Egg Companies Pay Money for High Prices
雞蛋公司因價格過高而支付賠償
Introduction
The US government and seventeen states have a deal with three big egg companies. The government says these companies made egg prices too high.
美國政府與 17 個州與三家大型雞蛋公司達成協議。政府表示這些公司將雞蛋價格定得過高。
Main Body
Three companies, Cal-Maine, Versova, and Hickman's, worked together from 2022 to 2025. They changed the prices to make more money. Now, the companies must pay $3.3 million. They must also give 53 million eggs to poor people.
Cal-Maine、Versova 與 Hickman's 三家公司在 2022 年至 2025 年間採取協同行動，透過調整價格以獲取更多利潤。現在，這些公司必須支付 330 萬美元，並向貧困人群提供 5,300 萬枚雞蛋。
The companies say the prices were high because of bird flu. They say many chickens died. But the government says prices went down only after the investigation started. One company made a lot of money, over $1 billion.
這些公司聲稱價格高漲是因為禽流感，導致許多雞隻死亡。但政府表示，價格直到調查開始後才下降。其中一家公司獲利巨大，超過 10 億美元。
Egg prices were a big problem for people in 2024. Donald Trump talked about this in his election. Eggs cost $6.23 for twelve in March 2025. Later, the price went down to $2.20 in May 2026.
雞蛋價格在 2024 年成為民眾的一大問題。川普在競選中提到了這件事。2025 年 3 月，一打雞蛋的價格為 6.23 美元。隨後在 2026 年 5 月，價格下降至 2.20 美元。
Conclusion
The companies agreed to the deal. Now they must follow new rules. They cannot talk to other companies about prices.
這些公司同意了該協議。現在他們必須遵守新規則，不得與其他公司商討價格。
Vocabulary Learning
🕒 Past vs. Present
Look at how the story changes time. We use -ed for things that finished and simple forms for things happening now.
The Past (Finished)
- Worked (They did this from 2022 to 2025)
- Changed (They moved the prices)
- Died (The chickens are gone)
The Present (Now)
- Must pay (Current rule)
- Cannot talk (Current rule)
💰 Money Words
In A2 English, we describe costs simply:
- High (Expensive) "Prices were high."
- Down (Cheaper) "The price went down."
- Make money (Profit) "One company made $1 billion."
💡 Quick Tip: 'A lot of'
Instead of using big numbers, you can say "a lot of" to mean many things or much money.
Example: "A lot of money" or "A lot of chickens."