单选题Directions: Read the following text. Choose
the best word or phrase for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on ANSWER
SHEET 1. Shopping habits in the United States have
changed greatly in the last quarter of the 20th century. {{U}} {{U}}
1 {{/U}} {{/U}}in the 1900s most American towns and cities had a Main
Street. Main Street was always in the heart of a town. This street was {{U}}
{{U}} 2 {{/U}} {{/U}}on both sides with many {{U}} {{U}}
3 {{/U}} {{/U}}businesses. Here, shoppers walked into stores to look at
all sorts of merchandise-clothing, furniture, hardware, groceries {{U}}
{{U}} 4 {{/U}} {{/U}}, some shops offered {{U}} {{U}}
5 {{/U}} {{/U}}. These shops included drugstores, restaurants,
shoe-repair stores, and barber or hairdressing shops. {{U}} {{U}}
6 {{/U}} {{/U}}in the 1950s, a change began to {{U}} {{U}}
7 {{/U}} {{/U}}. Too many automobiles had crowded into Main Street
{{U}} {{U}} 8 {{/U}} {{/U}}too few parking places were {{U}}
{{U}} 9 {{/U}} {{/U}}shoppers. Because the streets were crowded,
merchants began to look with interest at the open spaces {{U}} {{U}}
10 {{/U}} {{/U}}the city limits. Open space is what their car-driving
customers needed. And open space is what they got {{U}} {{U}} 11
{{/U}} {{/U}}the first shopping centre was built. Shopping centers, or rather
malls, {{U}} {{U}} 12 {{/U}} {{/U}}as a collection of small new
stores {{U}} {{U}} 13 {{/U}} {{/U}}crowded city centers.
{{U}} {{U}} 14 {{/U}} {{/U}}by hundreds of free parking space,
customers were drawn away from {{U}} {{U}} 15 {{/U}} {{/U}}areas
to outlying malls. And the growing {{U}} {{U}} 16 {{/U}}
{{/U}}of shopping centers led {{U}} {{U}} 17 {{/U}} {{/U}}to the
building of bigger and better stocked stores. {{U}} {{U}} 18
{{/U}} {{/U}}the late 1970s, many shopping malls had almost developed into
small cities themselves. In addition to providing the {{U}} {{U}}
19 {{/U}} {{/U}}of one stop shopping, malls were transformed into
landscaped parks, {{U}} {{U}} 20 {{/U}} {{/U}}benches,
fountains, and outdoor entertainment.
单选题
A. As early as
B. Early
C. Early as
D. Earlier
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 词义辨析题。as early a同……一样早；early早期(副词)；earlier较早(比较级)。此处的意思是：早在20世纪初。early符合题意，故选B。