单选题 Throughout the 19th century and into the 20th, citizens of the United States maintained a bias against big cities. Most lived on farms and in small towns and believed cities to be centres of (1) , crime, poverty and moral (2) Their distrust was caused, (3) , by a national ideology that (4) farming the greatest occupation and rural living (5) to urban living. This attitude (6) even as the number of urban dwellers increased and cities became an essential (7) of the national landscape. Gradually, economic reality overcame ideology. Thousands (8) the precarious (不稳定的) life on the farm for more secure and better paying jobs in the city. But when these people (9) from the countryside, they carried their fears and suspicions with them. These new urbanities, already convinced that cities were (10) with great problems, eagerly (11) the progressive reforms that promised to bring order out of the (12) of the city.
One of many reforms came (13) the area of public utilities. Water and sewerage systems were usually operated by (14) governments, but the gas and electric networks were privately owned. Reformers feared that the privately owned utility companies would (15) exorbitant (过渡的) rates for these essential services and (16) them only to people who could afford them. Some city and state governments responded by (17) the utility companies, but a number of cities began to supply these services themselves. (18) of these reforms argued that public ownership and regulation would (19) widespread access to these utilities and guarantee a (20) price.

单选题 [A] eruption [B] corruption [C] interruption [D] provocation
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】corruption“腐败”，其他选项不合文意。[A]eruption“火山爆发”；[C]interruption“打断、打搅”；[D]provocation“激怒、挑拨”。
单选题 [A] disgrace [B] deterioration [C] dishonor [D] degradation
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】城市被认为是腐败、堕落的中心，因此选degradation“堕落、退化”，其他选项不合文意。[A]disgrace“耻辱、失宠”，如：Being poor is no disgrace.“贫穷并不是耻辱。”[B]deterioration“变坏、恶化”，如：health deterioration健康恶化；[C]dishonor“不名誉、不光彩”。
单选题 [A] by origin [B] in part [C] at all [D] at random
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】in part“部分地，在某种程度上”，其他选项不合文意。[A]by origin“出身”，如：He's French by origin.“他生为法国人。”[C]at all“完全、根本”，常用于否定或疑问句；[D]at random“随便地，随机地”。
单选题 [A] proclaimed [B] exclaimed [C] claimed [D] reclaim
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】proclaimed“正式宣布，表明，公开赞扬”，其他选项不合文意。[B]exclaimed“感叹，大声说”；[C]claimed“要求、主张、索赔”，如：She claims to own a car but I don't believe her.“她声称自己有车，但我不相信她。”[D]reclaim“要求归还、开垦”。
单选题 [A] superb [B] super [C] exceptional [D] superior
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】be superior to“优于……”，其他选项不符合搭配。[A]superb“极好的，高质量的”；[B]super“极好的，超级的”；[C]exceptional“例外的，异常的”。
单选题 [A] predominated [B] dominated [C] commanded [D] prevailed
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】prevailed“流行，盛行”，如：A belief in magic still prevails in many tribes．“对魔力的信仰仍在好多部落流行。”其他选项不符合文意。[A]predominated“掌握，支配”，如：In his mind a wish to become rich has always predominated.“发财的希望一直在他心中占主导地位。”[B]dominated“主宰，统治”，如：Her desire to dominate other people has caused trouble in her family.“她要主宰他人的欲望给她的家庭带来了麻烦。”[C]commanded“指挥，命令”。
单选题 [A] feature [B] peculiarity [C] quality [D] attribute
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】feature“外表的显著的特征或特性”，如：feature of the national landscape“国土风景的特色”，其他选项不符合文意。[B]peculiarity“显著的，令人不快的特性或怪癖”，如：a peculiarity of the northern climate“北方怪气候的特色”；[C]quality“性质，特性”，意义较抽象；[D]attribute“构成人或物一部分的属性”，如：eagerness to learn，an often overlooked attribute in small children.“强烈的求知欲，一种小孩子身上常被忽视的特性。”
单选题 [A] deserted [B] departed [C] abolished [D] abandoned
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】abandoned意为“完全放弃”，其他选项不合文意。[A]deserted“在困难的时候或情形下离开”，如：His friends deserted him.“他的朋友遗弃了他。”[B]departed“离开某地”，如：depart from Beijing“离开北京”。[C]abolished“废除”。
单选题 [A] reallocated [B] migrated [C] replaced [D] substituted
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】从农村迁移到城市，因此选migrated“迁移，移居”，其他选项不合文意。[A]reallocated“重新分配”；[C]replaced“代替”；[D]substituted“替换”。
单选题 [A] overwhelmed [B] overflowed [C] overtaken [D] preoccupied
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】城市里充斥着各种问题，所以选overwhelmed“被水完全覆盖，制服”，其他选项不符合文意。[B]overflowed“使淹没”；[C]overtaken“赶上，超过”；[D]preoccupied“预先占上，全神贯注于”。
单选题 [A] embraced [B] adopted [C] hugged [D] contained
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】新来城市的人热切地欢迎改革，所以选embraced“愿意使用或接受”，其他选项不符合文意。[B]adopted“采纳”；[C]hugged“拥抱”；[D]contained“包含”。
单选题 [A] chaos [B] chores [C] chorus [D] outbreaks
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】chaos“混乱”；[B]chores“家务杂事”；[C]chorus“合唱，合唱队”；[D]outbreaks“爆发”。
单选题 [A] at [B] by [C] out [D] in
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】in the area“在……方面”，其他选项不符合搭配。
单选题 [A] public [B] municipal [C] republican [D] national
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】该段讲城市的改革，供水和排水系统通常由市政府运作，所以选municipal“市政的”，其他选项不符合文意。[A]public“公共的”；[C]republican“共和国的”；[D]national“民族的，全国的”。
单选题 [A] charge [B] take [C] cost [D] spend
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】charge exorbitant rates“收取过高的费用”，其他选项不符合惯用法。[B]take“花费”，常用物作主语；[C]cost“消费”，常用物作主语；[D]spend“花”，常用句型：sb. spend time/money on sth.。
单选题 [A] distribute [B] deliver [C] transfer [D] transport
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】改革者担心私营公司只为能付得起费用的人提供服务，所以选deliver“交付，递送”，其他选项不符合文意。[A]distribute“分发，分配”；[C]transfer“调动，迁移”；[D]transport“运输，传送”。
单选题 [A] degenerating [B] generating [C] regenerating [D] regulating
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】一些政府对私营公司进行“管理，调节，控制”，因此选regulating。[A]degenerating“退化，变质”；[B]generating“产生，导致”；[C]regenerating“使再生，重建”。
单选题 [A] Proponents [B] Opponents [C] Sponsors [D] Rivals
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】Proponents“支持者”，其他选项不合文意。[B]Opponents“反对者”；[C]Sponsors“发起者”；[D]Rivals“对手”。
单选题 [A] secure [B] ensure [C] reassure [D] incur
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】ensure“保证”，其他选项不合文意。[A]secure“获得，保卫”；[C]reassure“使……放心”，如：The doctor reassured the sick man about his health.“医生让病人对自己的健康放心。”[D]incur“招致”，如：I incurred his dislike from that day on.“从那天起，我便惹他讨厌。”
单选题 [A] fair [B] just [C] square [D] objective
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】公平的价格为“fair price”，其他选项不符合惯用法和文意。[B]just“(法律或道德方面)公正的”；[C]square“正直的”；[D]objective“客观的”。