A、Manufacturers. B、Employees. C、Farmers. D、Pessimists. C

The economy of the United States after 1952 was the economy of a well-fed, almost fully employed people. Despite occasional alarms, the country escaped any postwar liquidation and lived in a state of boom. The history of extraction, production, and distribution had therefore been almost nothing but a statistical table reflecting prosperity.
   An economic survey of the 1955, typical of the 1950’s, may be typical as illustrating the decade. The national output was estimated at 392 billion dollars, about 10 per cent above that of 1954. The production of manufacturers was about 40 per cent more than it had averaged in the years immediately following World War II. The country’s business spent about 30 billion dollars for new factories and machinery. National income available for spending was almost a third greater than it had been in 1950. 65 million people held jobs and only a little more than 2 million wanted jobs but could not find them.
   Only agriculture complained that it was not sharing in the boom. As farmer’s share of their products declined marketing cost rose. But there were a few pessimists among the observers of the national economy. They seemed to fear that the prosperity was based on government pump-priming on a great scale.
23. Which of the following words can best describe the economic situation of the United States after 1952?
24. In 1955, how much was the national output?
25. In 1955, which group was least satisfied with the national economy?
26. What aspect of the United States’ history is the passage mainly concerned with?