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    Nine states and the District of Columbia are doing away with the sales tax on items such as clothes, shoes and even notebooks over the next few weeks, just in time for back-to- school shopping.
    Most of the promotions last only a few days, so shoppers will have to act quickly to get a tax break. The tax holidays, which have already expired in two other states, apply to small and large items. For example, the tax break applies to any school supply that costs $15 or less in New Mexico. In Massachusetts, it covers most retail purchases of $2,500 or less. Stores may offer additional savings because these events "give retailers an opportunity to have a sale on top of what the state is doing," says Verenda Smith, government affairs associate at the Federation of Tax Administrators.
No industry-wide figures are available about how much consumers save annually from these tax breaks. But Texas estimates that shoppers will save $47.4 million in taxes this year, nearly a 3 percent increase from the previous year. Massachusetts says shoppers saved roughly $10 million in taxes during its 2005 event.
    States that cast aside these promotions when a slow economy pinched state budgets are now reviving them in hopes of stimulating local economies. Some states also believe the gain in consumer goodwill helps balance out the loss in tax revenue.
    In some cases, tax losses are minimal because serious shoppers don't stop at clothes and books. "While states give up sales tax, they usually break even on sales-tax collection," says J. Craig Shearman, a vice-president at the National Retail Federation.
    Sophie Beckmann, a certified public accountant at A. G. Edwards in St. Louis, says she'll avoid that temptation by making a list of necessities. On the Missouri resident's shopping list: notebooks, pencils, glue and three or four outfits for her son, who is entering the fifth grade this month. She plans to pocket any tax savings. "When you start buying more and spending more just because of the savings, then you're not doing yourself a favor," Beckmann says.

1.[单选题]The District of Columbia is most possibly the ______ .
  • A.capital of the nine states
  • B.tenth state in the examples
  • C.capital of the United States
  • D.regional name of these states
2.[单选题]According to the passage, it seems that one can have more sales tax benefits in ______ .
  • A.New Mexico than in Massachusetts
  • B.Massachusetts than in New Mexico
  • C. Massachusetts than any other nine states
  • D. the District of Columbia than in Massachusetts
3.[单选题]When he says in Paragraph 5, "While states give up sales tax, they usually break even on sales-tax collection", J. Craig Shearman actually means that ______ .
  • A. a vice-president at the National Retail Federation can say whatever he or she likes
  • B. only when a state gives up sales tax can it achieve break even in collection of taxes
  • C. tax losses are nothing for a state since serious shoppers buy more than just clothes or shoes
  • D. when people come to buy sales-tax-free items, they will buy other things that are still taxed
4.[单选题]From the last paragraph, we are sure that ______ .
  • A. Sophie Beckmann is a male accountant
  • B.Sophie Beckmann is a resident of Missouri
  • C. A. G. Edwards is chief accountant of St. Louis
  • D.St. Louis is the capital of the state of Missouri
5.[单选题]According to the passage, residents in the state of Mississippi saved last year from tax breaks about ______ .
  • A. $10 million
  • B. $47.4 million
  • C. no statistics available
  • D.nearly a 3 percent increase
6.[单选题]The phrase "consumer goodwill" underlined in Paragraph 4 most possibly refers to the ______ .
  • A.other extreme losses in tax revenue
  • B. pleasant feeling the consumers may have
  • C.good consumption the market may sustain
  • D. confidence consumers have over the goods
7.[单选题]According to the passage, some states choose to provide tax breaks because they want to ______ .
  • A.cast aside these promotions
  • B. pinch state budget books
  • C.slow down local economy
  • D. encourage their economies
8.[单选题]Mr. Verenda Smith is most probably a ______ .
  • A. governmental employee working at the Federation of Tax Administrators
  • B.free-lance PR officer representing the Federation of Tax Administrators
  • C.Federation of Tax Administrators employee dealing with the government
  • D.PR officer running between the government and the Federation of Tax Administrators
9.[单选题]According to the passage, the sales tax is on all the following EXCEPT ______ .
  • A.clothes
  • B. desk pads
  • C. children shoes
  • D.portable computers
10.[单选题]All the following terms that appear in Paragraph 2 refer roughly to the same as "tax-free shopping" EXCEPT ______ .
  • A.shoppers
  • B. tax breaks
  • C. tax holidays
  • D. promotions
参考答案: C,B,D,B,C,B,D,C,D,A
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