单选题

Nine states and the District of Columbia are doing away with the sales tax on items such as clothes, shoes and even notebooks over the next few weeks, just in time for back-to- school shopping.
Most of the promotions last only a few days, so shoppers will have to act quickly to get a tax break. The tax holidays, which have already expired in two other states, apply to small and large items. For example, the tax break applies to any school supply that costs $15 or less in New Mexico. In Massachusetts, it covers most retail purchases of $2,500 or less. Stores may offer additional savings because these events "give retailers an opportunity to have a sale on top of what the state is doing," says Verenda Smith, government affairs associate at the Federation of Tax Administrators.
No industry-wide figures are available about how much consumers save annually from these tax breaks. But Texas estimates that shoppers will save $47.4 million in taxes this year, nearly a 3 percent increase from the previous year. Massachusetts says shoppers saved roughly $10 million in taxes during its 2005 event.
States that cast aside these promotions when a slow economy pinched state budgets are now reviving them in hopes of stimulating local economies. Some states also believe the gain in {{U}}consumer goodwill{{/U}} helps balance out the loss in tax revenue.
In some cases, tax losses are minimal because serious shoppers don't stop at clothes and books. "While states give up sales tax, they usually break even on sales-tax collection," says J. Craig Shearman, a vice-president at the National Retail Federation.
Sophie Beckmann, a certified public accountant at A. G. Edwards in St. Louis, says she'll avoid that temptation by making a list of necessities. On the Missouri resident's shopping list: notebooks, pencils, glue and three or four outfits for her son, who is entering the fifth grade this month. She plans to pocket any tax savings. "When you start buying more and spending more just because of the savings, then you're not doing yourself a favor," Beckmann says.

单选题 The District of Columbia is most possibly the ______ .

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[分析] 细节题型从第一段第一句中可看出the District of Columbia与nine states表并列，因此它不会是这九个州的州府(A)；也不会是这几个州里的地方名(D)；也没必要从十个州单举出一个州来做例子，何况在此没有举例(B)；因此只有选项C最可能是答案；另外根据常识，也应知道Washington D．C (此处D．C指the District of Columbia)有时简称 D．C，是美国的首都。

单选题 According to the passage, the sales tax is on all the following {{B}}EXCEPT{{/B}} ______ .

单选题 All the following terms that appear in Paragraph 2 refer roughly to the same as "tax-free shopping" EXCEPT ______ .

单选题 According to the passage, it seems that one can have more sales tax benefits in ______ .

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[分析] 细节题型见第二段第三句、第四句：For example，the tax break applies tO any school supply that costs $15 or less in New Mexico．In Massachusetts，it covers most retail purchases of $2，500 or less．(例如：在新墨西哥州，暂停收税适用于任何低于15美金(上学用)的学习用品。在马萨诸塞州，暂停收税包括绝大多数零售的2500美金或低于此价格的商品)；由此可知在马萨诸塞州比在新墨西哥州能享受到更大的利益，因此B为答案。

单选题 Mr. Verenda Smith is most probably a ______ .

单选题 According to the passage, residents in the state of Mississippi saved last year from tax breaks about ______ .

单选题 The phrase "consumer goodwill" underlined in Paragraph 4 most possibly refers to the ______ .

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[分析] 词义题型见第四段内容：一些由于经济发展缓慢、收缩预算、废除了促销的州目前也重新恢复了、促销手段，寄希望于刺激当地经济的发展。一些州还相信赢得了消费意愿有助于平衡税收上的损失(因为减少了消费税，可能由此刺激消费者的消费意愿，并带动经济的发展)．因此B为答案。

单选题 According to the passage, some states choose to provide tax breaks because they want to ______ .

单选题 When he says in Paragraph 5, "While states give up sales tax, they usually break even on sales-tax collection", J. Craig Shearman actually means that ______ .

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[分析] 语义题型见第五段第一句：In some cases，tax losses are minimal because serious shoppers don't stop at clothes and books．(在某些情况下税收损失很小，因为认真的购物者不会只驻足于服装和书籍——前面提到免税商品大多是服装和书籍文具之类)，由此推断出本段第二句的内容：While states give up sales tax，they usually break even on sales-tax collection是指当人们购买免税商品时也会购买一些其他不免税的商品；D为答案。