单选题

They Say Ireland"s the Best

Ireland is the best place in the world to live in for 2005, according to a life quality ranking that appeared in Britain"s Economist magazine last week,
The ambitious attempt to compare happiness levels around the world is based on the principle that wealth is not the only measure of human satisfaction and well-being.
The index of 111 countries uses data on incomes, health, unemployment, climate, political stability, job security, gender equality as well as what the magazine calls "freedom, family and community life".
Despite the bad weather, troubled health service, traffic congestion (拥挤), gender inequality, and the high cost of living, Ireland scored an impressive 8. 33 points out of 10.
That put it well ahead of second-place Switzerland, which managed 8.07. Zimbabwe, troubled by political insecurity and hunger, is rated the gloomiest (最差的), picking up only 3.89 points. "Although rising incomes and increased individual choices are highly valued," the report said, "some of the factors associated with modernization such as the breakdown (崩溃) in traditional institutions and family values in part take away from a positive impact."
"Ireland wins because it successfully combines the most desirable elements of the new with the preservation of certain warm elements of the old, such as stable family and community life."
The magazine admitted measuring quality of life is not a straightforward thing to do, and that its findings would have their critics.
No. 2 on the list is Switzerland. The other nations in the top 10 are Norway, Luxembourg, Sweden, Australia, Iceland, Italy, Denmark and Spain. The UK is positioned at No. 29, a much lower position chiefly because of the social and family breakdown recorded in official statistics. The US, which has the second highest per capita GDP (人均国内生产总值) after Luxembourg, took the 13th place in the survey. China was in the lower half of the league at 60th.

单选题 For 2005 years, Ireland has been the best place for humans to live in.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[解析] 题干大意：在长达2005年里，爱尔兰一直是世界上最适合于人类居住的地方。文章第一句提到：Ireland is the best place in the world to live in for 2005, according to a life quality ranking that appeared in Britain"s Economist magazine last week. 爱尔兰是2005年世界上最适合居住的地方。题干所述与文章信息不符，故答案选B。

单选题 Job security is the least important measure of life quality.

单选题 Cost of living in Ireland is pretty high.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 题干大意：在爱尔兰生活费用相当高。这一信息可以从第四段中的词组the high cost of living来定位。那句话提到：Despite the bad weather, troubled health service, traffic congestion(拥挤), gender inequality and the high cost of living, Ireland scored an impressive 8.33 points out of 10. 尽管天气不好，公共医疗卫生服务遇到麻烦，交通拥挤，性别不平等及生活水平高，但Ireland还是10分中得分8.33，令人印象深刻。故答案选A。

单选题 Family life in Zimbabwe is not stable.

单选题 Ireland is positioned at No. 1 because it combines the most desirable elements of the new with some good elements of the old.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 题干大意：爱尔兰位居榜首是因为把新时期的最理想要素和一些好的传统结合在一起。第七段提到：Ireland wins because it successfully combines the most desirable elements of the new with the preservation of certain warm elements of the old, such as stable family and community life. 爱尔兰位居榜首是因为它把新时期的最理想要素和一些好的传统结合在一起，题干所述与原文信息一致，故答案选A。