問題詳情

Questions 18-28Cities develop as a result of functions that they can perform. Some functions resultdirectly from the ingenuity of the citizenry, but most functions result from the needs ofthe local area and of the surrounding hinterland (the region that supplies goods to thecity and to which the city furnishes services and other goods). Geographers often make5) a distinction between the situation and the site of a city. Situation refers to the generalposition in relation to the surrounding region, whereas site involves physicalcharacteristics of the specific location. Situation is normally much more important tothe continuing prosperity of a city. if a city is well situated in regard to its hinterland, itsdevelopment is much more likely to continue. Chicago, for example, possesses an almost10)unparalleled situation: it is located at the southern end of a huge lake that forces east-westtransportation lines to be compressed into its vicinity, and at a meeting of significant landand water transport routes. It also overlooks what is one of the world’s finest largefarming regions. These factors ensured that Chicago would become a great city regardlessof the disadvantageous characteristics of the available site, such as being prone to flooding15)during thunderstorm activity.Similarly, it can be argued that much of New York City’s importance stems from itsearly and continuing advantage of situation. Philadephia and Boston both originated atabout the same time as New York and shared New York’s location at the western end ofone of the world’s most important oceanic trade routes, but only New York possesses an20)easy-access functional connection (the Hudson-Mohawk lowland) to the vast Midwesternhinterland. This account does not alone explain New York’s primacy, but it does includeseveral important factors. Among the many aspects of situation that help to explain whysome cities grow and others do not, original location on a navigable waterway seemsparticularly applicable. Of course, such characteristic as slope, drainage, power25)resources, river crossings, coastal shapes, and other physical characteristics help todetermine city location, but such factors are normally more significant in early stagesof city development than later.
18. What does the passage mainly discuss?
(A) The development of trade routes through United States cities
(B) Contrasts in settlement patterns in United States
(C) Historical differences among three large United States cities
(D) The importance of geographical situation in the growth of United States cities

參考答案

答案：D
難度：簡單0.75
統計：A(1),B(0),C(0),D(3),E(0)

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