Passage 2
Diego Chiapello, legally blind since birth, isn‘t one of Italy‘s famous ―mama‘s boys‖ who live with their parents into adulthood. The 27-year-old lives alone in Milan,works as a network administrator, loves diving and dreams of sailing across the Atlantic with sight-impaired crew.
Obviously, he‘s not your average disabled person-but especially so in Italy. The country has more barriers to integration than almost anywhere else on the Continent: among European countries, Italy ranks third from the bottom in accessibility for the disabled, ahead of only Greece and Portugal. People who use wheelchairs, especially, find it difficult to navigate the country‘s cobblestone streets, ride buses or visit restaurants, shops and museums. Less than a quarter of Italy‘s disabled hold jobs compared with 47 percent for Europe.
But the biggest obstacle for the country‘s physically challenged may, in fact, be the fabled Italian family. Because of the social defect that still attaches to disabilities,"they tend to keep disabled people at home" and out of public view, explains GiovanniMarri, head of an employment training center in Milan that caters to the handicapped.Thus while 15 percent of the country‘s families include a disabled person, according to surveys, only 2 percent of Italians report going to school with a disabled person and only 4 percent work with one.
Italians are beginning to recognize the problem. Over the past decade, the government has passed laws targeting everything from workplace discrimination to accessibility requirements. A recent study by the European Union found that 85 percent of Italians admit that public transportation and infrastructure are inadequate for the handicapped, and 97 percent say action is needed. But the biggest barrier is psychological."Italian companies are afraid of hiring disabled people," says Chiapello. The only way to alter that, he says, is for Italy‘s disabled to do what he did-get out of the house and demand change.
Which of the following words best describes "mama‘s boys" in the first paragraph?
细节题。 根据文章第一段第一句中" 'mama‘s boy‘ who live with their parents into adulthood"， 可知"mama‘s boy"是指具有依赖性的乖孩子。 故选C项。
In this passage, Chiapello is cited as an example of _____.
推理题。 结合上下文可知， Chiapello是一位不同寻常的意大利残疾人，作者并非要强调他是一位勇敢的水手， 而是要突出他与其他意大利残疾人的不同；另外， 他并不是典型的、 脆弱的残疾人。 故选A项。
In Italy, where are the disabled people most likely to be?
细节题。 根据文章第三段"...they tend to keep disabled people at home and out of public view"和"...while 15 percent of the country‘s families include a disabled person, according to surveys, only 2 percent of Italians report going to school with a disabled person and only 4 percent work with one"可知， 大多数意大利残疾人待在家里。 故选B项。
Italy‘s general public will most probably agree that _____.
细节题。 根据文章最后一段"85 percent of Italians admit that public transportation and infrastructure are inadequate for the handicapped, and 97 percent say action is needed"可知， 绝大部分意大利人认为需要采取实际行动以消除社会对残疾人的不公和障碍。 故选B项。
What is the passage mainly about?
主旨题。 根据文章最后一段"Over the past decade, the government has passed laws targeting everything from workplace discrimination to accessibility requirements."可知， 意大利近10年来才开始立法保护残疾人的社会权益， 显然他们并非对残疾人的问题视而不见。 所以C项错误。 作者借Chiapello的例子的确是想鼓励残疾人走出家门， 寻求改变， 但这并非文章主旨， 所以不选B。文章中并没有提到D项， 所以不选。 文章第二、 三段指明了意大利在对待残疾人问题上存在的问题，第四段提到虽然政府已经采取了措施， 但是仍然需要努力， 故选A项。