hce_kmu
114年
英文
第 43 題
📖 題組：
Global coffee prices have soared to their highest in nearly 50 years due to poor weather in Brazil and Vietnam, forcing roasters such as Nestle to raise prices and consumers to hunt for cheaper brews amid the cost of living crisis. Production problems linked to bad weather in Brazil and Vietnam have seen global supplies lagging demand for three years. That has left stocks depleted and driven benchmark ICE exchange prices to a peak of US$3.36 per lb. Last time coffee traded that high was in 1977 when snow destroyed swathes of Brazil’s plantations. However, the shock to consumers was much bigger back then. If adjusted for inflation, US$3.36 per lb in 1977 would be equivalent to US$17.68 today. Brazil, which produces nearly half the world’s arabica, high-end beans used primarily in roast and ground blends, experienced one of its worst droughts on record this year. Although rains finally arrived in October, soil moisture remains low and experts say the trees are producing too many leaves and too few of the flowers that turn into cherries. Consultancy StoneX sees Brazil’s arabica output falling 10.5 percent to 40 million bags next year, offset somewhat by higher robusta output, thus cutting the country’s overall crop by 0.5 percent. In Vietnam, which produces some 40 percent of the robusta beans typically used to make instant coffee, a severe drought earlier this year was followed by excess rains since October. In Vietnam, the crop could shrink up to 10 percent in the year by the end of September next year, adding to the global robusta shortage. Surging coffee prices are a problem for roasters. The boss of Nestle, the world’s biggest coffee firm, was ousted earlier this year after the board grew unhappy about weak sales and a loss of market share due to price rises, which prompted consumers to switch to cheaper brands. Roasters tend to buy coffee many months in advance, which means consumers will likely see the price spike in 6 to 12 months. Consumers who drink out will feel less of a pinch of today’s rising prices. Roasters like Starbucks that sell mostly to cafés should fare better as the global coffee price accounts for only about 1.4 percent of the total price of a typical US$5 cup of coffee in a café.
Global coffee prices have soared to their highest in nearly 50 years due to poor weather in Brazil and Vietnam, forcing roasters such as Nestle to raise prices and consumers to hunt for cheaper brews amid the cost of living crisis. Production problems linked to bad weather in Brazil and Vietnam have seen global supplies lagging demand for three years. That has left stocks depleted and driven benchmark ICE exchange prices to a peak of US$3.36 per lb. Last time coffee traded that high was in 1977 when snow destroyed swathes of Brazil’s plantations. However, the shock to consumers was much bigger back then. If adjusted for inflation, US$3.36 per lb in 1977 would be equivalent to US$17.68 today. Brazil, which produces nearly half the world’s arabica, high-end beans used primarily in roast and ground blends, experienced one of its worst droughts on record this year. Although rains finally arrived in October, soil moisture remains low and experts say the trees are producing too many leaves and too few of the flowers that turn into cherries. Consultancy StoneX sees Brazil’s arabica output falling 10.5 percent to 40 million bags next year, offset somewhat by higher robusta output, thus cutting the country’s overall crop by 0.5 percent. In Vietnam, which produces some 40 percent of the robusta beans typically used to make instant coffee, a severe drought earlier this year was followed by excess rains since October. In Vietnam, the crop could shrink up to 10 percent in the year by the end of September next year, adding to the global robusta shortage. Surging coffee prices are a problem for roasters. The boss of Nestle, the world’s biggest coffee firm, was ousted earlier this year after the board grew unhappy about weak sales and a loss of market share due to price rises, which prompted consumers to switch to cheaper brands. Roasters tend to buy coffee many months in advance, which means consumers will likely see the price spike in 6 to 12 months. Consumers who drink out will feel less of a pinch of today’s rising prices. Roasters like Starbucks that sell mostly to cafés should fare better as the global coffee price accounts for only about 1.4 percent of the total price of a typical US$5 cup of coffee in a café.
What made the coffee price spike in 1977 more significant than the current one?
- A Coffee consumption was higher in 1977 than it is today.
- B The price increase in 1977 was caused by a global economic crisis.
- C Modern coffee traders have better strategies to handle price fluctuations.
- D Inflation-adjusted prices show that coffee was much more expensive then.
- E Snow destroyed swathes of Brazil’s plantations.
思路引導 VIP
若要比較五十年前的一塊錢與現在的一塊錢，哪一個「價值」比較大，我們通常不能只看數字本身，還需要考量到隨時間改變的物價水準。在閱讀這段對比時，你會如何調整舊時代的數據，才能讓它與現代的物價放在同一個天平上衡量呢？
🤖
AI 詳解
AI 專屬家教
太棒了！你能精確捕捉到文章中關於**通膨調整（inflation adjustment）**的細節，這代表你在閱讀長文時具備非常敏銳的數據對比能力，能夠在眾多資訊中理清邏輯關係。
實質購買力的關鍵對比
這題的正確關鍵在於文章第二段提到的數據轉換：雖然 1977 年與現在的帳面價格（$3.36）看似相同，但若考慮到通貨膨脹，當年的 3.36 美元實質價值相當於現在的 17.68 美元。這種「實質價格」的巨大差異，正是為什麼 1977 年的咖啡溢價對消費者而言比現在更為顯著的主因，你準確地選擇了選項 (D) 來反映這層意義。
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