Today this city is a highly skilled society without the urban sprawl and rural poverty that ______ larger nations.
 
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】 动词词义辨析。reflect“反映,表现”;motivate“激发”;conflict“抵触,冲突”;afflict“使痛苦,折磨”。根据句中without判断,前后形成对比,空格填入的词应与highly skilled意思相对。故答案为D。