In the 1920s demand for American farm products fell, as European countries began to recover from World War I and instituted austerity (紧缩) programs to reduce their imports. The result was a sharp drop in farm prices. This period was more disastrous for farmers than earlier times had been, because farmers were no longer self-sufficient. They were paying for machinery, seed, and fertilizer, and they were also buying consumer goods. The prices of the items farmers bought remained constant, while prices they received for their products fell. These developments were made worse by the Great Depression, which began in 1929 and extended throughout the 1939s.
In 1929, under President Herbert Hoover, the Federal Farm Board was organized. It established the principle of direct interference with supply and demand, and it represented the first national commitment to provide greater economic stability for farmers.
President Hoover"s successor attached even more importance to this problem. One of the first measures proposed by President Franklin Roosevelt when he took office in 1933 was the Agricultural Adjustment Act , which was subsequently passed by Congress. This law gave the Secretary of Agriculture the power to reduce production through voluntary agreements with farmers who were paid to take their land out of use. A deliberate scarcity of farm products was planned in an effort to raise prices. This law was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court on the grounds that general taxes were being collected to pay one special group of people. However, new laws were passed immediately that achieved the same result of resting soil and providing flood-control measures, but which were based on the principle of soil conservation. The Roosevelt Administration believed that rebuilding the nation"s soil was in the national interest and was not simply a plan to help farmers at the expense of other citizens. Later the government guaranteed loans to farmers so that they could buy farm machinery, hybrid (杂交) grain, and fertilizers.

单选题 What brought about the decline in the demand for American farm products?
A The impact of the Great Depression.
B The shrinking of overseas markets.
C. The destruction caused by the First World War.
D. The increased exports of European countries.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。利用定位关键词可以定位到第一段“In the 1920s demand for American farm products fell. as European countries began to recover from World War I and instituted austerity (紧缩) programs to reduce their imports”，即“由于欧洲国家开始从第一次世界大战中恢复过来，并制定降低进口的严格计划，美国农产品需求减少了”，由此可知B(海外市场的萎缩)为正确答案，“as”即是这因果关系的关键词；选项A(经济大萧条的影响)、C(一战的破坏)、D(欧洲出口的增加)则明显与原文信息不一致。

单选题 The chief concern of the American government about agriculture in the 1920s was ______.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。利用定位关键词可以定位到第一段最后一句和第二段“These developments were made worse by the Great Depression, which began in 1929 and extended throughout the 1939s. In 1929, under President Herbert Hoover, the Federal Farm Board was organized. It established the principle of direct interference with supply and demand, and it represented the first national commitment to provide greater economic stability for farmers”，即“由于从1929年开始的经济大萧条一直延续(extend: continue)到整个30年代，这种情况变得更糟。1929年，在赫伯特·胡佛总统领导下成立了联邦农业委员会。它制定的原则是直接干预农产品供需矛盾，首次承诺国家为农民提供较稳定的经济环境”。由此可知，政府在农业经济恶化的情况下，采取直接干预农业供求矛盾的方法，原则是为农民提供更大的经济稳定性，因而C(预防农民破产)与原文信息相近；其他选项A(增加农业生产)、B(建立农业立法)、D(促进农业的商业化)都与原文信息不符。

单选题 The Agricultural Adjustment Act encouraged American farmers to ______.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。利用定位关键词可以定位到第三段“... Agricultural Adjustment Act , which was subsequently passed by Congress. This law gave the Secretary of Agriculture the power to reduce production through voluntary agreements with farmers who were paid to take their land out of use. A deliberate scarcity of farm products was planned in an effort to raise prices”，即“这个法律赋予农业部长权力同农民自愿订立协议，通过给他们补偿以减少耕地面积。这项周详的计划通过造成农产品短缺来提高价格”，由此可知政府通过补偿鼓励农民少种地，从而调节供求关系以提升农产品的价格，因此项A(农业生产的自给自足)比较贴合原文信息，其他选项B(充分利用土地)、C(调整农产品价格)都与政府补贴农民减产的信息相违背，而D(减少农产品的购买)原文并未提及。

单选题 The Supreme Court rejected the Agricultural Adjustment Act because it is believed to ______.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。利用定位关键词可以定位到第三段“This law was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court on the grounds that general taxes were being collected to pay one special group of people”，即“最高法院以用全民的税收付给一个特殊人群为由，宣布该法律违反宪法”，由此可知选项D(以牺牲其他人而让一部分人受益)与原文信息相符，其中on the grounds(由于……原因)揭示出该句的因果关系，其他选项与所定位的原句的信息都不一致。

单选题 It was claimed that the new laws passed during the Roosevelt Administration were aimed at ______.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。利用定位关键词可以定位到第三段“The Roosevelt Administration believed that rebuilding the nation"s soil was in the national interest and was not simply a plan to help farmers at the expense of other citizens”，即“罗斯福政府相信保养国家耕地符合国家利益，而非简单牺牲其他公民利益来帮助农民的计划”，可知新的法案声称不是牺牲其他公民的利益来帮助农民，而是为了国家的利益，所以选项B(追求所有人的长期利益)符合原文的信息，其中原文的national interest与选项中的interest of all people为同义改写。