单选题 In November 1965, New York was blacked out by an electricity failure. The authorities promised that it would not happen again. Pessimists were certain that it would occur again within five years at the latest. In July 1997, there was a repeat performance which produced varying degrees of chaos throughout the city of eight million people. In 1965, the failure occurred in the cool autumn and at a time of comparative prosperity. In 1997, the disaster was much more serious because it came when unemployment was high and the city was suffering from one of its worst heat waves.
In 1965, there was little crime or looting during the darkness, and fewer than a hundred people were arrested. In 1997, hundreds of stores were broken into and looted. Looters smashed shop windows and helped themselves to jewelry, clothes or television sets. Nearly 4,000 people were arrested but far more disappeared into the darkness of the night. The number of policemen available was quite inadequate and they wisely refrained from using their guns against mobs which far outnumbered them and included armed men.
Hospitals had to treat hundreds of people cut by glass from shop windows. Banks and most businesses remained closed the next day. The blackout started at 9:30 p.m., when lightning hit and knocked out vital cables. Many stores were thus caught by surprise.
The vast majority of New Yorkers, however, were not involved in looting. They helped strangers, distributed candles and batteries, and tried to survive in a nightmare world without traffic lights, refrigerator, elevators, water and electrical power. For twenty-four hours, New York realized how helpless it was without electricity.

单选题 From the first paragraph, we know that ______ were right.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 本题为细节题。由“The authorities promised that it would not happen again.”及“Pessimists were certain that it would occur again within five years at the latest. In July 1997, there was a repeat performance”可知这场大事故又发生了。所以两者都是推断错了，故答案为D。

单选题 In what way was the blackout of 1997 NOT really a repeat performance?

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 本题为细节题。题干意思为1997的断电事故中哪个不是出现的相同的状况?
A项为混乱状态更多。由“the disaster was much more serious because it came when unemployment was high and the city was suffering from one of its worst heat waves.”可知因为到1997年的时候失业人口更多，所以这一混乱局面更为严重。故答案为A。

单选题 As far as maintaining the peace was concerned, conditions in 1997 were comparatively ______

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[解析] 本题为推理题。题干意思是，鉴于对维护和平的考虑，1997年的状况较之前的那次停电更为______。由“In 1997, the disaster was much more serious because it came when unemployment was high and the city was suffering from one of its worst heat waves.”中的“was much more serious”可知2007年的停电事故更糟糕，更为混乱，所以选择B。