[問題]GMAT_GRE_LSAT閱讀全集-PASSAGE 78(15/22)

[tobosu]

Passage 78 (15/22)
In Roman times, defeated enemies were generally put to death as criminals for having offended the emperor of Rome. In the Middle Ages, however, the practice of ransoming, or returning prisoners in exchange for money, became common. Though some saw this custom as a step towards a more humane society, the primary reasons behind it were economic rather than humanitarian.

In those times, rulers had only a limited ability to raise taxes. They could neither force their subjects to fight nor pay them to do so. The promise of material compensation in the form of goods and ransom was therefore the only way of inducing combatants to participate in a war. In the Middle Ages, the predominant incentive for the individual soldier to participate in a war was the expectation of spoils. Although collecting ransom clearly brought financial gain, keeping a prisoner and arranging for his exchange had its costs. Consequently, several procedures were devised to reduce transaction costs.

One such device was a rule asserting that the prisoner had to assess his own value. This compelled the prisoner to establish a value without much distortion; indicating too low a value would increase the captive’s chances of being killed, while indicating too high a value would either ruin him financially or create a prohibitively expensive ransom that would also result in death.

A second means of reducing costs was the practice of releasing a prisoner on his word of honor. This procedure was advantageous to both parties since the captor was relieved of the expense of keeping the prisoner while the captive had freedom of movement. The captor also benefited financially by having his captive raise the ransom himself. This “parole” was a viable practice since the released prisoner risked recapture or retaliation against his family. Moreover, in medieval society, breaking one’s word had serious consequences. When, for example, King Francois I broke his word to the Emperor Charles V in 1525, his reputation suffered immensely.

A third method of reducing costs was the use of specialized institutions to establish contact between the two parties. Two types of institutions emerged: professional dealers who acted as brokers, and members of religious orders who acted as neutral intermediaries. Dealers advanced money for the ransom and charged interest on the loan. Two of the religious orders that became intermediaries were the Mercedarians and the Trinitarians, who between them arranged the ransom of nearly one million prisoners.

1.The primary purpose of the passage is to
(A) discuss the economic basis of the medieval practice of exchanging prisoners for ransom
(B) examine the history of the treatment of prisoners of war
(C) emphasize the importance of a warrior’s “word of honor” during the Middle Ages
(D) explore three ways of reducing the costs of ransom
(E) demonstrate why warriors of the Middle Ages looked forward to battles

本題答案(A)，我選(D)，後來覺得(D)應該錯在"explore"，而應該是"describ" or "discuss"；但我覺得(A)的 "economic basis" 怪怪的，"basis"應該不是本文重點吧..謝謝！

[davidlee0222]

主軸在第一段最後一句
經濟的原因才是重點
就是economic basis
D是錯在只有最後三段的功能
也不是在講如何降低cost of ransom
贖金的成本
而是在講俘虜成本

全文是在講俘虜可用贖金贖回
是因為不贖回反而造成成本問題
要養犯人也是要錢的
所以有後面三種方式

[tobosu]

謝謝大衛的解說...看來做這種題要將斷落再掃一次，比較能切中要領。。。

[蛙蛙]

7. It can be inferred from the passage that the process of arranging ransoms during medieval times was
(A) more lucrative for medieval soldiers and kings than the winning of spoils
(B) a procedure so costly that it was not economically worthwhile for the captors
(C) futile for the captive since he risked recapture even after his ransom was paid
(D) a potential source of income for others aside from the captors of the prisoners
(E) handled only through Mercedarian or Trinitarian intermediaries

這題答案是D 我選B

可是如果從第二段Although collecting ransom clearly brought financial gain, keeping a prisoner and arranging for his exchange had its costs.
也看不出

D選項所說的 有人獲利阿??

請各位教一下囉 謝謝

[蛙蛙]

Dealers advanced money for the ransom and charged interest on the loan.

這句話應該是 D選項的依據吧 ???

請教一下囉 謝謝