单选题
The federal entity created by the Constitution is by
far the dominant feature of the American governmental system.{{U}} {{U}}
1 {{/U}} {{/U}}the system itself is in reality a mosaic,{{U}}
{{U}} 2 {{/U}} {{/U}}of thousands of smaller units--building blocks
which together{{U}} {{U}} 3 {{/U}} {{/U}}the whole. There are 50
state governments{{U}} {{U}} 4 {{/U}} {{/U}}the government of
the District of Columbia, and further down the ladder are still smaller
units,{{U}} {{U}} 5 {{/U}} {{/U}}counties, cities, towns and
villages. This{{U}} {{U}} 6 {{/U}} {{/U}}of governmental units
is best understood{{U}} {{U}} 7 {{/U}} {{/U}}the evolution of
the United States. The federal system, it has been seen, was the last step in
the{{U}} {{U}} 8 {{/U}} {{/U}}process. Prior to its creation,
there were the governments of the{{U}} {{U}} 9 {{/U}}
{{/U}}colonies (later states) and prior to{{U}} {{U}} 10 {{/U}}
{{/U}}, the governments of counties and smaller units. One of the first
tasks (11) by the early English settlers was the creation of
governmental units for the tiny{{U}} {{U}} 11 {{/U}}
{{/U}}they established along the Atlantic coast. Even before the Pilgrims
disembarked {{U}} {{U}} 12 {{/U}} {{/U}}their ship in
1620, they{{U}} {{U}} 13 {{/U}} {{/U}}the Mayflower
Compact, the first written American constitution. And as the new nation
pushed{{U}} {{U}} 14 {{/U}} {{/U}}each frontier outpost created
its own government to manage its affairs. The drafters of the U. S. Constitution
left this multilayered governmental system{{U}} {{U}} 15
{{/U}} {{/U}}. While they made the national structure supreme, they
wisely{{U}} {{U}} 16 {{/U}} {{/U}}the need for a series of
governments more directly in{{U}} {{U}} 17 {{/U}} {{/U}}with the
people and more keenly attuned(合拍) to their needs. Thus, certain{{U}}
{{U}} 18 {{/U}} {{/U}}such as defense, currency regulation and
foreign relations--could only be managed by a strong centralized government.
But{{U}} {{U}} 19 {{/U}} {{/U}}such as sanitation, education and
local transportation--belong mainly to local jurisdictions(管辖权).