The United States is usually given credit for creating and developing the musical comedy as it is known today. The first musical shows were based (1) everyday American life and the (2) development of the form took place in the United States for more than half a century. (3) the early 1970s, (4) , the London theater has (5) the Broadway stage.
The Black Crook, which opened at Niblo’s Garden in New York City on Sept. 12, 1866, is usually (6) as the inspiration for musical comedy. A troupe of French ballet dancers (7) to be stranded in New York without work (8) a fire damaged the theater (9) they had been booked. In order to keep a (10) to them, the theater producer put the dancers into a melodrama written by Charles M. Barres.
The first stage production that was (11) a musical comedy was a show that was (12) from the Prince of Wales Theater to the Gaiety Theater in London in 1892. Staged by George Edwards, the show called In Town featured a chorus line of Gaiety Girls. The (13) year A Gaiety Girl was equally successful, and a (14) of the show played in New York in the same year. When it was (15) in newspapers, it was designated a musical comedy and regarded as a new (16) of entertainment.
It did not take the form long to (17) in the United States. Almost (18) one of the most renowned talents of the American stage went to work on his own musicals. The singer-dancer George M. Cohan staged Little Johnny Jones in 1904. Cohan, (19) own life story was made into the musical George M (1968), also wrote the books, words, and (20) for Forty-five Minutes from Broadway ( 1906 ), The Little Millionaire ( 1911 ), The Song and Dance Man ( 1923 ), and American Born (1925).
18（）
A.immediately
B.suddenly
C.mainly
D.only
参考答案：A
解析：
[解题思路] 副词辨析。本题考查的是考生对于词汇的掌握和依据上下文进行判断推理的能力。上文陈述了“这种艺术形式不久之后就在美国流行”，[A]、[B]、[C]、[D]中能与上文“不久之后就在美国流行”构成呼应关系的是[A]immediately“立即”。[B]、[C]、[D]三个选项不能表达时间上不久以后的意思，不能为正确答案。