Early life insurers in the United States found themselves facing the problem of obtaining reliable information, as they needed to rely on applicants themselves to provide truthful, complete answers to a standard set of questions. In an attempt to personalize the relationship between insurers and their individual applicants, firms selected highly respected local citizens to act as their agents. These agents were expected to evaluate the appearance of candidates, unearth evidence of unhealthy family histories or questionable habits, and attest to the respectability of the people writing testimonial letters on an applicant's behalf. In short, the initial purpose of the agency system was not to actively solicit customers, but, rather, to recreate the glass-bowl mentality associated with small towns or city neighborhoods.
The author suggests which of the following about “city neighborhoods”?
A. They were places where family histories where difficult to establish.
B. They were places where unhealthy behaviors had been successfully addressed.
C. They were locations that were well suited for recruiting insurance agents.
D. They offered a high degree of transparency about a resident's personal history and character.
E. They offered potentially fruitful markets for the life insurance industry.
解析
答案：D
根据题干关键词“city neighborhoods”定位到文章最后：“In short, the initial purpose of the agency system was not to activelysolicit customers, but, rather, to recreate the glass-bowl mentality associated with small towns or city neighborhoods. ”由“glass-bowl mentality” 就能大致猜测city neighborhoods的特征啦!什么?这个短语不认识?不认识怎么办?努力猜测呀!“透明的碗”能象征什么?大家的碗是相互透明的，你吃什么，我吃什么，你吃几两干饭，我吃几两干饭，彼此没有秘密可言呀，说的就是熟人社会的彼此了解熟悉。答案D跃然纸上呀!
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