7. But by the end of 2009 Ms. Simmons was under fire for having sat on Goldman's compensation committee; how could she have let those enormous bonus payouts pass unremarked? The phrase "under fire" most probably means ______.A. staying away from troubleB. receiving warm praiseC. getting great rewardsD. facing severe criticism

本题考查对短语“under fire”含义的理解，解题思路是结合文章语境来推断该短语的意思。

• 文章提到“But by the end of 2009 Ms. Simmons was under fire for having sat on Goldman's compensation committee; how could she have let those enormous bonus payouts pass unremarked?”，意思是到2009年底，西蒙斯女士因为担任高盛薪酬委员会成员而“under fire”，接着提出疑问“她怎么能让那些巨额奖金的发放不被注意到呢”。
• 从这个疑问可以看出，西蒙斯女士因为在薪酬委员会的表现受到了质疑，处于一种不利的境地。
• 接下来分析各个选项：
  • A选项“staying away from trouble”意思是远离麻烦，与文章中西蒙斯女士受到质疑的语境不符。
  • B选项“receiving warm praise”意思是受到热烈赞扬，这与文章中质疑的语气相悖。
  • C选项“getting great rewards”意思是获得丰厚回报，同样不符合文章所表达的西蒙斯女士面临的情况。
  • D选项“facing severe criticism”意思是面临严厉批评，符合文章中西蒙斯女士因为在薪酬委员会的表现而受到质疑和批评的语境。