19．About 100 years ago the horse-manure（马粪） crisis drove most observers to despair.19th-century cities depended on horses for daily functioning．In New York in 1900，100，000 horses were used in all transport，and in delivering the goods needed by the growing population．
The problem was that all these horses produced huge amounts of manure．A horse on average produces 15-35 pounds of manure per day．Consequently，the streets of 19th-century cities were covered by horse manure．This，in turn，attracted huge numbers of flies，and the dried manure was blown everywhere．Every day 2.5 million pounds of horse manure were produced and had to be swept up and disposed of．
In 1898 the first international urban-planning conference was held in New York．It was abandoned after three days，instead of the scheduled ten，because nobody could see any solution to the growing crisis by urban horses and their output．
The problem did seem tough．The larger and richer that cities became，the more horses they needed．The more horses，the more manure．In 1894，a writer estimated that in 50 years every street in London would be buried under nine feet of manure．Moreover，all these horses had to be stabled，which used up ever-larger areas of increasingly valuable land．And as the number of horses grew，ever-more land had to be devoted to producing hay to feed them （rather than producing food for people），and this had to be brought into cities and distributed-by horse-drawn vehicles．It seemed that urban civilization was doomed．
Of course，urban civilization was not buried in manure．Because millions of horses were replaced by motor vehicles!This was possible because of cleverness of inventors and entrepreneurs such as Gottlieb Daimler and Henry Ford，and a system that gave them the freedom to put their ideas into practice．Even more important，however，was the existence of the price mechanism．When the price of horse-drawn transport rose steadily with the increasing cost of feeding and housing horses，strong incentives（动机） were created for people to find alternatives．
32．How would you feel if you were walking on the New York street of 1900？A
A．Sick．B．Light-hearted．C．Excited．D．Satisfied．
33．What was the problem that New York faced one hundred years ago？D
A．Heavy traffic．B．Narrow streets．C．Little valuable land．D．Horse manure．
34．What was the probable target of the first international urban-planning conference in 1898？B
A．To feed more horses．
B．To find a solution to horse manure．
C．To reduce public buses．
D．To produce motor vehicles．
35．What was the most important factor in solving the urban civilization problem of New York？C
A．Entrepreneurs'freedom．
B．People's incentives．
C．Price mechanism．
D．Government's appeal．
分析 本文是一篇社会文化类阅读，属于议论文，主要讲述了大约100年前，马粪危机使多数观察人士绝望，19世纪，城市的日常运作取决于马，1900在纽约，100000马进行运输，并为日益增长的人口提供需要的物品．本文主要讲述了马粪危机以及其解决方法．
解答 32．A．推理判断题．根据Consequently，the streets of 19th-century cities were covered by horse manure．This，in turn，attracted huge numbers of flies，and the dried manure was blown everywhere．可以推测出，纽约的街道当时有很多马粪，故走在街道上，会感到恶心．故选A．
33．D．细节理解题．根据Consequently，the streets of 19th-century cities were covered by horse manure．This，in turn，attracted huge numbers of flies，and the dried manure was blown everywhere．可知，当时最大的问题是街道上堆满了马粪．故选D．
34．B．细节理解题．根据It was abandoned after three days，instead of the scheduled ten，because nobody could see any solution to the growing crisis by urban horses and their output．可知，1898首届国际城市规划大会的目标可能是找到解决马粪的方法．故选B．
35．C．细节理解题．根据Even more important，however，was the existence of the price mechanism．可知，解决纽约城市文明问题最重要的因素是价格机制．故选C．
点评 本文是一篇社会文化类阅读，题目涉及多道细节理解题，推理判断题．做题时学生应仔细阅读原文，把握文章主要内容，联系文章上下文内容并结合所给选项含义，从中选出正确答案，一定要做到有理有据，切忌胡乱猜测．
