Passage F
The “standard of living” of any country means the average person’s share of the goods and services which the country produces. A country’s standard of living, therefore, depends first and foremost on its capacity to produce wealth. “Wealth” in this sense is not money, for we do not live on money but on things money can buy: “goods” as food and clothing, and “service” such as transport and entertainment.
A country’s capacity to produce wealth depends upon many factors, most of which have an effect on one another. Wealth depends to a great extent upon a country’s natural resources, such as coal, gold, and other mineral, water supply and so on. Some regions of the world are well supplied with coal and minerals, and have a fertile soil and a favorable climate; other regions possess none of them. The USA is one; of the wealthiest regions of the world because she has vast natural resources within her borders, her soul is fertile, and her climate is varied. The Sahara Desert, on the other hand, is one of the least wealthy.
Next to natural resources comes the ability to turn them to use. Sound and stable political conditions, and freedom from foreign invasion, enable a country to develop its natural resources peacefully and steadily, and to produce more wealth than another country equally well served by nature but less well ordered. Another important factor is the technical efficiency of a country’s people. Old countries that have, through many centuries, trained up numerous skilled craftsmen and technicians are better placed to produce wealth. As a country becomes wealthier, its people have a large margin for saving, and can put their savings into factories and machines which will help workers to produce mire goods in their working day.
A country’s standard of living does not only depend upon the wealth that is produced and consumed within its own borders, but also upon what is indirectly produced through international trade. For example, Britain’s wealth in foodstuffs and other agricultural products would be much less if she had to depend only on those grown at home. Trade makes it possible for her surplus manufactured goods to be traded abroad for the agricultural products that would otherwise be lacking. A country’s wealth is, therefore, much influenced by its manufacturing capacity, provided that other countries can be found ready to accept its manufactures.
According to the author, a nation’s wealth depends upon ________.
根据第一段后两句“A country’s standard of living, therefore, depends first and foremost on its capacity to produce wealth. ‘Wealth’ in this sense is not money, for we do not live on money but on things money can buy: ‘goods’ as food and clothing, and ‘service’ such as transport and entertainment.”可知，财富是指我们用钱购买的商品和服务，国家的财富取决于一个国家提供商品和服务的能力，因此答案选C。
The best title for the passage would be ________.
全文主旨题。文中第一段第一句即提出了“standard of living”的概念，之后的文章都是对这一概念进行 解释，因此最佳题目应该是standard of living，答案选B。
The word “foremost” in the first paragraph most probably means ________.
第一段第二句中的“depends first and foremost on”句意为“首先和最重要的”，因此答案选D。
The main idea of the second paragraph is that ________.
根据第二段第二句“Wealth depends to a great extent upon a country’s natural resources”可知，财富在很大 程度上取决于一个国家的自然资源，后文以自然资源丰富的美国和自然资源贫乏的撒哈拉沙漠进行对比， 再次说明自然资源和国家财富的重要联系，因此答案选D。
Which of the following about Britain’s wealth is TURE according to the passage?
根据最后一段倒数第二句“Trade makes it possible for her surplus manufactured goods to be traded abroad for the agricultural products that would otherwise be lacking.”可知，英国生产的商品超过了国内消费的能力， 便与其他国家进行贸易。因此答案选D。