单选题
The United States became a rich industrial nation toward the end of the 1800s. There were more goods, more services, more jobs, and a higher standard of living. There was more of everything, including problems. One problem was monopoly — that is, be the only seller of a certain line of products or a service. In some cases, several companies that manufactured the same product would agree not to compete with one another. They would all agree to charge the same price. These arrangements made it impossible for customers to shop around for lower prices for certain products. Some people decided that huge corporations had too much power and controlled too many markets. Because of their wealth and power, they could see to it that government passed laws favorable to them. Many people believed that monopoly and price fixing were bad for customers anti bad for the country so that they should be broken up. Finally, the national government and some states passed laws that placed limits on corporations and big companies. These laws made it illegal for companies to make agreements to charge only a certain price. Later on the national government forced monopoly to be broken up. Such laws and government action didn't entirely do away with monopolies. Nor did they stop the growth of huge corporations. But they did show that American people had decided that some of the changes that had occurred were harmful.
单选题
The word "monopoly" (in Paragraph 1) most probably means ______. A. the production of certain kinds of goods B. complete control and possession of trade C. a big corporation or company D. an agreement on prices
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 第一段只提到有些公司为了避免竞争，就进行价格协商；采用统一价格。
单选题
Because of the agreements between big companies, ______. A. people had to buy things at certain shops B. the prices of their goods were much lower C. customers had no choice but to buy goods at fixed prices D. there were fewer markets in some states
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 参考文中第一段谈的内容，垄断的形成。
单选题
According to the laws, companies ______. A. were not allowed to control the markets B. could not force the customers to buy their products C. should have fixed prices for their products D. must produce the same kind of goods for the same market
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 参考文中第三段所谈，政府法律规定不许垄断价格。
单选题
Some American people thought that ______. A. the government should make some of the huge corporations much smaller B. the country's industry was growing too rapidly C. shops should have the same price for the same kind of goods D. their country's getting rich was both good and bad to the people
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 参阅文章内容，人们对大公司的态度以及政府所采取的措施。
单选题
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage? A. Big companies could not influence the government. B. A large number of markets. C. Many Americans were worried about the changes in their country. D. Some of the laws were in favor of customers.