In the 1920s, demand for American farm products fell, as European countries began to recover from World War I and instituted austerity（紧缩）programs to reduce their imports. The result was a sharp drop in farm prices. This period was more disastrous for farmers than earlier times had been, because farmers were no longer self-sufficient. They were paying for machinery, seed, and fertilizer, and they were also buying consumer goods. The prices of the items farmers bought remained constant, while prices they received for their products fell. These developments were made worse by the Great Depression, which began in 1929 and extended throughout the 1930s.
In 1929, under President Herbert Hoover, the Federal Farm Board was organized. It established the principle of direct interference with supply and demand, and it represented the first national commitment to provide greater economic stability for farmers.
President Hoover's successor attached even more importance to this problem. One of the first measures proposed by President Franklin D.Roosevelt when he took office in 1933 was the Agricultural Adjustment Act, which was subsequently passed by Congress. This law gave the Secretary of Agriculture the power to reduce production through voluntary agreements with farmers who were paid to take their land out of use. A deliberate scarcity of farm products was planned in an effort to raise prices. This law was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court on the grounds that general taxes were being collected to pay one special group of people. However, new laws were passed immediately that achieved the same result of resting soil and providing flood-control measures, but which were based on the principle of soil conservation. The Roosevelt Administration believed that rebuilding the nation's soil was in the national interest and was not simply a plan to help farmers at the expense of other citizens. Later the government guaranteed loans to farmers so that they could buy farm machinery, hybrid（杂交）grain, and fertilizers.
1.What brought about the decline in the demand for American farm products?
A.The impact of the Great Depression.
B.The shrinking of overseas markets.
C.The destruction caused by the First World War.
D.The increased exports of European countries.
2.The chief concern of the American government in the area of agriculture in the 1920s was______.
A.to increase farm production B.to establish agricultural laws
C.to prevent farmers from going bankrupt D.to promote the mechanization of agriculture
3.The Agricultural Adjustment Act encouraged American farmers to______.
A.reduce their scale of production B.make full use of their land
C.adjust the prices of their farm products D.be self-sufficient in agricultural production
4.The Supreme Court rejected the Agricultural Adjustment Act because it believed that the Act______.
A.might cause greater scarcity of farm products
B.didn't give the Secretary of Agriculture enough power
C.would benefit neither the government nor the farmers
D.benefited one group of citizens at the expense of others
5.It was claimed that the new laws passed during the Roosevelt Administration were aimed at______.
A.reducing the cost of farming
B.conserving soil in the long-term interest of the nation
C.lowering the burden of farmers
D.helping farmers without shifting the burden onto other taxpayers
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1.【答案】B。
【解析】事实判断题。问的是美国农产品需求量下降的原因。文章第一段第一句就指出，欧洲国家从一战中恢复过来并且制定了紧缩农产品进口量的计划，导致20世纪20年代美国农产品需求量下降。因此，引起对美国农产品需求量下降的原因是由于海外市场的收缩，即欧洲国家经济的复苏及其紧缩进口量的计划。该句即是这因果关系的关键词。A只是使这一现象加重的原因，C、D则明显与短文内容相悖。答案为B。
2.【答案】C。
【解析】事实判断题。问在20世纪20年代美国政府在农业领域首要关注的是什么。文章第二段及第三段都涉及了政府对农业采取的措施。第二段第二句话谈到要建立直接干预供给和需求的政策，并要建立第一个全国性的委员会为农民提供更大的经济稳定性。第三段谈到了后来继任总统采取的各种具体措施，诸如给予农业部长一种权力，他可以通过与农民订立自愿的协议，农民使土地休耕而政府付给他们钱进行补偿。从这些事实可推断，美国政府首要关注的是防止农民破产。
3.【答案】A。
【解析】事实判断题。问美国调整农业的法案是为了鼓励农民做什么。文章第三段谈到继任总统通过一项法案，给予农业部长一种权力，他可与农民订立自愿的协议，农民使土地休耕而政府对他们进行补偿，通过有计划地减少产量以提高农产品价格。因此，美国政府的法案是鼓励农民缩小农业生产的规模。选项B、C均属政府行为，而非鼓励农民自己去做的事。D与短文事实相去甚远，self-sufficient只在第一段提到。
4.【答案】D。
【解析】事实判断题。问美国最高法院反对农业法案是因为他们认为法案怎么样。文章第三段后半部分说，该法案被宣布违宪是因为用对公众征收的税去支付给一个特殊的群体。文章倒数第二句说：该法案以保护水土的名义被通过，因为水土保护符合全体国民的利益，而非以牺牲其他公民的利益为代价来维护农民的利益。所以D项正确。
5.【答案】B。
【解析】事实判断题。问新通过的法案的立法目的是什么。从文章第三段可以看出，虽然美国最高法院拒绝了第一个法案，但却通过了第二个法案，第二个法案主要是基于如下理由：通过使土地休耕和防治洪水的措施来达到保护水土的目的，这符合全体国民的利益。因此选B。D项最具干扰性。题干问的是：该法案声称其立法目的是什么？从文章中不难看出，该法案虽然实际上是想提高农产品价格以保护农民的生产，但遭否决后转而声称是为了全体国民的利益而保护水土。
