阅读理解

Directions: This part consists of two sections. In Section A, there are three passages followed by a total of 20 multiple-choice questions. In Section B, there are two passages followed by a total of 10 short-answer questions. Read the passages and write your answers on the Answer Sheet.

Passage 3

In the eighteenth century, Japan’s feudal overlords, from the shogun to the humblest samurai, found themselves under financial stress. In part, this stress can be attributed to the overlords’ failure to adjust to a rapidly expanding economy, but the stress was also due to factors beyond the overlords’ control. Concentration of the samurai in castle- towns had acted as a stimulus to trade. Commercial efficiency, in turn, had put temptations in the way of buyers. This left the shoguns only commerce as a potential source of government income.

Most of the country’s wealth, or so it seemed, was finding its way into the hands of city merchants. It appeared reasonable that they should contribute part of that revenue to ease the shogun’s burden of financing the state. A means of obtaining such revenue was soon found by levying forced loans, known as goyo-kin; although these were not taxes in the strict sense, since they were irregular in timing and arbitrary in amount, they were high in yield. Unfortunately, they pushed up prices. Thus, regrettably, the Tokugawa shoguns’ search for solvency for the government made it increasingly difficult for individual Japanese who lived on fixed stipends to make ends meet.

单选题 Which of the following financial situations is most analogous to the financial situation in which Japan’sTokugawa shoguns found themselves in the eighteenth century?

A、 A small business borrows heavily to invest in new equipment, but is able to pay off its debt early when it is awarded a lucrative government contract.
B、 Fire destroys a small business, but insurance covers the cost of rebuilding.
C、 A small business is turned down for a loan at a local bank because the owners have no credit history.
D、 A small business has to struggle to meet operating expenses when its profits decrease.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】根据第一段第一句“In the eighteenth century, Japan’s feudal overlords, from the shogun to the humblest samurai, found themselves under financial stress.”可知，18世纪日本德川幕府时期经济面临压力。D项“当一家小公司的利润下降时，它不得不努力支付经营费用。”符合题意。其他三项均不存在经济压力。

单选题 According to the passage, the major reason for the financial problems experienced by Japan’s feudal overlords inthe eighteenth century was that _____.

单选题 The passage implies that individual samurai did not find it easy to recover from debt for which of the followingreasons?

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】第二段第一句的前半部分提到“It was difficult for individual samurai overlords to increase their income because the amount of rice that farmers could be made to pay in taxes was not unlimited”。其中，not unlimited为双重否定表示肯定意思，即limited。C项“农民所能缴纳的税款是有限度的。”与原文意思一致。

单选题 he passage suggests that, in eighteenth-century Japan, the office of tax collector _____.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】第一段中间部分指出“laxity among their tax collectors (the nearly inevitable outcome of hereditary office- holding)”，意思是“他们税务人员的松懈（几乎是世袭政府的必然结果） ”。由此可知，税务人员是世袭的，即在家族内传袭的。C项与原文意思相符。

单选题 The passage implies that which of the following was the primary reason why the Tokugawa shoguns turned tocity merchants for help in financing the state?

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】根据第三段第一、二句“Most of the country’s wealth, or so it seemed, was finding its way into the hands of city merchants. It appeared reasonable that they should contribute part of that revenue to ease the shogun’s burden of financing the state.”，这个国家的大部分财富，或者说看起来这个国家的大部分财富，正在流入城市商人的手中。他们应该拿出一部分收入来减轻幕府将军为国家融资的负担，这似乎是合理的。B项与原文意思一致。