"According to such-and-such, a think-tank," is a phrase familiar to readers of any newspaper. Sharp quotes, intriguing facts and bold new policy proposals are 【C1】______ the mysterious tanks. What exactly are these outfits, 【C2】______ churn out reports on everything from Brexit to badgers? The "think-tank" label became popular in the 1950s, 【C3】______ which time there were already plenty of such organizations in existence. Many of America's most 【C4】______ tanks were founded in the early 20th century. But think-tanks really 【C5】______ in the second half of the 20th century. Think-tanks 【C6】______ fill the gap between academia and policymaking. Academics 【C7】______ authoritative studies, 【C8】______ at a snail's pace. Journalists' first drafts of history are 【C9】______ but thin. A good think-tank helps the policymaking process by publishing reports that are as 【C10】______ as academic research and as accessible as journalism. They 【C11】______ in the 20th century for two reasons. Governments were expanding everywhere, meaning there was lots of 【C12】______ for policy expertise. And the arrival of 24-hour news created an insatiable appetite 【C13】______ informed interviewees. The same trends are now causing think-tanks to 【C14】______ in developing countries. 【C15】______ the world may have reached peak tank. The Pennsylvanian researchers found that in 2014 the number of new tanks 【C16】______ for the first time in 30 years. One reason is that donors nowadays prefer to make project-specific grants, 【C17】______ funneling money into mere thinking. 【C18】______ is increased competition. So some tanks are rethinking themselves. The Pew Research Centre describes itself as a "fact tank" , 【C19】______ information rather than policy recommendations. And the Sutton Trust calls itself a "do tank", putting its own recommendations into 【C20】______.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】解析：词组辨析题。由上文可推断“尖锐的引语、有趣的实例、大胆的新政策建议，这些都出自于神秘的智库。”四个选项分别为：A项extracted from“从……提取”，B项attributed to“归因于……”C项contextualized to“置于……语境中"，D项proposed by“由……提出”。根据句意可知B项attributed to为正确选项。

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】解析：语义辨析题。由上文可知智库建于20世纪50年代，根据but可推测下文要表达智库的盛行较晚，四个选项分别为：A项blossomed“兴旺，发展成”，B项unfolded“展现”，C项constructed“建造”，D项founded“建立”，根据语义，A项blossomed“兴旺，发展成”更合适。

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】解析：语义辨析题。分析句子Think-tanks【C6】______fill the gap between academia and policymaking可知fill the gap between academia，and policymaking为智库的用途和功能，因此本题应选择B项aim to“旨在”，其他选项A项vie with“与…竞争”，C项cope with“处理、应付”，D项set to“开始做某事"均不符合题意。

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】解析：语义辨析题。由上文可知智库致力于填平学术界和政策制定之间的沟壑，因此学者们一心想要打磨出权威的研究结果。四个选项A项 grind out“打磨出”，B项 find out“找出”，C项 dispose of“处理”，D项account for“对…作出解释”中只有A项grind out“打磨出”能够较形象地体现出学者们一起研究、切磋的状态。

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】解析：同义词辨析题。根据文中Journalists’first drafts可推测新闻报道的历史初稿的特点就是快速，四个选项均有“快”的意思，但是内在涵义不同，A项hasty指的是“快速”，但是暗含“匆忙"之意，B项swift指的是“轻盈迅速的”，C项speedy指的是“速度之快”，D项jerky表示“快”，但是是“突然的，不平稳的”，根据句意，本题应选择C项speedy。

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】解析：同义词辨析题。四个选项都有“要求”的意思，但是含义和使用方法不同，其中A项claims一般指“法律上较正式的要求、请求”，B项requests主要指“请求”，并且这个请求要submitted to an authority，C项requirements指的是“需要、必需品、必要条件”，只有D项demands指的是“需求”，符合文意，整句话的意思为“对政策的专业知识的需求量较大”。

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】解析：词组辨析题。四个选项均为take的固定词组，其中A项take in“吸收、领会”，B项take on“承担、呈现”，C项take off"起飞"，D项take over"接管”，通过对句意的分析可判断此句应为智库在发展中国家也开始蓬勃发展，因此本题应选择C项take off"起飞”，该选项较形象地描述了这一状态。

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】解析：近义词组辨析题。根据语境可知皮尤研究中心将自己定位为“实事智库”，专注于信息而非政策建议。四个选项中A项aiming at强调“目的”，B项focusing on强调“关注的内容”，C项centralizing on强调“中心”，D项emphasizing on指的是“强调某事”，因此根据四个选项的不同含义，本题应该选择B项focusing on。