单选题 1 Debt Settlement USA, Inc. , a leading debt settlement company, today announced that the number of consumers who are choosing debt settlement as an alternative to personal bankruptcy is significantly increasing. Debt Settlement USA expects to see a 40 percent increase in the number of consumers in 2008 who see debt settlement as the best solution to help them deal with financial hardships and a weakening economy versus last year. 2 " We are in the most difficult credit environment in recent history, " Jack Craven, President of Debt Settlement USA, said, " so it"s no surprise that, taken as a whole, the debt settlement industry has shifted into overdrive. Today"s economic environment is driving an unprecedented number of consumers into additional financial hardships, increasing the number of consumers seeking relief assistance from legitimate debt settlement companies. " 3 Currently, charge-off and delinquency rates are rising and bankruptcy filings increased by 38 percent from 2006 to 2007, according to Standard & Poor"s Credit Card Quality Indexes. While homes targeted for foreclosure rose by more than 100 percent from 2006 to 2007, $700 billion in Adjustable Rate Mortgages are due to reset by December of 2008 which will present new challenges to consumers struggling with debt issues already. 4 Traditionally, consumers have turned to debt settlement companies as an alternative to bankruptcy when faced with financial hardship. With the number of consumers facing financial hardships expected to grow in the coming months due to the weakening economy, Debt Settlement USA emphasizes the critical need to establish standards within the debt settlement industry now in order to protect consumers from fraudulent and unethical debt settlement practices. 5 Legitimate debt settlement companies can help people get out of debt efficiently and expeditiously by negotiating a settlement for a portion of the debt with their creditors. For example, on average, Debt Settlement USA settles clients" debts for 40 – 60 percent, enabling them to settle the debts that they bring into the program within 18-36 months. 6 Legitimate debt settlement programs also help creditors settle accounts more quickly, avoid third party expenses, and gain more control over this segment of their portfolio. Additionally, it helps them salvage relationships with customers who were in good standing prior to their hardship. Ultimately this leads to new business opportunities with these customers in the future.

单选题 The word "legitimate" in Paragraph 2 probably means______.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】解析：由题干定位到原文第二段最后一句“Today’s economic environment is…increasing the number ofconsumers seeking relief assistance from legitimate debt settlement companies”。可知目前的经济形式使越来越多的消费者陷入经济困境，更多的人转向合法的债务结算机构寻求援助。再由第一段对这种债务结算公司的描述可知A项meaningless“没有意义的”，B项denied“被否定的”，C项infamous“声名狼藉的”都不符合文意；D项legal“合法的”符合题意。因此，D是正确答案。

单选题 Debt Settlement USA maintains that it is crucial to______within the debt settlement industry in order to protect consumers from bad debt settlement practices.

单选题 The word "fraudulent" in Paragraph 4 can be defined best as______.

单选题 The word "them" in Paragraph 6 refers to______.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】解析：由题干定位到原文第六段“Additionally，it helps them salvage…”，再结合此句前一句“Legitimate debtsettlement programs also help creditors settle accounts more quickly…”可知合理的债务结算计划能帮助债务人更快速地解决网难……接下来作者从另一个方面讲述这种合理的债务结算计划能改善那些固执地不愿意面对自己的困难的债务人，故题干中的them就是上句中提到的creditors“债权人”。因此，B是答案。