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  3. Almost since the beginning of mankind, governments have been recording the n

Almost since the beginning of mankind, governments have been recording the n

游客2025-04-08  41
问题     Almost since the beginning of mankind, governments have been recording the numbers of their populace. The first known census report took place in 3800 B. C. in Babylonia for the purpose of deciding who should pay taxes. As time went by, governments found other, more creative uses for knowing their numbers. Egyptian King Ramses II used the census not only to determine who should pay taxes, but also to figure out how to divide land for farming and to decide who could provide manpower for various government projects. Their new ideas came about in the mid-1200s B. C.
    William, the Conqueror brought the concept of census taking to England in 1085. All landowners were required to name their holdings for the purpose of taxation. By the fifteenth century, Tudor kings found a new twist to the Egyptians’ use of the census. They too used the population count as a means of getting ready manpower for important government projects — namely, replenishing troops in the ongoing battles in western Europe.
    A rebellious tide swept over England, however, in the mid-1700s. A bill to authorize a regular census was defeated in Parliament on the grounds that it would give valuable information to England’s enemies. But the tide of rebellion soon turned, and in 1800 England established its first regular census.
    Meanwhile the United States had already had an ongoing census for ten years. It was authorized in the Constitution for the purpose of deciding how many members of constitutional article also established that the census would be taken in 1790 and every ten years thereafter. And so it has.
    Since its beginning, the American census has gone through many changes. Today the census provides more than a count of the people who live here. It takes polls on transportation, economic planning, and agriculture. The census also provides data for most government agency statistics, such as the unemployment rate.
    Counting costs have risen since 1790. The government spent about a penny per person to count post-Revolutionary Americans. Today the census costs $ 250 million — more than a dollar per person. That’s a long way since 3800 B. C. [br] The author implies the American census is______.
选项 A、relatively inexpensive to conduct
B、important to various government branches
C、an exact count of the citizenry
D、fairly expensive before 1790
答案 B
解析 细节推理题。通过原文第五段第二到四句的论述可知：人口普查对于美国并不仅仅是数人数，也可以调查交通、经济计划和农业领域的情况。还可以为很多的政府机构提供数据。所以我们可以看出，人口普查对政府机构来说是很重要的。故答案为B。
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