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  3. The Pony Express is an outstanding example of courage, endurance, and determination in the westward expansion of the United Stat

The Pony Express is an outstanding example of courage, endurance, and determination in the westward expansion of the United Stat

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问题     The Pony Express is an outstanding example of courage, endurance, and determination in the westward expansion of the United States. Caught between warring soldiers and Indians, the Pony Express carried important communications 2,000 miles from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, in ten days.
    The Pony Express made its first historic run in April 1860. Despite its long-lived reputation, it lasted only 18 months, until October 1861; The Pony Express was a fast, efficient operation, but even with its high prices (averaging $1 to $5 an ounce and sometimes totaling $1,000 in receipts in a single day), it failed completely as a financial venture. Its expenses far surpassed receipts. Even though the Pony Express was credited with helping to keep California in the Union at the outbreak of the Civil War, the organization never received any financial assistance from Congress.
    More than 190 stations were built for the Pony (as, it, was familiarly called). Five hundred horses and 80 riders were useD. Most of the riders were seasoned scouts and skillful guides; all were expert horsemen. Each rider changed horses three times in his 90-mile shift per day, covering some of the most dangerous territory in the West. The ponies were usually half-breed California mustangs quick and full of endurance.
    The basic equipment of the Pony Express—a leather vest, or mochila, containing the mail— was placed over the saddle of the animal. Designed for its lightness and ability to be transferred quickly from horse to horse, the mochila had four leather cantinas, or boxes, sewn to it to carry the mail. Openings in the front of the mochila allowed it to fit snugly over the saddle, yet when a rider came into a station, he had only to jerk free the mochila and throw it onto another saddled, fresh horse, and he was on his way. To ensure the privacy of the mails, the four pockets containing the letters, which were wrapped in oiled silk for protection, were locked from St. Joseph to Sacramento.
According to the second paragraph, the main reason for the failure of, the Pony Express was______.
选项 A、continuing wars with Indian tribes
B、the outbreak of the Civil War
C、its high operating costs
D、the lack of swift ponies to carry the mail
答案C
解析 文章第二段说到：The Pony Express…with its high prices…it failed completely as a financial venture．显然只有C项符合题意。
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