参考答案：A

解析：
The new nepotism operates not from the top down but from the bottom up: it is voluntary, not coercive; it springs from the initiative of children, not the interest of the parents; it tends to seem "natural" rather than planned. Although no nepotism in the classic sense, it is rightly nepotism because it involves exploiting the family name, connections, or wealth. The method may be different, but the result is much the same.

[分析]： 语义的推理判断。
原文表面上没有提到old nepotism(旧式裙带关系)，但根据文中关于new nepotism的说法可以推断出答案。根据原文第一句“The new nepotism operates not from the top down but from the bottom up”，可推测出旧式的裙带关系强调the top down(自上而下)，显然这里的“上”指“父母”，“下”指“子女”；此外从第一句后部的not和rather than结构可推测，其中的内容直指old nepotism的特点，即：coercive(强迫的)；the interest of the parents (父母的利益)；planned(有计划的)；由第二句话可推测两种nepotism都“involve exploiting the family name, connections, or wealth”即“利用家族的声望、关系或财富(使孩子受益)”，从上述推测中可知，选项A的说法“父母最大限度地利用家庭优势，使孩子受益”符合题意，是正确答案。
[解题关键] 1) 掌握根据反义词推断语义的方法，如根据原文中种种new nepotism的说法推断出old nepotism；2) 掌握同义词替换，如原文中exploiting与选项maximize近义。