Question

ased on the following
share 1976-1992*
ine
%
beer
1.9%
1976
1992
question 7 is based on the following passage.
\i cant make a . . . thing out of this tax
problem,\ complained president warren g.
harding to a friend. \i listen to one side and
they seem right and then—god!—i talk to the
other side and they seem to be right. . . . i know
that somewhere there is a book that will give
me the truth, but i couldnt read the book. i
know somewhere there is an economist who
knows the truth, but i dont know where to find
him and havent the sense to know him and
trust him when i find him. god! what a job.\

1. the main idea of this paragraph is that

president harding
(1) provided leadership on the tax issue
(2) did not know what to do about the tax
problem
(3) needed to hire a new economist
(4) wanted to read more books about
taxes
(5) thought that taxes were not a serious
problem

Explanation:

The passage shows President Harding complaining that he cannot understand the tax problem, finds both sides of the argument seem correct, cannot locate or trust an expert who knows the truth, and is overwhelmed by the task. This directly reflects he has no clear course of action on the tax issue. Option (1) is wrong as he shows no leadership. Option (3) is incorrect because he does not state a need to hire an economist, only that he can't find a trustworthy one. Option (4) is wrong since he says he couldn't read a book with the truth, not that he wants to read more books. Option (5) is incorrect as he clearly views the tax issue as a stressful, difficult problem.

Answer:

(2) did not know what to do about the tax problem