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  3. Almost since the beginning of mankind, governments have been recording the numbers of their populace. The first known census rep

Almost since the beginning of mankind, governments have been recording the numbers of their populace. The first known census rep

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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.
The first census was created for the sole purpose of______.
选项 A、counting available troops
B、dividing farmland
C、providing manpower
D、taxing the populace
答案D
解析 细节事实题。根据题干关键词first census，purpose定位到原文首段第二句。原句中的pay taxes与选项D对应。故答案为D。
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