings. Finally, I was 14 by his lively sense of humor. He believed that no lesson is a success 15, during it, the students and the professor 16 at least one loud 17. Through his sense of humor, he made learning more 18 and more lasting. If it is 19 that life makes a wise man smile and a foolish man cry, 20 my friend is indeed a wise man.