GMAT考试阅读资料(一)f

Passage 6
　　In the eighteenth century， Japan‘s feudaloverlords，from the shogun to the humblestsamurai， found themselves under financialstress. In part， this stress can be attributed to（5） the overlords’ failure to adjust to a rapidly ex-panding economy， but the stress was also due to factors beyond the overlords‘ control. Concen-tration of the samurai in castle-towns had actedas a stimulus² to trade. Commercial efficiency， in（10） turn， had put temptations in the way of buyers.Since most samurai had been reduced to idlenessby years of peace， encouraged to engage inscholarship and martial³ exercises or to performadministrative tasks that took little time， it is（15） not surprising that their tastes and habits grewexpensive. Overlords’ income， despite the in-crease in rice production among their tenantfarmers， failed to keep pace with their expenses.Although shortfalls in overlords‘ income re-（20） sulted almost as much from laxity among their　 tax collectors （the nearly inevitable⁴ outcome of　 hereditary⁵ officeholding） as from their higher　 standards of living， a misfortune like a fire or　 flood， bringing an increase in expenses or a drop（25） in revenue， could put a domain⁶ in debt to the　 city rice-brokers who handled its finances. Once　 in debt， neither the individual samurai nor the　 shogun himself found it easy to recover.　 It was difficult for individual samurai over-（30） lords to increase their income because the　 amount of rice that farmers could be made to　 pay in taxes was not unlimited⁷， and since the in-　 come of Japan’s central government consisted in　 part of taxes collected by the shogun from his（35） huge domain， the government too was con-　 strained. Therefore， the Tokugawa shoguns　 began to look to other sources for revenue.　 Cash profits from government-owned mines　 were already on the decline because the most（40） easily worked deposits of silver and gold had　 been exhausted⁸， although debasement of the　 coinage had compensated¹⁰ for the loss. Opening　 up new farmland was a possibility， but most of　 what was suitable had already been exploited（45） and further reclamation¹¹ was technically¹² unfeasi-　 ble. Direct taxation¹³ of the samurai themselves　 would be politically dangerous. This left the　 shoguns only commerce as a potential source of　 government income.
　　（50）Most of the country‘s wealth， or so it seemed，was finding its way into the hands of city mer-chants. It appeared reasonable that they should　 contribute part of that revenue to ease the　 shogun’s burden of financing the state. A means（55） of obtaining such revenue was soon found by　 levying¹⁴ forced ioans， known as goyo-kin；　 although these were not taxes in the strict sense，　 since they were irregular in timing¹⁵ and arbitrary　 in amount， they were high in yield. Unfortunately，（60） they pushed up prices. Thus， regrettably， the　 Tokugawa shoguns‘ search for solvency¹⁶ for the　 government made it increasingly difficult forindividual Japanese who lived on fixed¹⁷ stipends¹⁸　 to make ends meet.

1. The passage is most probably an excerpt¹⁹ from
　（A） an economic history of Japan　
　（B） the memoirs²⁰ of a samurai warrior²¹
　（C） a modern novel about eighteenth-century Japan
　（D） an essay contrasting Japanese feudalism with its Western counterpart
　（E） an introduction to a collection of Japanese folktales

2. Which of the following financial situations is most　analogous²² to the financial situation in which Japan‘s　Tokugawa 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 lucrative²³ 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.
　（E） A small business is able to cut back sharply on spending through greater commercial efficiency and thereby²⁴ compensate⁹ for a loss of revenue.

3. Which of the following best describes the attitude of the author toward the samurai discussed in lines 11-16？
　（A） Warmly approving
　（B） Mildly sympathetic
　（C） Bitterly disappointed
　（D） Harshly disdainful
　（E） Profoundly shocked

4. According to the passage， the major reason for the financial problems experienced by Japan‘s feudal¹　overlords in the eighteenth century was that
　（A） spending had outdistanced income
　（B） trade had fallen off
　（C） profits from mining had declined
　（D） the coinage had been sharply debased
　（E） the samurai had concentrated in castle-towns

5.The passage implies that individual samurai did not　find it easy to recover from debt for which of the　following reasons？
　（A） Agricultural production had increased.
　（B） Taxes were irregular in timing and arbitrary in amount.
　（C） The Japanese government had failed to adjust to the needs of a changing economy.
　（D） The domains²⁵ of samurai overlords were becoming smaller and poorer as government revenues increased.
　（E） There was a limit to the amount in taxes that farmers could be made to pay.

6. The passage suggests that， in eighteenth-century　Japan， the office of tax collector
　（A） was a source of personal profit to the officeholder
　（B） was regarded with derision by many Japanese
　（C） remained within families
　（D） existed only in castle-towns　
　（E） took up most of the officeholder‘s time

7. Which of the following could best be substituted　for the word “This ” in line 47 without changing the　meaning of the passage？
　（A） The search of Japan‘s Tokugawa shoguns for solvency
　（B） The importance of commerce in feudal Japan
　（C） The unfairness of the tax structure in eighteenth-century Japan
　（D） The difficulty of increasing government income by other means
　（E） The difficulty experienced by both individual samurai and the shogun himself in extricating²⁶ themselves from debt

8. The passage implies that which of the following was the primary reason why the Tokugawa shoguns turned to city merchants for help in financing the　 state？
　（A） A series of costly²⁷ wars had depleted²⁸ the national treasury²⁹.
　（B） Most of the country‘s wealth appeared to be in city merchants’ hands.
　（C） Japan had suffered a series of economic reversals due to natural disasters such as floods.
　（D） The merchants were already heavily indebted to the shoguns.
　（E） Further reclamation of land would not have been economically advantageous³⁰.

9. According to the passage， the actions of the Tokugawa shoguns in their search for solvency for the government　were regrettable because those actions
　（A） raised the cost of living by pushing up prices
　（B） resulted in the exhaustion of the most easily　worked deposits of silver and gold
　（C） were far lower in yield than had originally been　anticipated
　（D） did not succeed in reducing government spending
　（E） acted as a deterrent to trade