单选题 At some point in 2008, someone, probably in either Asia or Africa, made the decision to move from the countryside to the city. This nameless person pushed the human race over an historic threshold, for it was in that year that mankind became, for the first time in its history, a predominantly urban species.
It is a trend that shows no sign of slowing. Demographers (人口统计学家) reckon that three-quarters of humanity could be city-dwelling by 2050, with most of the increase coming in the fast-growing towns of Asia and Africa. Migrants to cities are attracted by plentiful jobs, access to hospitals and education, and the ability to escape the boredom of a farmer's agricultural life. Those factors are more than enough to make up for the squalor (肮脏), disease and spectacular poverty that those same migrants must often at first endure when they become urban dwellers.
It is the city that inspires the latest book from Peter Smith. His main thesis is that the buzz of urban life, and the opportunities it offers for co-operation and collaboration, is what attracts people to the city, which in turn makes cities into the engines of art, commerce, science and progress. This is hardly revolutionary, but it is presented in a charming format. Mr. Smith has written a breezy guidebook, with a series of short chapters dedicated to specific aspects of urbanity—parks, say, or the various schemes that have been put forward over the years for building the perfect city. The result is a sort of high-quality, unusually rigorous coffee-table book, designed to be dipped into rather than read from beginning to end.
In the chapter on skyscrapers, for example, Mr. Smith touches on construction methods, the revolutionary invention of the automatic lift, the practicalities of living in the sky and the likelihood that, as cities become more crowded, apartment living will become the norm. But there is also time for brief diversions onto bizarre ground, such as a discussion of the skyscraper index (which holds that a boom in skyscraper construction is a foolproof sign of an imminent recession).
One obvious criticism is that the price of breadth is depth; many of Mr. Smith's essays raise as many questions as they answer. Although that can indeed be frustrating, this is probably the only way to treat so grand a vast topic. The city is the building block of civilisation and of almost everything people do, a guidebook to the city is really, therefore, a guidebook to how a large and ever-growing chunk of humanity chooses to live. Mr. Smith's book serves as an excellent introduction to a vast subject, and will suggest plenty of further lines of inquiry.

单选题 In what way is the year 2008 historic?

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】根据题干的the year 2008定位到第一段。该段第二句说，从农村搬到城市的无名小卒将人类推到了一个历史性的起点，因为在那一年人类在历史上第一次成为在城市占主导地位的种群。结合第二段说的3/4的世界人口都将住在城市，可知从2008年起，城市人口超过了农村人口。故A正确。 B“一个具有影响力的人决定从农村搬到城市”，原文说的是无名小卒而不是有影响力的人。C“这一年，亚洲和非洲的城市化开始了”，原文在说2008年的事情时，只提及亚洲和非洲，并未说到当地的城市化。D“亚洲和非洲的城市人口增加达到新的顶峰”，原文没有提及人口增加达到顶峰的信息。

单选题 What does the author say about urbanisation?

单选题 How does the author comment on Peter Smith's new book?

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】根据题干的Peter Smith's new book定位到第三段。该段说，史密斯先生写了一本让人如沐春风的城市指南，该书是一本高质量、构思异常缜密的咖啡桌边书。并且举例说明了他的写作风格和特点。故D“它的写作风格生动有趣”正确。 A“它只是一本普通的咖啡桌边书”，作者认为这是一本高质量、构思异常缜密的咖啡桌边书，并不普通。B“它以幽默故事来进行调剂”，原文没有提及幽默故事。C“它充当艺术和商业指南”，原文说的是城市指南。

单选题 What does the author say in the chapter on skyscrapers?

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】根据题干的in the chapter on skyscrapers定位到第四段。该段最后一句说，比如关于摩天大楼指数的讨论(该理论认为，摩天大楼的建筑热明显地预示着即将发生萧条)。D项是对原文的同义转述。 A“自动电梯在摩天大楼里是不可缺少的”，作者没有对自动电梯作出评价。B“人们喜欢住在可看风景的摩天大楼里”，原文没有提及“风景”的问题。C“摩天大楼是城市繁荣的明确信号”，原文说的正相反，紧随摩天大楼的往往就是萧条。

单选题 What may be one criticism of Mr. Smith's book?

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】根据题干的criticism定位到最后一段。该段第一句说，这本书受到的明显批评是：内容宽泛，而深度不够。C“它没有深入触及城市生活各个方面”，就对应了原文“深度不够”的评价。 A“它没有真正触及任何重要的事物”，无原文依据。B“人们阅读完整本书要花太长时间”，原文说这本书并不适合通篇阅读，也没有说通篇阅读耗时的长短。D“它没能为城市居民提供很好的建议”，原文没有提及建议的问题。