OG-149/153

3、文章的后半部分“The government tried to boost cotton prices by offering farmers who took 25 percent of their cotton acreage out of production direct support payments up to a specified maximum per farm.”我没看明白。

149. The cotton farms of Country Q became so productive that the market could not absorb all

that they produced. Consequently, cotton prices fell. The government tried to boost cotton

prices by offering farmers who took 25 percent of their cotton acreage out of production direct

support payments up to a specified maximum per farm.

The government’s program, if successful, will not be a net burden on the budget. Which of

the following, if true, is the best basis for an explanation of how this could be so?

(A) Depressed cotton prices meant operating losses for cotton farms, and the government

lost revenue from taxes on farm profits.

(B) Cotton production in several counties other than Q declined slightly the year that the

support-payment program went into effect in Q.

(C) The first year that the support-payment program was in effect, cotton acreage in Q was

5% below its level in the base year for the program.

(D) The specified maximum per farm meant that for very large cotton farms the support

payments were less per acre for those acres that were withdrawn from production than

they were for smaller farms.

(E) Farmers who wished to qualify for support payments could not use the cotton acreage

that was withdrawn from production to grow any other crop.

4、文章括号里的话是什么意思？（that is, the price per barrel to which oil would have to rise

in order for new solar power plants to be more economical than new oil-fired power plants）

153. Technological improvements and reduced equipment costs have made converting solar

energy directly into electricity far more cost-efficient in the last decade. However, the threshold

of economic viability for solar power (that is, the price per barrel to which oil would have to rise

in order for new solar power plants to be more economical than new oil-fired power plants) is

unchanged at thirty-five dollars.

Which of the following, if true, does most to help explain why the increased cost-efficiency

of solar power has not decreased its threshold of economic viability?

(A) The cost of oil has fallen dramatically.

(B) The reduction in the cost of solar-power equipment has occurred despite increased

raw material costs for that equipment.

(C) Technological changes have increased the efficiency of oil-fired power plants.

(D) Most electricity is generated by coal-fired or nuclear, rather than oil-fired, power plants.

(E) When the price of oil increases, reserves of oil not previously worth exploiting become

economically viable.

149. 政府企图以给那些将棉田去掉25%不产棉花的农场主以每个农场不高于某个最高限额的补贴这种方式来促使棉花价格上涨。

153。为使SOLARS电厂比烧油电厂更经济，每桶油必须提高的价格仍没变，仍是35D。即SOLAR电厂仍比烧油电厂经济不合算，这个差距（要SOLAR电厂合算的THRESHOLD）仍没变。