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  3. Local government is political administration of the smallest subdivisions of a country’s territory and population. Although ther

Local government is political administration of the smallest subdivisions of a country’s territory and population. Although ther

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问题     Local government is political administration of the smallest subdivisions of a country’s territory and population. Although there are special-purpose local government bodies (e.g. school boards in the United States), more important are those that carry out a broad range of public activities within a defined area and population. Almost all such local government bodies share certain characteristics; a continuing organization; the authority to undertake public activities; the ability to enter into contracts; the right to sue and be sued; and the ability to collect taxes and determine a budget. Areas of local government authority usually include public schools, local highways, municipal services, and some aspects of social welfare and public order. An important distinction among types of local government is that between representative bodies, which are elected locally and have decision-making authority, and non-representative bodies, which are either appointed from above or, if elected locally, have no independent governing authority. While most countries have complex systems of local government, those of France and Great Britain have served as models for much of the rest of the world.
    The British system of local government, which has been the model for most of that country’s former colonies, including the United States, is the most representative of the major types. Largely reformed in the 19th century and extensively restructured in the 1970s, the system stresses local government autonomy through elected councils on the county and sub-county levels. This system was marked by less central government interference and greater local budgetary(预算的) authority than in other systems. However, in 1986, six major county governments were abolished by Parliament, while the powers of others were restricted. A special feature of the British system is its use of an extensive committee system, instead of a strong executive, for supervising the administration of public services.
    Despite differences among states, local governments of the United States follow the general principles of the British system, except that a strong executive is common. The county remains the usual political subdivision, although it has retained more authority in rural than in urban areas, where incorporated municipalities have most of the local power. In both rural and urban areas the local government’s relationship to the state is a complex one of shared authority and carefully defined areas of legal competence. Local governments are pulled two ways, increasingly reliant on state and federal funding to carry out their expected duties, while fearful of losing their traditional degree of local control.
选项 A、sign contracts with companies
B、decide on the local expenditure plan
C、take charge in public services
D、exert power outside their local area
答案D
解析 根据题干关键词local government bodies定位到原文第一段第二句。此句话指出了地方政府只能在当地和当地居民中开展活动，D符合题干。该段第三句概括了地方政府机构的基本特征，其中包括the ability to enter into contracts，to determine a budget和to undertake public activities，故分别排除A，B和C。
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