OG149
The cotton farms of Country Q
became so productive that the market could not absorb all that they produced.
Consequently, cotton prices fell. The government tried to boost cotton prices by
offering farmers who took 25 percent of their cotton acreage out of production
direct support payments up to a specified maximum per farm.
The government’s program, if
successful, will not be a net burden on the budget. Which of the following, if
true, is the best basis for an explanation of how this could be so?
(A) Depressed cotton prices meant
operating losses for cotton farms, and the government lost revenue from taxes on
farm profits.
(B) Cotton production in several
counties other than Q declined slightly the year that the support-payment
program went into effect in Q.
(C) The first year that the
support-payment program was in effect, cotton acreage in Q was 5% below its
level in the base year for the program.
(D) The specified maximum per farm
meant that for very large cotton farms the support payments were less per acre
for those acres that were withdrawn from production than they were for smaller
farms.（A）
(E) Farmers who wished to qualify
for support payments could not use the cotton acreage that was withdrawn from
production to grow any other crop.
不是很明白为何选A，请讲讲解题思路。非常感谢！ | 
