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  3. In the eighteenth century, Japan’s feudal overlords, from the shogun to the humblest samurai, found themselves under financial s

In the eighteenth century, Japan’s feudal overlords, from the shogun to the humblest samurai, found themselves under financial s

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问题     In the eighteenth century, Japan’s feudal overlords, from the shogun to the humblest samurai, found themselves under financial stress. In part, this stress can be attributed to the overlords’ failure to adjust to a rapidly expanding economy, but the stress was also due to factors beyond the overlords’ control. Concentration of the samurai in castle-towns had acted as a stimulus to trade. Commercial efficiency, in turn, had put temptations in the way of buyers. Since most samurai had been reduced to idleness by years of peace, encouraged to engage in scholarship and martial exercises or to perform administrative tasks that took little time, it is not surprising that their tastes and habits grew expensive. Overlords, income, despite the increase in rice production among their tenant farmers, failed to keep pace with their expenses. Although shortfalls in overloads, income resulted almost as much from laxity among their tax collectors (the nearly inevitable outcome of hereditary office-holding) as from their higher standards of living, a misfortune like a fire or flood, bringing an in crease in expenses or a drop in revenue, could put a domain in debt to the city rice-brokers who handled its finances. Once in debt, neither the individual samurai nor the shogun himself found it easy to recover.
    It was difficult for individual samurai overlords to increase their income because the amount of rice that farmers could be made to pay in taxes was not unlimited, and since me income of Japan’s central government consisted in part of taxes collected by the shogun from his huge domain, the government too was constrained.
    Therefore, the Tokugawa shoguns began to look to other sources for revenue. Cash profits from government-owned mines were already on the decline because the most easily worked deposits of silver and gold had been exhausted, although debasement of the coinage had compensated for the loss. Opening up new farmland was a possibility, but most of what was suitable had already been exploited and further reclamation was technically unfeasible. Direct taxation of the samurai themselves would be politically dangerous. This left the shoguns only commerce as a potential source of government income.
    Most of the country’s wealth, or so it seemed, was finding its way into the hands of city merchants. It appeared reasonable that they should contribute part of that revenue to ease the shogun’s burden of financing the state. A means of obtaining such revenue was soon found by levying forced loans, known as goyo-kin; although these were not taxes in the strict sense, since they were irregular in timing and arbitrary in amount, they were high in yield. Unfortunately, they pushed up prices. Thus, regrettably, the Tokugawa shoguns’ search for solvency for the government made it increasingly difficult for individual Japanese who lived on fixed stipends to make ends meet.
Which is the author’s attitude toward the samurai discussed in the first paragraph?
选项 A、Warmly approving.
B、Mildly sympathetic.
C、Bitterly disappointed.
D、Harshly disdainful.
答案B
解析 观点态度题，问作者对第一段中所描述的武士们抱什么样态度。解观点态度题时，首先要了解文章的主旨大意，作者的观点态度必然与文章的主旨大意相一致。但本题时这种方法不太适用，因为本题问的细节与文章的主旨大意(18世纪日本的经济问题)不相干。这时时候就要注意作者在描述对象时的选词用句。根据题干中公示的信息(第一段)和关键词samurai，我们可以找到四处，分别是第一句的“the humblest samurai最卑微的武士”、第三句“Concentration of the samurai in castle-towns武士中在城中的集结”、第五句“Since most samurai had been reduced to idleness…it is not surprising that their tastes and habits grew expensive由于大部分武士都成了无所事事的人……所以他们(武士们)的口味也自然而然地变得昂贵起来”，以及最后句“Once in debt，neither the individual samurai nor the shogun himself found it easy to recove.一旦债务缠身，无论是将军还是武士都很难再摆脱”。通过这几处的描述，尤其是第五句后半句“it is not surprising that”句式的使用，我们可以看出作者对武士们的境况是抱着一种宽容理解的态度，由此再对应看选项，那么B“温和地同情”最接近，而A“热情赞同”明显太好、C“苦涩地失望”和D“尖刻地蔑视”都过坏。
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