单选题 "Britain’sbestexport,"IwastoldbytheheadoftheDepartmentofImmigrationinCanberra,"ispeople."Closeon100,000peoplehaveappliedforassistedpassagesinthefirstfivemonthsofthatyear,andhalfoftheseareeventuallyexpectedtomigratetoAustralia.(2)TheAustraliansaredelighted.TheyarekeenlyawarethatwithoutastrongflowofimmigrantsintotheworkforcethedevelopmentoftheAustralianeconomyisunlikelytoproceedattheambitiouspacecurrentlyenvisaged.Thenewmineraldiscoveriespromiseasplendidfuture,andtheinjectionofhugeamountsofAmericanandBritishcapitalshouldhelptoensurethattheyareproperlyexploited,butwithunemploymentinAustraliadowntolessthan1.3percent,thegovernmentisunderstandablyanxioustoattractmoreskilledlabor.(3)AustraliaisroughlythesamesizeasthecontinentalUnitedStates,buthasonlytwelvemillioninhabitants.Migrationhasaccountedforhalfthepopulationincreaseinthelastfouryears,andhascontributedgreatlytothecountry’simpressiveeconomicdevelopment.Britainhasalwaysbeentheprincipalsource—ninetypercentofAustraliansareofBritishdescent,andBritainhasprovidedonemillionmigrantssincetheSecondWorldWar.(4)Australiahasalsogivengreatattentiontorecruitingpeopleelsewhere.Australiansdecidedtheyhadanexcellentpotentialsourceofapplicantsamongtheso-called"guestworkers"whohavecrossedtheirownfrontierstoworkinotherpartsofEurope.Therewereestimatedtobemorethanfourmillionofthem,andalargenumberwereofferedsubsidizedpassagesandguaranteedjobsinAustralia.Italyhasforsomeyearsbeenthesecondbiggestsourceofmigrants,andtheAustralianshavealsomanagedtoattractalargenumberofGreeksandGermans.(5)Onedrawbackwiththem,sofarastheAustraliansareconcerned,isthatintegrationtendstobemoredifficult.UnliketheBritish,continentalmigrantshavetostrugglewithanunfamiliarlanguageandnewcustoms.ManynaturallygravitatetowardstheItalianorGreekcommunitieswhichhavegrownupincitiessuchasSydneyandMelbourne.Thesecolonieshavetheirownnewspapers,theirownshops,andtheirownclubs.TheirinhabitantsarenotAustralians,butEuropeans.(6)Thegovernment’savowedaim,however,istomaintain"asubstantiallyhomogeneoussocietyintowhichnewcomers,fromwhateversources,willmergethemselves".Byandlarge,therefore,AustraliastillprefersBritishmigrants,andtendstoberatherlessselectiveintheircasethanitiswithothers.(7)Afarbiggercauseofconcernthanthegrowthofnationalgroups,however,istheincreasingnumberofmigrantswhoreturntotheircountriesoforigin.Onereasonisthatpeoplenowadaystendtobemoremobile,andthatitiseasierthaninthepasttosavethereturnfare,buteconomicconditionsalsohavesomethingtodowithit.Aslowerrateofgrowthinvariablyproducesdiscontent—andifthiscoincideswithgreaterprosperityinEurope,alotofpeopletendtofeelthatperhapstheywerewrongtocomehereafterall.(8)Severalsurveyshavebeenconductedrecentlyintothereasonswhypeoplegohome.Onenotedthat"flies,dirt,andoutsidelavatories"wereonthelistofcomplaintsfromBritishimmigrants,andaddedthatmanypeoplealsocomplainedabout"thecrudity,badmanners,andunfriendlinessoftheAustralians".Anothersurveygaveclimateconditions,homesickness,and"thestarkappearanceoftheAustraliancountryside"asthemainreasonsforleaving.(9)MostBritishmigrantsmisscouncilhousing,theNationalHealthscheme,andtheirrelativesandformerneighbors.Lonelinessisabigfactor,especiallyamonghousewives.Themensoonmakenewfriendsatwork,butwivestendtofinditmuchhardertogetusedtoadifferentwayoflife.Manyarehouseboundbecauseofinadequatepublictransportinmostoutlyingsuburbs,andregularcorrespondencewiththeiroldfriendsathomeonlyservestoincreasetheirdiscontent.Onehousewifewasquotedrecentlyassaying:"IevenfindImissthepeopleIusedtohateathome."(10)Rentsarehigh,andtherearelongwaitinglistsforHousingCommissionhomes.Sicknesscanbeanexpensivebusinessandtheclimatecanbeunexpectedlyrough.ThegapbetweenAustralianandBritishwagepacketsisnolongerbig,andpeoplearegenerallyexpectedtoworkharderherethantheydoathome.Professionalmenoverfortyoftenhavedifficultyinfindingadecentjob.Aboveall,perhaps,skilledimmigrantsoftenfindaconsiderablereluctancetoaccepttheirqualifications.(11)AccordingtothejournalAustralianManufacturer,theattitudeofmanyemployersandfellowworkersisanythingbutfriendly."WeAustralians,"itstatedinarecentissue,"arejusttoofondofpaintingtherosypictureofthebig,warm-heartedAussie.Asamatteroffact,wearesobusyblowingourowntrumpetsthatwehavenotgottimetobewarm-heartedandconsiderate.Godown’heart-breakalley’amongsomeofthemigrantsandfindoutjusthowexpansivetheAussieistohisimmigrants."问：AustraliaprefersimmigrantsfromBritainbecause______.

A、 they are selected carefully before entry
B、 they are likely to form national groups
C、 they easily merge into local communities
D、 they are fond of living in small towns

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】推理判断题。根据题干关键词Australia prefers immigrants from Britain定位至原文第六段最后一句。作者在这一句中讲到澳大利亚更偏爱英国移民，对他们不像对其他国家移民那样挑剔，而本段第一句提到政府重视社会的同质化和移民的融入，第五段则说到了英国以外的其他国家移民适应社会的一些困难，甚至形成自己的小社群，这与政府的倡导相悖，可见澳大利亚偏爱英国移民的原因是他们更容易融入当地的社群和社会，故[C]为答案。[A]“他们在移民之前受到谨慎挑选”误解了第六段最后一句，原文恰恰是说英国移民不像其他国家移民那样受到严格挑选，故排除；根据第五段可知，容易形成国家群体的是欧洲大陆来的移民，而不是英国移民，故排除[B]；而[D]“他们喜欢生活在小城镇”在原文中没有依据，故排除。