Apple products are designed to say something about their owners. They also tell you something about the countries in which they

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问题     Apple products are designed to say something about their owners. They also tell you something about the countries in which they are sold. Latin America’s allure as a consumer market was underlined on February 15th, when the technology firm opened its first retail store on the continent, in Rio de Janeiro. Apple wants a bigger slice of the region’s smartphone market, which has been growing faster than any region outside Asia. But the glass screen of the iPhone 5s, Apple’s flagship smar-tphone, also reflects Latin America’s economic diversity.
    Start with Brazil, the region’s biggest consumer market. Despite slow economic growth, Apple chose to plant its flag there for a reason. The country is among the top five markets for smartphones in the world. Last year was the first when more smartphones were sold in Brazil than traditional mobile phones, according to Abinee, an electronics-industry association: it was also the year when tablet sales overtook those of desktop computers. As many as 1,700 people queued up to be among the first on Apple’s Rio premises.
    iPhones are beyond the reach of most people in all the countries of Latin America, but the sticker shock is particularly striking in Brazil. A 16GB iPhone 5s costs 2,519 reais($1,076), compared with an average monthly income of just under 2,000 reais in the main metropolitan regions. That makes Brazil the dearest, in dollar terms, of the countries where Apple has stores: the tax-inclusive price of a 16 GB iPhone 5 s in the United States is around $700.
    The fault lies with the infamous custo Brasil, the high cost of doing business in the country. The high price of the iPhone 5s is largely due to tariffs and state and federal taxes on imports, says Luis Fernandez of Deloitte. He calculates that a gizmo which a foreign supplier sells for 1,000 reais could end up being resold at 2,017 reais, with taxes amounting to 900 reais, or 45% , of that sum. Brazil’s government has introduced tax incentives for companies ready to assemble gadgets in the country. But even then, the custo Brasil hits home: iPads and older iPhones assembled locally still cost more than they do in the United States, thanks to high labour costs and expensive commercial rents.
The price of Apple’s products is high in Brazil mainly because of______.

选项 A、high labour costs
B、large amount of tax
C、high living standards
D、expensive commercial rents

答案B

解析 根据题干定位到最后一段第二句:The high price of the iPhone 5s is largely due to tar—iffs and state and federal taxes on imports…其中,iPhone就指题干的Apple’s products,largelydue to=题干的mainly because of;故原文due to后面的tariffs and state and federal taxes onimports是答案,如果看不懂tariff(关税),根据and之后的tax也可以猜到其意思,或者看懂tax就可以得出答案为[B]项large amount of tax“巨额税收”。该段最后一句提到了[A]和[D]项,但不是主要原因。而[C]项的high living standards“高生活标准”完全是无中生有。
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