单选题 Chicago began life in 1779 (1) a small trading post on the Chicago River. A farsighted black freedman, Jean du Sable, did a flourishing fur (2) with the Native Americans. When his trading post became a fort and then a city, it was (3) Chicago. This is the Native American word for the wild onions found in the area.
In 1820 Chicago (4) ten or twelve houses and a store or two. Now it is the third largest city in the (5) , and still it continues to grow. Thousands of new buildings are (6) every year. They are built to accommodate new businesses and residences. More than seven (7) people now live in and around the city.
Astride the crossroads of the nation, Chicago is the largest railroad (8) in the world. No other city in the land is a larger trucking center. The city, (9) on lake Michigan, is the largest inland port in the world. O'Hare Airport is the world's busiest commercial airport. Overall, Chicago is the leading (10) center in the United States.
Its location in the heart of North America's farmland (11) Chicago the world's largest grain market. It also plays (12) each year to more than a thousand conventions. In 1860 Abraham Lincoln was nominated for President at the Republican convention (13) here. That was to establish a pattern for both the Democratic and Republican parties since that time. Half of all major (14) conventions have taken place in Chicago.
But Chicago did not achieve success without problems. At one time pollution from the Chicago River (15) the city's water supply from Lake Michigan. (16) pure drinking water, the engineers reversed the course of the river (17) it flowed backwards, away from the lake! This kept the water supply (18) . Even the famous fire of 1871 could not snuff out the spirits of the vital young giant. The entire central city was (19) , but citizens built anew. And they erected the first towering structure of steel and concrete. In doing so, they invented the (20) Today, as an example, Chicago's impressive skyline includes the world's tallest building. The 1454 foot Sears Tower.

单选题 A. in B. as C. like D. at
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】Chicago刚开始时是作为一个小交易站建立的。as，作为。
单选题 A. business B. company C. store D. area
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】do business with，和……做了(皮毛)生意。
单选题 A. built B. attracted C. named D. found
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】这个交易站后来被命名为芝加哥。be named，被命名为。
单选题 A. made up B. consisted of C. started off D. gave out
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】1820年芝加哥只有很少的房屋。(Consist of由……组成，包括。made up应该用被动，was made up；started off后应该接上with；gave out，发出，意思不正确。
单选题 A. world B. state C. province D. nation
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】芝加哥是世界第三大城市。
单选题 A. constructed B. cleaned C. called D. admired
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】construct，建造。每年都有新建筑被建起来。
单选题 A. hundred B. thousand C. million D. billion
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】常识来看，一个大城市的人口是几百万。
单选题 A. trading B. centre C. position D. place
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】芝加哥是全球最大的铁路中心。本段中还出现了汽运中心、交通中心等，所以此处选center。
单选题 A. locates B. locating C. to locate D. located
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】语法题，locating，表示状态。本句中的谓语是is，所以locates和located不能使用。而to locate表示将要。
单选题 A. transportation B. sports C. tourist D. entertainment
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】根据前文，火车、汽车、船运、飞机都属于交通，所以选A。
单选题 A. eases B. takes C. makes D. sells
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】芝加哥的地理位置使得它成为最大的粮食市场。make，使成为。
单选题 A. guest B. host C. invitation D. production
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】play host to，做东道主，招待。
单选题 A. to hold B. holding C. holds D. held
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】在当时举办的民主党会议上，用过去分词表示是过去举办的，故选D。
单选题 A. political B. educational C. business D. religious
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】前面的句子讲的是民主党和共和党的会议，都属于政治会议，故选A。
单选题 A. cut B. cleaned C. threatened D. established
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】污染威胁到了城市的水供应，故选C。
单选题 A. Ensured B. To ensure C. Ensuring D. To be sure
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】To ensure，表示目的，为了确保干净的水。
单选题 A. however B. then C. therefore D. so that
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】改变河道以使得河水倒流。So that，以便(以致)。
单选题 A. clean B. salty C. warm D. polluted
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】河水改道后的目的是为了使水干净，故选A。
单选题 A. constructed B. established C. destroyed D. supplied
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】大火将整个中心城区摧毁，故选C。
单选题 A. freeway B. skyscraper C. subway D. elevator
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】从上下文来看，都是在说很高的建筑，如1454英尺的Sears Tower，所以选B，摩天楼。