【问题】 本部分有两篇短文，每篇短文后有五个问题，每个问题有四个供选择的答案。请选择一个最佳答案。 Passage 1 In 1967 the consumer price index stood at 100 and it has now topped 200. Allowing for this, the average wage of workers was＄104 in 1969 and ＄105 in April 1978. Since then with more inflati on any gain

本部分有两篇短文，每篇短文后有五个问题，每个问题有四个供选择的答案。请选择一个最佳答案。 Passage 1 In 1967 the consumer price index stood at 100 and it has now topped 200. Allowing for this, the average wage of workers was＄104 in 1969 and ＄105 in April 1978. Since then with more inflati on any gain in purchasing power has been wiped out and more taken away. In fact during the year of 1978, the buying power of the average paycheck has fallen by 3.4 percent. In addition to the income tax, there are usually state and county taxes, and in nearly all American communitie(社 区) , there is another tax that has been increasing with inflation, and it affects all purchasers. The average American worker has not done well, but the upper-middle-class income earner has done even worse. The upper-middle- income worker has more to spend than the average worker, of course, but in buying power, not as much as he had 10 years ago. A professional person may have seen his income tripled in the last 10 years, but even if he takes in two or three times as many dollars as he did before, he is not actually earning as much more as he may think. He may be paying four or five times as much in federal income taxes and higher state and local taxes, and if he is self- employed, he may need to set aside money for his own retirement. The two groups of people who have done best financially are the rich and the elderly. For example, the maximum Social Security benefit was ＄108 in 1968 and it is ＄459 today, and this income is not taxable. 56.According to the writer, who have been most badly affected by the inflation? A. All purchasers. B. Average workers. C. Professionals. D. Upper-middle-class citizens.

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