I am one of the many city people who are always saying that given the choice we would prefer to live in the country away from the dirt and noise of a large city. I have managed to convince myself that if it weren’t for my job I would immediately head out for the open spaces and go back to nature in some sleepy village buried in the county. But how realistic is the dream?
Cities can be frightening places. The majority of the population lives in massive tower blocks, noisy, dirty and impersonal. The sense of belonging to a community tends to disappear when you live fifteen floors up. All you can see from your window is sky, or other blocks of fiats. Children become aggressive and nervous-cooped up at home all day, with nowhere to play; their mothers feel isolated from the rest of the world. Strangely enough, whereas in the past the inhabitants of one street all knew each other, nowadays people on the same floor in tower blocks don’t even say hello to each other.
Country life, on the other hand, differs from this kind of isolated existence in that a sense of community generally binds the inhabitants of small villages together. People have the advantage of knowing that there is always someone to turn to when they need help. But country life has disadvantages too. While it is true that you may be among friends in a village, it is also true that you are cut off from the exciting and important events that take place in cities. There’s little possibility of going to a new show or the latest movie. Shopping becomes a major problem, and for anything slightly out of the ordinary you have to go on an expedition to the nearest large town. The city-dweller who leaves for the country is often oppressed by a sense of unbearable stillness and quiet.
What, then, is the answer? The country has the advantage of peace and quiet, but suffers from the disadvantage of being cut off: the city breeds a feeling of isolation, and constant noise batters the senses. But one of its main advantages is that you are at the centre of things, and that life doesn’t come to an end at half-past nine at night. Some people have found (or rather bought) a compromise between the two: they have expressed their preference for the “quiet life” by leaving the suburbs and moving to villages within commuting distance of large cities. They generally have about as much sensitivity as the plastic flowers they leave behind—they are polluted with strange ideas about change and improvement which they force on to the unwilling original inhabitants of the villages.
What then of my dreams of leaning on a cottage gate and murmuring “morning” to the locals as they pass by. I’m keen on the idea, but you see there’s my cat, Toby. I’m not at all sure that he would take to all that fresh air and exercise in the long grass. I mean, can you see him mixing with all those hearty males down the farm? No, he would rather have the electric imitation-coal fire any evening.
We get the impression from the first paragraph that the author ________.
根据文章第一段第一句“I am one of the many city people, if it weren’t for my job”说明作者是在城里工 作，故选项C为正确答案。
In the author’s opinion, the following may cause city people to be unhappy EXCEPT ________.
短文第二段描写的是城市生活的弊端。由“The sense of belonging to a community tends to disappear when you live fifteen floors up. Nowadays people on the same floor in tower blocks don’t even say hello to each other.”可知，城市生活“lack of communication”。由“The majority of the population lives in massive tower blocks, noisy, dirty and impersonal. All you can see from your window is sky, or other blocks of fiats.”可知，城市 生活“housing conditions”。由“Children become aggressive and nervous-cooped up at home all day, with nowhere to play; their mothers feel isolated from the rest of the world.”可知，城市生活是“a sense of isolation”。文中没有 提及“a strong sense of fear”，故A项为正确答案。
The passage implies that it is easy to buy the following things in the country EXCEPT ________.
根据文章第三段倒数第二句“Shopping becomes a major problem, and for anything slightly out of the ordinary you have to go on an expedition to the nearest large town.”即住在一个小村庄里，购物也是个大问题， 即使只是稍微特别的东西，人们也必须到附近的大城镇去买。由此可知，在乡村不容易购买到的是designer clothes。故C项为正确答案。
According to the passage, which of the following adjectives best describes those people who work in large cities and live in villages?
根据文章第四段最后一句“They generally have about as much sensitivity as the plastic flowers they leave behind—they are polluted with strange ideas about change and improvement which they force on to the unwilling original inhabitants of the villages.”即他们还是比较是比敏感的，他们也把某些改变强加给当地农村居民。故 用“Arrogant”(骄横的)来描述在大城市工作而在乡村生活的人最合适。故C项为正确答案。
Do you think the author will move to the country?
文章最后一段“I’m keen on the idea, but you see there’s my cat, Toby. I’m not at all sure that he would take to all that fresh air and exercise in the long grass. I mean, can you see him mixing with all those hearty males down the farm? No, he would rather have the electric imitation-coal fire any evening.”作者以他的猫为例，说他没有把 握它一定会喜欢新鲜空气和到草地练习，并在最后作了否定的答复。可见，作者是不会去农村生活的。故 B项为正确答案。