You might have noticed that the cost of food has gone up.In fact the price of wheat and rice has nearly doubled in the past few years.It’s thought that right now，850 million people—that’s more than 10 times the population of the UK—are short of food because it’s too expensive or there’s not enough of it.
The price of basic food such as wheat and corn has stayed the same for quite a long time，about 30 years.But as the world’s population is getting bigger，there’s more pressure to feed more people，plus there’s less land and water to go round.
Another reason is climate（气候）change.Droughts and floods make it hard to grow crops like rice and grain.The price of oil has gone up and that makes it more expensive for farmers to run their tractors and to transport the food they make.And lots of fields are being used to grow crops to make other things that can’t be eaten—which is bad news for hungry people.
The main losers are poor people who live in cities in poor countries，who are facing higher prices for food.Some people are doing well out of the food crisis（危机） though.Farmers in rich countries like the US，Canada and Australia are getting record prices for their harvests.
World leaders are meeting in the Italian capital Rome to talk about the problem of rising food prices.Some countries are helping out with the cost of foods and international aid agencies have called for more money for food production in poor countries.
小题1:The price of food goes up because all of the following EXCEPT _____.
A．there are more and more people in the world.
B．American farmers are getting richer and richer.
C．many farm lands are used to make other things rather than food.
D．climate change makes it harder to grow food.小题2:Who lose the most because of the food crisis?
A．Farmers in rich countries.
B．Farmers in developed countries.
C．Poor people in cities in poor countries.
D．Poor people in cities in developed countries.小题3:What does the food crisis mean to farmers in Canada?
A．They can get a lot of money from the government.
B．They have to save a lot of money.
C．They can make more money from the high price.
D．They are losing a lot of money.小题4:What is the best title for this passage?
A．Why is the Price of Food Going Up？
B．How Many People are Short of Food?
C．What Can We Learn from the Food Crisis?
D．Who Can Benefit（受益） from the Food Crisis?
