Question

5 the sacramento region used great power in the decade of the 1850s, in spite of its small resident population, when compared to san francisco. the largest portion of the states population lived in the sacramento district. sacramento representatives strongly influenced the states constitutional convention, landed the permanent state capitol, and elected the states first governor. sacramentos influence was in large part due to its growth in commerce, particularly that portion related to transportation such as railroads and steamboats, as well as wholesale merchants who supplied retailers throughout california and nevada. those large - scale merchants of sacramento saw their success tied to better wagon roads and railroads.
6 great wealth was to be gained by a wagon toll road over the sierra nevada mountains to virginia city and even greater fortunes in a transcontinental railroad. the railroad would offer enormous opportunities for california and the sacramento region to grow. the potential bounty of sacramento valley agriculture was to be realized with faster and more efficient transportation. sacramento merchants would organize and build the western half of that railroad.
7 in the 1890s the first commercial automobiles began to arrive in sacramento. by 1905, twenty - seven automobiles were registered in sacramento county. by 1910, seven hundred more were registered, and by july 1911, in what can only be called auto frenzy, sacramentans were buying seventy - five autos per day. automobiles alone could not make a significant difference. a network of paved roads was essential. three bridges had to cross the american river between sacramento and fair oaks. perhaps the best symbol of this growing network would be the completion of the yolo causeway in 1916.
8 for the sacramento valley, airplanes and other airships including balloons were a novelty until 1917. with the nation gearing up for w.w.i, the government awarded a $3,000,000 contract to build n - 4 (jenny) bi - wing military airplanes in north sacramento. for the rest of that century, sacramento would look to aviation as a vital source of economic sustenance.
9 as urban areas developed, streetcar systems evolved, first pulled by horses and later using electricity. for those in urban areas, it was the first experience at the freedom of cheap efficient public transportation. urban transportation led to interurban systems that would ultimately evolve into an electric passenger railroad system, linking the bay area with sacramento and smaller valley communities all the way to chico.
10 the development of the sacramento region is so intertwined with transportation that the regions history would be incomplete without serious attention given to the impact of wagon trains, steamboats, railroads, and automobiles.
5 the sacramento region used great power in the decade of the 1850s, in spite of its small resident population, when compared to san francisco. the largest portion of the states population lived in the sacramento district. sacramento representatives strongly influenced the states constitutional convention, landed the permanent state capitol, and elected the states first governor. sacramentos influence was in large part due to its growth in commerce, particularly that portion related to transportation such as railroads and steamboats, as well as wholesale merchants who supplied retailers throughout california and nevada. those large - scale merchants of sacramento saw their success tied to better wagon roads and railroads.
in this sentence from paragraph five, which phrase is the least effective replacement for the phrase used great power?
a applied great power
b exerted great power
c employed great power
d squandered great power

Explanation:

The phrase "used great power" in the context means exerted influence or had a significant impact. "Applied great power" (A), "exerted great power" (B), and "employed great power" (C) all convey a similar positive sense of using power effectively. However, "squandered great power" (D) means to waste power, which is the opposite of the intended meaning in the text. The text is about Sacramento having a significant impact (using power effectively) despite its small population.

Answer:

D. squandered great power