The 1982 oil and gas act gives power to permit the disposal of assets

The 1982 oil and gas act gives power to permit the disposal of assets held by the corporation, and ___ the corporation's statutory monopoly in the supply of gas for fuel purposes so as to permit private companies to compete in this supply.

decrease

abate

curtail

dwindle

答案及解析：本题考查动词的词义辨析C选项，句意：1982的《石油和天然气法》赋予了权力，允许公司处置资产，并____公司在燃料供应方面的法定垄断权，以允许私营公司参与这种供应的竞争。curtail意为“削减，限制”，综上，C选项正确。A选项，decrease意为“减少”，指令人反感的事物减少，故排除。B选项，abate意为“减少”，多用作及物动词，指数目或体积的减少、范围变小、经济状况恶化，故排除。D选项，dwindle意为“减少”，指价值丧失，故排除。故正确答案为C 项。