The economy of the United states after 1952 was the econnomy of a well-fed,almost fully¹ employed people. Despit occasional alarms, the country escaped any postwar depression and lived in a state of boom. A n economic survey of the year 1955, a typical year of the 1950’s, may be typical as illustrating² the rapid economic growth of the decade. The national output was value at 10 percent above that of 1954 (1955 output was estimated at 392 billion dollars). The production of manufacturers was about 40 percent more than it had averaged in the years immediately following World War 2. The country’s business spent about 30billion dollars for new factories and machinery³. National income available for spending was almost a third greater than it had been it had been in 1950. Consumers spent about 256 billion dollars; that is about 700 million dollars a day ,or about twenty-five million dollars every hour , all round the clock. Sixty-five million people held jobs and only a little more than two million wanted jobs but could not find them . Only agriculture complained that it was not sharing in the room. To some observers this was an ominous⁴ echo of the mid-1920’s . As farmer’s shre of their products declined , marketing⁵ costs rose. But there were , among the observers of the national economy, a few who were not as confident as the majority . Those few seemed to fear that the boom could not last and would eventually lead to the oppsite-depression.

1. What is the best title of the passage?
a. The Agriculatural Trends of 1950’s
b. The Unemployment Rate of 1950’s
c. U.S. Economy in the 50’s
d. The Federal Budget of 1952
 
2. In Line 4 , the word “boom” could best be replaced by______.
a. nearby explosion
b. thunderous noise
c. general public support
d. rapid economic growth
 
3. It can be inferred the national from the passage that most people in the United States in 1955 viewed the national economy with an air of _________.
a. confidence
b. confusion
c. disappointment
d. suspicion
 
4. Which of the following were LEAST satisfied with the national economy in the 1950’s?
a. Economists
b. Frmaers
c. Politicians
d. Steelworkers
 
5. The passage states that incom available for spending in the U.S. was greater in 1955 than in 1950 . How much was it ?
a. 60％
b. 50％
c. 33％
d. 90％
 
 
答案：cdabc