When the residents of Buenos Aires want to change the pesos they do not trust into the dollars they do, they go to a cueva, or "cave" , an office that acts as a front for a thriving illegal exchange market. In one cueva near Florida Street, a pedestrian avenue in the centre of the city, piles of pesos from previous transactions lie on a table. A courier is getting ready to carry the notes to safety-deposit boxes. This smallish cueva handles transactions worth $ 50,000—75 ,000 a day. Fear of inflation and of further depreciation of the peso, which fell by more than 20% in January, will keep demand for dollars high. Few other ways of making money are this good. " Modern Argentina does not offer what you could call an institutional career," says one cueva owner. As the couriers carry their bundles around Buenos Aires, they pass grand buildings like the Teatro Col6n, an opera house that opened in 1908, and the Retire railway station, completed in 1915. These are emblems of Argentina"s Belle 6poque, the period before the outbreak of the first world war when the country could claim to be the world"s true land of opportunity. In the 43 years leading up to 1914, GDP had grown at an annual rate of 6% , the fastest recorded in the world. The country was a magnet for European immigrants, who flocked to find work on the fertile pampas, where crops and cattle were propelling Argentina"s expansion. In 1914 half of Buenos Aires"s population was foreign-born. The country ranked among the ten richest in the world, after the likes of Australia, Britain and the United States, but ahead of France, Germany and Italy. Its income per head was 92% of the average of 16 rich economies. From this point, it looked down its nose at its neighbours: Brazil"s population was less than a quarter as well-off. It never got better than this. Although Argentina has had periods of robust growth in the past century—not least during the commodity boom of the past ten years—and its people remain wealthier than most Latin Americans, its standing as one of the world"s most vibrant economies is a distant memory. Its income per head is now 43% of those same 16 rich economies; it trails Chile and Uruguay in its own backyard.
单选题 According to the text,which is NOT true about cueva?
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】解析：根据cueva可以定位到第一、二段。根据第一段第二行“they go to a cueva，or“ca—ve”，an office that acts as a front for a thriving illegal exchange market”可以判断选项[A]表述正确。根据第二段第三行“Few other ways of making money are this good”判断[B]错误。根据第二段首句中的“smallish cueva”和最后一句中的“says one cueva owner”可以判断选项[C]表述正确。选项[D]对应第二段第二句和第三句：Fear of inflation and of further depreciation of thepeso…will keep demand for dollars high．Few other ways of making money are this good．由此可以判断选项[D]表述正确。故答案为选项[B]。
单选题 Buenos Aires is mentioned in the text to______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】解析：文章第一、二段主要描述了布宜诺斯艾利斯民间兑换货币的场所cueva，从布宜诺斯艾利斯引出阿根廷，并在接下来的三段中讲述阿根廷过去的繁荣，故可以判断文章提到布宜诺斯艾利斯的目的是为了引出阿根廷，从而进入主题：阿根廷过去的繁荣。故选项[D]为答案。
单选题 Before the outbreak of World War I, Argentina______.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】解析：根据before the outbreak of World war I定位到第三段。选项[A]对应倒数第二句：…where crops and cattle were propelling Argentina’s expansion．故该项表达是正确的。选项[B]文章没有提到，属于无中生有。文章只提到“the world’s true land of opportunity世界真正的机会之地”，并没有提到“the richest”这样的信息，故该项错误。选项[C]与该段“The country wasa magnet for European immigrants，who flocked to find work on the fertile pampas”所述内容完全相反，故错误。选项[D]对应该段中间一句：In the 43 years leading up to 1914，GDP had grownat an annual rate of 6％，the fastest recorded in the world．其中的“fastest”与该项“highest”不符，属于偷换概念，故该项错误。综上所述，答案为选项[A]。
单选题 We know from the fourth paragraph that_____ .
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】解析：选项[A]对应第四段首句：The country ranked among the ten richest in the world，af-ter the likes of Australia，Britain and the United States，but ahead of France，Germany and Italy．该项的“now”一词错误，文章讲述的是过去，而不是现在，故该项错误。选项[B]对应该段第二句：Its income per head was 92％of the average of 16 rich economies．原文说的是“92％of the average of 16 rich economies”，该项说的是“92％of all 16 rich economies”，显然all与average不符，该项错误。选项[C]对应该段最后一句：From this point，it looked down its nose at its neighbours：Brazil’s population was less than a quarter as well-off．该项的“Argentina was much richerthan Brazil”可以通过上下文看出来，而“Brazil where many people lived in poverty”体现在“Brazil’s population was less than a quarter as well—off”一句，该项与原文是同义替换表述，故该项正确。选项[D]对应原文的“it looked down its nose at its neighbours”，指的是“阿根廷看不起它的邻国”，而该项说别的国家看不起阿根廷，故该项错误。综上所述，答案为选项[C]。
单选题 Argentina"s boom is a distant memory because______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】解析：根据题干中的a distant memory定位到最后一段第二句。其中Argentina’s boom对应its standing as one of the world’s most vibrant economies。该题答案来自distant memory后面的一句：Its income per head is now 43％ of those same 16 rich economies；it trails Chile and Uruguayin its own backyard．其中，Its income per head对应its average income；43％(之前是92％)对应much lower than ever before。故答案为选项[D]。