单选题 In the early 20th century, at the advent of the telephone, it was considered a superfluous instrument which would never be of practical use in the average household.(2003年中国社会科学院考博试题)
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】解析：本题中，advent的意思是“出现，到来”。A项“appearance出现”符合题意，如：His sudden appearance surprised her．(他的突然到来使她很惊讶。)其他三项“popularity普及，流行；dominance优势，统治；consolidation巩固，合并”都不正确。