問題詳情
Questions 20-29Throughout the nineteenth century and into the twentieth, citizens of the UnitedStates maintained a bias against big cities. Most lived on farms and in small towns andbelieved cities to be centers of corruption, crime, poverty, and moral degradation. Theirdistrust was caused, in part, by a national ideology that proclaimed farming the greatest(5) occupation and rural living superior to urban living. This attitude prevailed even as thenumber of urban dwellers increased and cities became an essential feature of thenational landscape. Gradually, economic reality overcame ideology. Thousandsabandoned the precarious life on the farm for more secure and better paying jobs in thecity. But when these people migrated from the countryside, they carried their fears and(10) suspicious with them. These new urbanities, already convinced that cities wereoverwhelmed with great problems, eagerly embraced the progressive reforms thatpromised to bring order out of the chaos of the city.One of many reforms came in the area of public utilities. Water and seweragesystems were usually operated by municipal governments, but the gas and electric(15) networks were privately owned. Reformers fared that the privately owned utilitycompanies would charge exorbitant rates for these essential services and deliver themonly to people who could afford them. Some city and state governments responded byregulating the utility companies, but a number of cities began to supply these servicesthemselves. Proponents of these reforms argued that public ownership and regulation(20) would insure widespread access to these utilities and guarantee a fair price.While some reforms focused on government and public behavior, others looked atthe cities as a whole. Civic leaders, convinced that physical environment influencedhuman behavior, argued that cities should develop master plans to guide their futuregrowth and development. City planning was nothing new, but the rapid industrialization(25) and urban growth of the late nineteenth century took place without any considerationfor order. Urban renewal in the twentieth century followed several courses. Some citiesintroduced plans to completely rebuild the city core. Most other cities contentedthemselves with zoning plans for regulating future growth. Certain parts of town wererestricted to residential use, while others were set aside for industrial or commercialdevelopment.
【題組】20. What does the passage mainly discuss?
(A) A comparison of urban and rural life in the early twentieth century
(B) The role of government in twentiethcentury urban renewal
(C) Efforts to improve urban life in the early twentieth century
(D) Methods of controlling urban growth in the twentieth century
參考答案
答案：C
難度：困難0.285714
統計：A(2),B(3),C(2),D(0),E(0)