阅读理解
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 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 window 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 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 a-bout 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.
单选题
We get the impression from the first paragraph that the author_______.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】由第一段第一句…given the choice we would prefer to live in the country…的虚拟语气可知,作者现在住在城市里,由第二句…if it weren''t for my job I would immediately head out for the open spaces...的虚拟语气可知,作者现在在城市工作。
单选题
In the author''s opinion, the following may cause city people to be unhappy EXCEPT_______.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】第二段内容讲述住在城市里的种种不利之处。其中第二句用massive tower blocks,noisy,dirty and impersonal来描述城市的居住环境,点出了C);第三、四、五句描述了The sense of belonging to a community tends to disappear,即D);第二段最后一句写住在同一层楼的人甚至都不互相打招呼,正是B);只有A)在文章中未提及。
单选题
The passage implies that it is easy to buy the following things in the country EXCEPT_______.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】文章第三段先讲述了乡村生活相对于城市生活的优越之处,继而指出不利之处,例如购物等。本段倒数第二句指出for anything slightly out of the ordinary you have to…,即任何不是平时生活所需的普通商品都要到最近的大城镇去买,而且Shopping becomes a major problem。由此推断只有C)不是日常必需品。
单选题
According to the passage, which of the following adjectives best describes those people who work in large cities and live in villages?
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】第四段提到人们选择了一种折中的方法,即去城市工作去乡间居住。本段最后一句They generally have about as much sensitivity as the plastic flowers…,意思是:他们所具有的敏感度就如同被丢弃的塑料花一样,这是个暗喻,众所周知塑料花是没有感觉的,所以D)“不敏感的”为答案。original“最初的”;quiet“安静的”;arrogant“傲慢的”。
单选题
Do you think the author will move to the country?