例如：Both the number and the percentageof people in the United States involved in nonagricultural pursuitsexpanded rapidly during the half century following the civil war,with some of the most dramatic increases occurring in the domainsof transportation, manufacturing, and trade and distribution。
What can be inferred from the passageabout the agricultural sector of the economy after the CivilWar?
(A) New technological developments hadlittle effect on farmers。
(B) The percentage of the totalpopulation working in agriculture declined。
(C) Many farms destroyed in the warwere rebuilt after the war。
(D) Farmers achieved new prosperitybecause of better rural transportation。
文中指出：非农业人口的数量和比例都增加了。由此可知农业人口的数量和比例下降，所以(B)为正确答案。
三、解答这类题目需要注意的信息点：
1.日期和数字。
2.关键词： 表示多少的副词： many , some, much of,several , a few ,most …;情态动词：may, can , could…;表示过去的：used to be ,was, were , at one time, previously ;表示不是唯一的： not only ,notexclusively等。