单选题
In which year did Canada start to rank as the best place to live in the
world?
A. 1993.
B. 1994.
C. 1995.
D. 1996.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 36-40
Canada, for the seventh consecutive year, ranks as the best place to live in the world.
But if you are woman, you are better off in Scandinavia, says the UN Human Development Report 2000, released last Thursday.
Norway is in second place in overall rankings, followed by the United States, Australia, Iceland and Sweden. Britain is in 10th place.
At the other end of the scale, the 10 least-developed countries that provide the fewest services to their people are mostly in Africa.
The survey ranks 174 nations according to income, health care, life expectancy and educational levels.
When progress for women is measured, Canada slips into eighth place and the United States ranks 13 when measuring the number of women in parliament, government, professional or technical jobs and their average earnings compared to men. The top countries in this category are mostly in North Europe.
Japan, whose high standard of living and widespread education put it in 9th place in the overall rankings, was 41st on the gender equality index, below that of Costa Pica, in 24th place. The situation in South Korea is similar.
Among the richest nations, the report shows relative prosperity is also accompanied by pockets of poverty. While the United States has the world's highest gross national product, it ranks first in poverty ratings among the 18 richest countries. Ireland is in second place and Britain is in third.
[分析] 数字信息的找寻和判断。
根据原文首句可知，加拿大已经是连续七年的世界最佳居住地。根据提供该信息的 2000年联合国人类发展报告可判断，加拿大应该是从1994年开始蝉联的，因此B项是正确答案。
[解题关键] 根据上下文线索对数字进行分析和判断是解题的关键。
单选题
Which country comes right before Britain in the overall rankings?
A. Australia.
B. The United States.
C. Iceland.
D. Japan.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 数字信息的比较和判断。
有关英国的总排名，原文提到Britain is in 10th Place，而提到日本时说Japan，whose high standard of living and widespread education put it in 9th place in the overall rankings即日本因其生活水平高，教育普及广而排名第九位，将两个数字比较后可判断，日本排名在英国之前。因此，D项是正确答案。
[解题关键] 掌握数字信息及其比较。
单选题
It can be inferred from the contrast between Japan and Costa Rica on
the gender equality index that ______.
A. women in developed countries don't enjoy as much respect as they do in
less developed countries
B. economic development is always accompanied with the weakening of women's
position
C. gender equality sometimes goes beyond the influence of high living
standard and widespread education
D. progress in every respect should be based on economic
development
单选题
Which of the following countries is NOT among the three countries with
the highest poverty rates of the 18 richest countries?
A. The United States.
B. Britain.
C. Germany.
D. Ireland.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 事实细节的找寻和判断。
根据题干中关键词poverty rates可定位到原文相关信息While the United States has the world's highest gross national product，it ranks first in poverty rates among the 18 richest countries．Ireland is in second place and Britain is in third. 由此可见18个富国中贫困率高居榜首的三个国家分别为美国、爱尔兰和英国，而德国并没有被包括在内。因此选项C是正确答案。
[解题关键] 注意信号词while的用法，该结构中while引导的从句一般表述次要信息，而其主句的内容往往是全句信息的重点。
单选题
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
A. Life expectancy is an important index in the ranking.
B. Poverty rates and progress for women suggest that rich nations are
relatively prosperous.
C. Altogether there are 174 countries involved in the ranking.
D. Canada is the best place to live in, either for men or for
women.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 推理判断题。
根据原文Canada，for the seventh consecutive year，ranks as the best place to live in the world．But if you are woman，you are better off in Scandinavia... 由此可推测，虽然加拿大是世界最佳居住地，但并非是妇女的理想之地。因此D的说法与原文不符，是正确答案。
[解题关键] 掌握信号词but传递出的信息，其后的内容往往是重点信息。