Physical devastation caused by invading armies， chiefly in the South and border states， had to be repaired. This herculean task was ultimately completed， but with discouraging slowness.

　　Other important questions needed answering. What would be the future of the four million black people who were freed from slavery？ On what basis were the Southern states to be brought back into the Union？

　　What of the Southern leaders， all of whom were liable to charges of treason？ One of these leaders， Jefferson Davis，President of the Southern Confederacy， was the subject of an insulting popular Northern song，"Hang Jeff Davis from a Sour Apple Tree." And even children sang it. Davis was temporarily chained in his prison cell during the early days of his two- year imprisonment. But he and the other Southern leaders were finally released， partly because it was unlikely that a jury from Virginia， a Southern Confederate state， would convict them. All the leaders were finally pardoned by President Johnson in 1868 in an effort to help reconstruction efforts proceed with as little bitterness as possible.

　　41. What does the passage mainly discuss？

　　（A） Wartime expenditures

　　（B） Problems facing the United States after the war

　　（C） Methods of repairing the damage caused by the war

　　（D） The results of government efforts to revive the economy

　　42. The word " Staggering" in line 1 is closest in meaning to

　　（A） specialized

　　（B） confusing

　　（C） various

　　（D） overwhelming

　　43. The word "devastated" in line 4 is closest in meaning to

　　（A） developing

　　（B） ruined

　　（C） complicated

　　（D） fragile

　　44. According to the passage， which of the following statements about the damage in the South is correct？

　　（A） It was worse than in the North.

　　（B） The cost was less than expected

　　（C） It was centered in the border states.

　　（D） It was remedied rather quickly.