At first everything seemed fine and dandy. America was enjoying one of the biggest economic surges in the nation's history. However, even though America benefited from the economic boom of the so called "Roaring Twenties", the imbalance between the rich and the poor combined with the production of more and more goods and rising personal debt caused one of the biggest recessions in history. On Black Tuesday, October 29,1929, the stock market crashed, triggering the Great Depression, which was the worst economic collapse in the history of the modern, industrial world. It spread from the United States and rippled out to the rest of the world, with banks failing and businesses going bust for over a span of a decade, leaving more than a quarter of the working force in America without jobs.
President Herbert Hoover, underestimating the seriousness of the crisis, called it "a passing incident in our national lives" and assured Americans that it would be over within two months. Hoover did not think that the federal government should offer relief to the poverty-stricken population because he firmly believed in individualism. Focusing on economic programs to help finance businesses and banks, Hoover met with resistance from business executives who preferred to lay off workers. Blamed by many for the Great Depression, Hoover was widely ridiculed.
Hoover's economy was put to the test with the onset of the Great Depression in 1929. It was his vocal stance on non-intervention that led to Democratic criticism that Hoover was a "sitting duck" president; on the other hand, his more pro-free market opponents also denied he was a laissez-faire president and condemned him for being an interventionist. Hoover tried to restore confidence with a series of speeches but his weak speaking style hampered these efforts. The biggest problem was that his predictions of an upturn just around the comer never materialized. His promises were not delivered and he lost a lot of the public's confidence.
Together, the government and businesses actually spent more in the first half of 1930 than the previous year; yet frightened consumers cut back their expenditures by ten percent. A severe drought ravaged the agricultural heartland beginning in the summer of 1930, while foreign banks declared bankruptcy, draining U. S. wealth and destroying world trade. The combination of these factors caused a downward spiral: as earning fell, domestic banks collapsed, and mortgages were called in. Hoover's hold-the-line policy in wages lasted little more than a year. Unemployment soared from five million in 1930 to over eleven million in 1931, causing this sharp recession to become the Great Depression.
In 1930, Hoover reluctantly signed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, which raised tariffs on over 20,000 dutiable items. The Tariff, combined with the 1932 Revenue Act, which hiked taxes and fees across the board, is often blamed for deepening the economic depression, and is considered by some to be Hoover's biggest political mistakes. Moreover, the Federal Reserve System's tightening of the money supply is also regarded by most modern economists as a mistaken tactic, under the circumstances.
In order to cover the expenses of these government programs, Hoover agreed to one of the largest tax increases in American history. The Revenue Act of 1932 raised taxes on the highest incomes from 25 % to 63%, while the estate tax was doubled, and corporate taxes were raised by almost 15%. Also, a "check tax" was included that placed a 2-cent tax on all bank checks. During the 1932 elections, Hoover's opponents blasted the Republican incumbent for spending and taxing too much, increasing national debt, raising tariffs, and blocking trade, as well as placing millions on the dole of the government. Roosevelt attacked Hoover for "reckless and extravagant" spending, and of leading "the greatest spending administration in peacetime in all of history. "

单选题 According to the paragraph 1, which of the following reasons contributed to the onset of the biggest recessions in history? ______
A. The sudden ability to mass produce goods due to technological advances.
B. The growing imbalance between the lifestyles of the rich and famous and the middle class.
C. Increasing numbers of personal debt leading to individual bankruptcy.
D. The excessive and superfluous production of supplies.

单选题 The author's description of the effects of the Great Depression mentions which of the following? ______
A. The effects were evident not only in America, but in other parts of the world as well.
B. More than a quarter of the American population was left jobless.
C. Banks failed and businesses collapsed for the next 12 years following the market crash.
D. It was the worst economic collapse in history of the United States.

单选题 Which of the following best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence? Incorrect answer choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.
A. President Hoover did not recognize the seriousness of the situation right away, and did not offer relief to the poverty-stricken citizens when he should have.
B. President Hoover thought that the Great Depression was a mere passing incident in the history, and believed that things will take a better turn within two months.
C. President Hoover did not offer relief to the poverty-stricken because he believed in individualism, and also assumed that the depression would not last long.
D. President Hoover saw that the country's economy was in danger, but his firm belief in individualism prevented him from providing help to those in need of a relief.

单选题 According to paragraph 3, the phrase "vocal stance" refers to ______.
A. speeches B. surreptitious belief
C. explicit position D. outspoken apprehension

单选题 The phrase "these efforts" in the passage refers to ______.
A. Hoover's efforts to enforce nonintervention
B. the opponents' efforts to condemn Hoover for being an interventionist
C. Hoover's efforts to strengthen his speaking style
D. Hoover's efforts to win back confidence

单选题 According to the paragraph 3, Hoover was criticized for being a "sitting duck" president because ______.
A. he strongly believed in a laissezfaire government, which the Democratic did not consider appropriate
B. he was considered to be not laissez-faire enough by his opponents
C. he was criticized for his firm belief in individualism, which made him think that the federal government should not offer relief to the poverty-stricken population
D. his non-intervention policy was condemned by those who were more pro-free market

单选题 The word "ravaged" in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to ______.
A. polluted B. devastated C. dried up D. affected

单选题 The author mentions the unemployment rates of 1930 and 1931 in order to ______.
A. compare the number of jobless people prior to and during the Great Depression
B. provide an example of the results of Hoover's unsuccessful policies
C. illustrate how thing went from bad to worse during the Great Depression
D. note the outcome of the downward spiral caused by combinations of reasons

单选题 Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 5? ______
A. Hoover was criticized and blamed for laws that he had to sign, because there was no other choice.
B. Tightening of the money supply may have been considered a befitting strategy if the circumstances were different.
C. Raising taxes and tariffs should have brought America out of the depression according to theories.
D. Modern economists view president Hoover as a victim, who was forced to make mistakes.

单选题 According to the paragraph 5, all of the following are blamed for deepening the economic depression EXCEPT ______.
A. increasing tariffs on dutiable items
B. the Revenue Act, which raised taxes
C. tighten of the money supply
D. President Hoover's continued political mistakes

单选题 Look at the four squares, , , and

单选题 The word "incumbent" in the passage is closest in meaning to ______.
A. incompetence B. officials
C. policies D. ineffectiveness

填空题 Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some answer choices do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.
This passage discusses President Hoover's policies during the Great Depression.
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A. The Great Depression was triggered by the stock market crash in 1929.
B. President Hoover's policies during the Great Depression were often criticized and many blamed him for worsening the situation even further.
C. In 1932 Hoover signed one of the largest tax increases in American history known as the Revenue Act, which was considered one of Hoover's biggest political mistakes.
D. America was enjoying one of the biggest economic surges in its history prior to President Hoover's presidency.
E. The public lost confidence in President Hoover because his promises such as that things will take a turn for the better within two months, were not delivered.

F. Unemployment increased from five million to eleven million within the span of one year during the Great Depression.