阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
Recently, a study was carried out to determine who was
the greatest American president. Sixtyfive presidential historians took part
in it, and they judged the past fortyfour American leaders based on ten
leadership qualities, including public persuasiveness(信服), crisis leadership,
management of the economy, moral leadership, and conduct of international
relations. The historians also looked at administrative ability(管理能力),
relations with Congress, ability to set goals, and the pursuit of equal justice
for all. Finally, the experts took into consideration the historical period in
which the president lived.
The historians chose Abraham Lincoln as American's
greatest president. He had also been named the greatest president in a similar
study in 2000. Abraham Lincoln was the president who led the nation through the
Civil War in the 1860s, and was able to unite it in the end. He also took the
first steps to abolish(废除) slavery in America.
Edna Medford, a professor of history at Howard
University in Washington, D．C., was an adviser on this study
and the earlier one. She says Abraham Lincoln is seen to represent the values
the nation most honours, such as truthfulness, moderation, and respect for
human rights.
The historians put American's first president, George
Washington, second on the list, while Franklin D. Roosevelt, Theodore
Roosevelt, and Harry S. Truman follow in that order. John F. Kennedy, the
country's first Roman Catholic president, is sixth on the list. Like Lincoln,
Kennedy was murdered while in office.
Among recent presidents, Ronald Reagan was named the
tenth best and Bill Clinton rated fifteenth, while the historians put former
president George W. Bush at number thirtysix. His father, George H．W.
Bush, did much better, being placed at number eighteen.
