A
(2019·南京、盐城模拟)That competition keeps prices down is well known. But it is hard to measure by just how much, because prices vary for all sorts of reasons, from differences in labour costs and rents to taxes. Rising to the challenge is a new paper in The Economic Journal by Giacomo Calzolari, Andrea Ichino, Francesco Manaresi and Viki Nellas，economists at the European University Institute, Bologna University and the Italian central bank. They looked at pharmacies (药房) and specifically at customers who may be particularly easy to rip off: new parents.
Using data for 2007 to 2010 covering about a fifth of pharmacies in Italy, the researchers measured the way in which prices of hygiene products for babies changed as the number of babies varied. They took advantage of a peculiar law from the 1960s, according to which regions with at most 7,500 people are allowed just one pharmacy (supposedly to keep the quality of services high). They compared prices in places with populations just below this threshold, and just above.
The products studied included some 3,000 varieties of shampoos, bath foams, baby wipes, creams and so on. Many are also used by adults on themselves. Some people, for example, prefer suncream labelled “for children” because of its high level of protection. When raising prices for these products, even a pharmacist with a monopoly (垄断) must consider the risk that adult users will switch to products that are not aimed at children. But a rise in the number of babies, and hence buyers who are parents, could tip_the_scales_towards price increases. By contrast, the pharmacist should already be charging as much as parents are willing to pay for products without adult users, such as nappies.
The scholars found that pharmacists raised prices when there were more new parents — but only in regions with a single pharmacy, and not for nappies. In monopoly areas a doubling of the number of babies from one month to the next (not unusual in a small population) coincided with a 5% increase in the price of the basket of babyhygiene products.
The study is timely. Italy's government has started to loosen some of the many restrictions that stop competition in the pharmacy sector (though not yet the one that the researchers relied on). But such regulations are plentiful in many other lines of business, and not just in Italy. The consumers who pay the price are often those who find it hardest to travel to shop around — for example, people with crying babies on their hands.
语篇解读：研究人员发现竞争有利于降低价格。但是在一些人口比较少，只有一家垄断的药店的地方，儿童用药价格就比较高，所以文章建议政府放宽医药行业准入门槛，多增加一些药店，这样可以减轻新手父母的负担。
1．What's the purpose of the study?
A．To review the function of the special law for pharmacies.
B．To make clear the relation between competition and prices.
C．To collect the information on pharmacy business in Italy.
D．To gather the data on hygiene products for babies in Italy.
解析：选B 细节理解题。根据第一段第一、二句“That competition keeps prices down is well known. But it is hard to measure by just how much ...”可知，大家都知道竞争会导致价格下降，但是很难具体测量竞争到底影响了多少价格，所以研究的目的是为了搞清楚竞争和价格之间的关系。
2．The underlined phrase“tip the scales”in Paragraph 3 means “________”．
A．push the move B．keep the level
C．control the rise D．break the balance
解析：选A 词义猜测题。根据本文的主题以及常识可知婴儿多了，家长(要扩大购买)会推动价格上涨。画线词意为“推动价格上涨”，A项与之表达的意思一致，故选A。
3．The government's new measures will greatly benefit ________.
A．pharmacy owners B．local merchants
C．new parents D．adult users
解析：选C 推理判断题。根据最后一段的内容可知，怀抱婴儿的家长不方便到远的地方去买儿童药品，所以在药店比较少的地方容易被欺诈。放宽一些禁止医药行业竞争的政策，同一个地方会有更多的药店，有利于降低药价，所以刚做父母的人会受益。
