46. Which of the following is NOT TRUE about the installment plan?

　　　 A. A lot of British families use the installment plan.

　　　 B. More than 10 percent American families buy things on installments.

　　　 C. Americans depend more on installment than British people do.

　　　 D. Americans spend one tenth of their income on installment buying.

45. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

　 A. Ups and downs of The Washington Post.

　 B. Katharine Graham's family life and career.

　 C. Katharine Graham: from housewife to successful publisher.

　 D. Katharine Graham: a woman who shaped American journalism.

B

In Western countries people have been using the installment (分期付款) plan since the first half of the twentieth century. Today, a large number of families in Great Britain buy furniture, household goods and cars by installments. In the U.S.A., the figure is much higher than in Great Britain, and people there spend over 10 percent of their income on the installment plan.

The price of an article bought on installments is always higher than the price that would be paid by cash. There is a charge for interest. The buyer pays one quarter or one third of the price as a down payment (预付定金) when the goods are delivered to him. He then makes regular payments, weekly or monthly, until the full price is paid up. The legal ownership of the goods remains with the seller until the final payment has been made.

Installment buying has advantages and disadvantages. It can help couples with small incomes to furnish their homes and start housekeeping. It increases the demand for goods, and in this way helps business and employment. There is, however, the danger that when business is bad, installment buying may end suddenly, making business much worse. This may result in a great increase in unemployment. If the people on the installment plan lose their jobs, they will probably not be able to make their payments. If great numbers of people are not able to pay their installment debts, there is a possibility that businessmen cannot collect their debts and will therefore lose money. If businessmen lose money or fail to make a satisfactory profit, it becomes more likely to have a depression (萧条) . This is why, in some countries, the government controls the installment plan by fixing the amount of the down payment and installments to discourage people from buying more than they can pay for on the installment plan.

44. Which of the following statements is true?

A. It was Katharine Graham's husband who made the greatest contributions to the Post.

B. When Katharine Graham first took over the Post, her critics doubted her ability.

C. Katharine Graham was successful in her career but suffered severe depression.

D. Katharine Graham was free to do whatever she liked in her early life.

43. Which can be considered the most important event in the history of The Washington Post?

　 A. Reporting Watergate scandal.　　　 B. Printing the Pentagon Papers.

　 C. Reporting the Vietnam War.　　　 D. Phil restoring the Post.

42. When her husband was chosen to take charge of the newspaper, Katharine Graham ______.

　　　 A. was strongly against the idea　　　　　

B. was not happy to be rejected

　 C. was willing to take her share of responsibility

D. didn't believe her husband would do a good job

41. Katharine Graham was born in a time when ______.

　　 A. women were not given the chance to receive education

　　 B. women were not considered as intelligent as men

　　 C. women were not permitted to achieve their goals

　　 D. women were not allowed to enter every field

29. A. writings　　　 　 B. pictures　　　 　 C. expressions　 　 D. signs

28. A. anxious　　　 　 B. nervous　　　 　 C. satisfied　　　 　 D. negative

27. A. positive　　　 　 B. friendly　　　 　 C. easy-going 　　　 D. good-mannered