Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks from 24 to 28: Rural America is diverse in many ways. As we have seen, no one industry dominates the rural economy no single pattern of population decline or growth exists for all rural areas, and no statement about improvements and gaps in well-being holds true for all rural people. Many of these differences are regional in nature. That is, rural areas within a particular geographic region of the country often tend to be similar (24) _______ each other and different from areas in another region. Some industries, for example, are (25) _______ with different regions-logging and sawmills in the Pacific Northwest and New England, manufacturing in the Southeast and Midwest, and farming in the Great Plains. Persistent poverty also has a regional pattern, concentrated primarily in the Southeast. Other differences follow no regional pattern. Areas that rely heavily on the services industry are located throughout rural America, as are rural areas that have little access to advanced telecommunications services. Many of these differences, regional and non-regional are the result of a (26) _______ of factors including the availability of natural (27) ______; distance from and access to major metropolitan areas and the information and services found there; transportation and shipping facilities; political history and structure; and the racial, ethnic, and (28) _____