单选题 In pioneer days, being a good neighbor was very important. Neighbors helped one another raise a house, build a barn, and clear fields. Families depended on one another for friendship and entertainment. But today in our cities and suburbs, neighboring is not common. A family may not even know the other families that live close by.
We live in an age of machines, and each family may have its own car, TV set, and washing machine. People no longer depend on neighbors as much as they once did.
Machines keep people apart in other ways. In our grandparents' time, women met while they hung out their washing, and men stopped and talked while they mowed their lawns. Today, women stay in the house with their automatic driers. The men can't hear anything above the roar of their power lawn mowers. And the children are inside watching their favorite TV shows.
Is the idea of being neighborly old-fashioned? In 1985, a power failure hit New York City, and many thousands of people were left stranded. Suddenly, everyone shared the same problem, and our largest city became a group of eight million neighbors. People with cars offered rides to those walking. Other persons helped direct traffic. Trapped in elevators, people played word games and helped keep each other in good spirit.
In times of trouble, people still depend on one another. As time goes on, people may once again feel that being good neighbors is important.

单选题 Which is true of this passage?
A. The other families might not even know a family that lived close by in the past.
B. We live in an age of machines when machines can do everything.
C. Neighboring is not as common as it used to be.
D. Everyone shared the same problem—power is not enough for daily use.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。根据全文的意思，可以说[A]与文章的说法刚好相反；[B]说我们生活在机器可以为我们做一切的时代，文章却没有这样说；[D]说能源不够日常之用，这是每一人共同的问题，文章没有说。因此答案为[C]。

单选题 What does the writer of this passage want tell readers?
A. Since human beings cannot live alone, being neighbor will be important again.
B. Machines are not good because they keep people apart.
C. Neighbors are not necessary in our time of machines.
D. Machines call replace good neighbors as they can work for people and entertain people.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 归纳题。整篇文章对比了过去和现在的邻居关系，得出"In times of trouble，people still depend on one another．"的结论，而[B]、[C]和[D]三选项完全与这一结论相矛盾，因此答案为[A]。

单选题 Which statement do you agree with after your reading?
A. When the power failure hit New York City, people only minded their own business.
B. Nobody needs all the machines we have made till now.
C. People used to pay each other with their building, raising, and so on.
D. People have difficulties in finding a good neighbor today.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。[A]当纽约停电时，人们只管自己。[B]迄今为止没人需要我们制造的所有机器。[C]过去人们出钱请人修建房屋，并种植农作物等。[D]今天人们很难找到一位好邻居。前三选项与文中实际情况相矛盾，因此正确答案为[D]。