Urbanization
(2013·高考北京卷)Until relatively recently，the vast majority of human beings lived and died without ever seeing a city.The first city was probably founded no more than 5,500 years ago. 【小题1】 In fact，nearly everyone lived on farms or in tiny rural (乡村的) villages.It was not until the 20th century that Great Britain became the first urban society in history—a society in which the majority of people live in cities and do not farm for a living.
Britain was only the beginning. 【小题2】 The process of urbanization—the migration (迁徙) of people from the countryside to the city—was the result of modernization，which has rapidly transformed how people live and where they live.
In 1990，fewer than 40% of Americans lived in urban areas.Today，over 82% of Americans live in cities.Only about 2% live on farms. 【小题3】
Large cities were impossible until agriculture became industrialized.Even in advanced agricultural societies，it took about ninetyfive people on farms to feed five people in cities._ 【小题4】_Until modern times，those living in cities were mainly the ruling elite(精英) and the servants，laborers and professionals who served them.Cities survived by taxing farmers and were limited in size by the amount of surplus food that the rural population produced and by the ability to move this surplus from farm to city.
Over the past two centuries，the Industrial Revolution has broken this balance between the city and the country. 【小题5】_Today，instead of needing ninetyfive farmers to feed five city people，one American farmer is able to feed more than a hundred nonfarmers.A．That kept cities very small.B．The rest live in small towns.C．The effects of urban living on people should be considered.D．Soon many other industrial nations became urban societies.E．But even 200 years ago，only a few people could live in cities.
F．Modernization drew people to the cities and made farmers more productive.
G．Modern cities have destroyed social relations and the health of human beings.E
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(答案→)E
解析： 本文为说明文，介绍了Urbanization(都市化)的形成与发展。
【小题1】解析：选E。文章一开始就提到绝大多数的人没有看到城市就死了。第一座城市很可能建于5 500年以前；后一句又提到：几乎每个人都住在农场或者小乡村里。因此中间要填的是E项：甚至是在200年以前，也只有少数的人生活在城市里。
【小题2】解析：选D。文章第一段说英国是第一个成为城市化社会的国家。第二段接着说英国仅仅是个开始，这是因为许多别的工业国家也开始效仿英国，成为城市化的社会，因此D项为正确答案。
【小题3】解析：选B。现在有超过82%的美国人住在城市里，大约有2%的人住在农场；剩下大约16%的人住在别的地方，即B项所描述的：其余的住在小城镇里。
【小题4】解析：选A。上一句提到：即使在先进的农业社会，也需要大约95个农民养活5个城市人，这只有一个结果：这使得城市很小。
【小题5】解析：选F。前一句提到：在过去的两百年里，工业革命打破了城乡之间的平衡。后一句提到：现在的情况不是需要95个农民养活5个城市人，在美国1个农民就能养活100多个非农民。那中间只能填F项：现代化把更多的人吸引到城市里来，使得农民更加多产。