单选题   I am one of the many city people who are always saying that given the choice we should 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 country. But how realistic is the dream?
    Cities can be frightening places. The majority of the population live 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 windows is sky, or other blocks of flats. 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 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.
单选题     What is the main idea of the first paragraph?
 
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】主旨题。文章开头讲到“许多市民说,给他们一个机会他们宁愿住在乡下,远离肮脏而又嘈杂的大城市”,接着讲到作者自己也这样认为,因此,第一段主要内容是与城市相比,很多市民更喜欢乡下。C项符合题意。
单选题     According to the author, why are cities frightening?
 
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】细节题。根据题目中的cities frightening可定位至第二段前两句Cities can be frightening places. The majority of the population live in massive tower blocks, noisy, dirty and impersonal. 由此可知,作者认为城市可怕是因为城市嘈杂、肮脏而又没有人情味,其他选项内容文章均未提到。
单选题     Which of the following is not the disadvantage of country life?
 
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】细节题。根据题干中的the disadvantage of country life可定位至第三段,第三段提到it is also true that you are 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,A、B、C三项均符合文意,根据第三段第四句While it is true that you may be among friends in a village, it is also true that...可知,生活在大帮朋友间并非缺点。
单选题     What does the last sentence of this passage mean?
 
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】推断题。文章最后一句意为“他们被有关改善和改变的奇怪思想影响了,而这些思想是他们强加给村里不愿改变的原始居民的。”文章最后一段讲到,乡村生活和城市生活各有优点,有些人在乡下和城市间找到了折中的办法,也就是将两种优点结合起来,而将城市的优点带到乡下,对于村民来说是强加于他们身上的。故此句意味着市民想要将城市的优点和乡村的优点结合起来,B项符合。
单选题     The best title of the passage may be ______.
 
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】主旨题。本文将城市生活和乡村生活进行了对比,二者各有优缺点,城市肮脏、嘈杂、没有人情味,但每个人都是世界的中心,而乡村生活虽然安静、人情味浓郁,但购物不便,也无法享受大城市的一些激动人心的重要的活动。选项中,C项“乡村与城市生活”最能概述文章大意,故选择C。