If a parcel of land that was originally purchased for $85,000 is offered for sale at $150,000, is assessed for tax purposes at $95,000, is recognized by its purchasers as easily being worth $140,000,

s assessed for tax purposes at $95,000, is recognized by its purchasers as easily being worth $130,000, and is sold for $157,000. What is the effect of the sale on the accounting equation for the seller?

A、Assets increase $85,000; owner’s equity increases $85,000.

B、Assets increase $72,000; owner’s equity increases $72,000.

C、Assets increase $157,000; owner’s equity increases $157,000.

D、Assets increase $130,000; owner’s equity increases $130,000.

E、Assets decrease $85,000; owner’s equity decreases $85,000.

This is offered as a textbook illustration of the principle that voters are far shrewder than most politicians believe. This case study highlighting Washington's inability to fool anyone is based on a recent survey of the attitudes of people on Medicare about their new prescription-drug benefit.

Last fall, when Congress added prescription-drug coverage to Medicare, the new law was hailed as a political masterpiece. Congressional Democrats, who overwhelmingly opposed the bill, thundered that they, too, were eager to provide a drug benefit under Medicare, but they championed alternative legislation that offered a larger drug subsidy and smaller incentives to health insurers to participate. Liberals such as Sen. Edward Kennedy were confident that the drug bill, with plenty of holes in its benefit formulas, would inevitably be expanded around the time it took effect.

Not many in Congress seemed troubled that the federal budget was deep in deficit, the nation was saddled with future expenditures for the Iraq war and virtually no health care expert believed that the legislation would fit into its projected $400-billion-over- 10-years cost framework. The new law was a cynical bargain that had more to do with the 2004 election than a rational approach to the prescription-drug needs of the nation's elderly.

The prescription-drug legislation seems a compromise between competing ideologies inserted into a fixed congressional budget. Put another way, it was sausage-stuffing in the guise of lawmaking. And, what no one anticipated was the reaction of the elderly, a group that votes in disproportionate numbers.

The passage you are reading is the beginning part of a report in the original. Then, what is "This", the first word, most probably referring to?

A．An offered illustration.

B．Part of a textbook on politics.

C．What the author is going to write.

D．The principle that voters are shrewder than most politicians believe.

The following businesses in the region are offered for sale.

A. Restaurant

A large well-decorated restaurant in an excellent position near the city center. Open three years with annual turnover of ￡100,000.

Regular trade and bookings for wedding Special occasions, etc.

Available on 50-year lease.

Price on request.

B. Established Pottery

Family business established for over fifty years in city's main commercial area.

Small pottery currently employs twelve people producing china figure vases and other decorative items.

Price includes premises plus equipment and raw materials.

Price ￡200,000.

C. Vacant Shop

Located in superb historic building on excellent city center site. Large premises recently renovated to a very high standard.

Would suit a wide range of different trades. Available on limited (three-year) lease or longer if required.

Short lease ￡15,000.

D. Garage and Car Repair

Small business with great potential for development.

Garage with petrol station on main road between city and coast. Includes large workshop suitable for car repair business. Small three-bedroom house attached to workshop and room for further building.

Whole property ￡190,000.

E. Flower Shop

A small well-decorated flower shop in the downtown area.

Open for two years and enjoy high reputation for its reasonable prices and good service.

Available on limited (two-year) lease or for sale.

Price on request.

The shop for sale includes bedrooms.

阅读理解 Passage 1 　　Manners evolved differently in different cultures. In earlier times there was a tendency for manners to become increasingly formal, and this was often viewed as progress. In the 18th and 19th centuries having good manners was seen as an important part of one’s education and social class, and it was necessary to be taken as a lady or a gentleman to get ahead in the world. 　　In the 20th and 21st centuries, manners have gradually become more relaxed and informal. The hosting of dinners and other social gatherings are no longer the exclusive privilege of the wealthy elite (精英), and private clubs are being gradually replaced by more open meeting places. So the manners of the salon (沙龙) are gradually combining with the manners of the pub. Clothing is a good indication of the changes in manners, as can be seen in the following examples. 　　It is surprising that the wearing of hats indoors by males is once again becoming acceptable. Students in North America often wear baseball caps to class. In many countries the wearing of hats indoors by males was once acceptable even in very polite society, but over the years this became considered as a lower-class behavior. and was thus discouraged in both the middle and upper classes. The young people who wear hats indoors do not realize they are actually restarting a very old cultural tradition. 　　A comparable development for females is the wearing of jeans. Many females now wear jeans on a daily basis, either at home or at work. Some see this as a symbolic declaration that they are now modern women, not girls or ladies. Some girls, like boys, wear baseball caps both indoors and outdoors. 　　Sneakers and shorts are now acceptable for either males or females in a variety of non-athletic situations. Some companies have rules requiring informal dress such as jeans or sneakers on Fridays (called “dress-down Friday” or “casual Friday”), and others permit it almost all the time. In these companies, and many others, it is acceptable to call the bosses by their first names. 1 What does the passage mainly talk about?

A、Changes of manners over time.

B、Formal manners in the earlier times.

C、Different manners in different cultures.

D、Development of manners in different classes.