【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[听力原文]
The United States bought Alaska from Russia in 1867 for seven million dollars. That is less than five cents a hectare. At the time, many Americans criticized the purchase. But it was one of the best deals the country ever made. Alaska proved rich in oil and minerals.
Gold was found nearby in the Yukon area of Canada in the eighteen nineties. Thousands of people traveled to the Yukon through Alaska hoping to get rich, but never did. But some of them decided to stay in Alaska. Mainly they earned their money as miners, fishermen, animal trappers and store owners.
Alaska became an official territory of the United States in 1912. Four years later, the first Alaskan statehood bill was proposed in Congress. Opponents argued that Alaska was far away, disconnected from the other states and little populated. Only about 58,000 people lived there at the time.
Yet those were not the only concerns. Historians say Congress was also unsure about the loyalties of native Alaskans—the Aleuts, Indians and Eskimos. But during World War Two, national leaders recognized the importance of the territory to security in the Pacific.
The United States entered the war in 1941 after Japanese planes attacked the Navy base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The surprise attack sank many ships. After that, Congress provided billions of dollars in defense spending for Alaska. Today, federal spending is one of the most important parts of the state economy.
Finally, in 1958, Congress passed the Alaska Statehood Bill and President Dwight Eisenhower signed it into law. Alaskans accepted it, and on January third, 1959, President Eisenhower declared Alaska the forty-ninth state. Today, Alaska has more than 730,000 people. The biggest industry in Alaska is oil and gas production. But tourism and fishing are also important.
Why was the purchase of Alaska one of the best deals the country ever made?
文中说：当时很多美国人都对购买阿拉斯加持批判态度，但现在看来这却是有史以来美国做得最好的一笔交易。阿拉斯加富含石油和矿产资源。