Passage Four
Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage:
A few years ago, Ann and Walter Taylor thought it might be time to move out of their New York City apartment to the suburbs. They had one young son and another child on the way. But after months of looking, they became discourage and decided to buy an old townhouse right in the middle of Brooklyn, which is a part of New York City. To their delight, they discovered that they weren’t the only young couple to have made such a decision. In fact, their entire area in Brooklyn had been settled by young families. And as a result, the neighborhood, which had been declining for years, was now being restored.
Brooklyn isn’t the only city in the United States to experience this kind of renewal.So are Philadelphia and St.Louis.And Charleston,South Carolina,has so successfully rebuilt its old central area that it now ranks as one of America’s most charming cities.The restoration of the old port city of Savannah,Georgia,is also living proof that downtown areas do not need to die.But encouraging as these developments may be,they are among the few bright spots in a mass of difficulties that today’s cities face.Indeed,their woes are so many that it is fair to ask whether or not the inner city the core of most urban areas will manage to survive at all.
In the 1940s,urban Americans began a mass move to the suburbs in search of fresh air,elbow room,and privacy.Suburbs began to sprawl out across the countryside.Since most of those making the move were middle-class,they took with them the tax money the cities needed to maintain the neighborhoods in which they had lived.The people left in the cities were often those who were too old or too poor to move.Thus,many cities began to fall into disrepair.Crime began to soar, and public transportation was neglected.( In the past sixty years San Francisco is the only city in the United States to have completed a new mass transit system.)Meanwhile, housing construction costs continued to rise higher and higher. Middle-class housing was allowed to decay, and little new housing was constructed.
Eventually, many downtown areas existed for business only. During the day they would be filled with people working in offices, and at night they would be deserted. Given these circumstances, some business executives began asking, “Why bother with going downtown at all? Why not move the offices to the suburbs so that we can live and work in the same area?” Gradually, some of the larger companies began moving out of the cities, with the result that urban centers declined even further and the suburbs expanded still more. This movement of business to the suburbs is not confined to the United States. Businesses have also been moving to the suburbs in Stockholm, Sweden, in Bonn, Germany, and in Brussels, Belgium, as well.
But it may well be that this movement to the suburbs has reached its peak. Some people may be tired of spending long hours commuting, and they may have begun to miss the advantages of culture and companionship provided by city life. Perhaps the decision made by the Taylors is a sign that people will return to the cities and begin to restore them. It begins to look as if suburban sprawl may not have been the answer to man’s need to create an ideal environment in which to live and work.
36.According to the passage,Ann and Walter Taylor____.
A) moved from city apartment to the suburb
B) remained in the downtown area
C) moved out of New York
D) bought an old townhouse in the suburb
37.It can be inferred from the passage that____.
A) downtown areas must die in the future
B) suburbs are sure to replace cities
C) the movement to the suburbs begins to decline
D) there are just old and poor people left in the cities
38.Business have been moving to suburbs because____.
A) people living in the suburbs are rich
B) many people work in cities and live in suburbs
C) environment is pleasant in the suburbs
D) American businessmen are fond of moving around
39.Why the cities began to fall into disrepair in the 1940s?
A) Because people could not earn enough money at that time.
B) Because the municipal planning was not sound.
C) Because old and poor people were neglected.
D) Because many people moved out of the cities.
40.What is the main idea of the passage?
A) American people move a lot in history.
B) Downtown areas are too crowded to live.
C) Moving to suburbs is not the answer to an ideal environment.
D) Cities are likely to be replaced by the suburbs.
Passage Four
內(nèi)容概要:本文通過(guò)介紹在美國(guó)歷出現(xiàn)的大量人口向郊區(qū)的遷移的事實(shí)，講述了曾經(jīng)由于人們?yōu)樽非笮迈r的空氣、開(kāi)闊的空間等原因而大量移入郊區(qū)，從而使得城市的建設(shè)一度破落。商業(yè)的進(jìn)一步搬遷使得城市建設(shè)更加落后。但每天在城市與住所之間數(shù)個(gè)小時(shí)的往返，以及人們對(duì)城市文化生活的懷念使得人們又重新搬回城市來(lái)。以此作者引出文章的主題，單純向郊區(qū)的遷移并不能為我們創(chuàng)建一片理想的工作生活的土地。
36.【答案】B。
【譯文】據(jù)這篇文章，Ann和Walter Taylor繼續(xù)留在了城市繁華地區(qū)。
【試題分析】細(xì)節(jié)推理題。
【詳細(xì)解答】?jī)扇嗽鞠霃膫惗匕愕浇紖^(qū)，但“after months of looking, they became discouraged and decided to buy...in the middle of....a part of New York City”，可見(jiàn)并能如愿，并終還是留在了城中。故選B。
37.【答案】C。
【譯文】從文章中可以推斷，向郊區(qū)的遷移開(kāi)始下降。
【試題分析】細(xì)節(jié)考察題。
【詳細(xì)解答】依據(jù)原文“downtown areas do not need to die”(Line5, Para2)可知，A）選項(xiàng)錯(cuò)誤。郊區(qū)肯定會(huì)代替城市嗎？顯然不可能，畢竟在城市，“the advantages of culture”是郊區(qū)無(wú)可比擬的。故B）選項(xiàng)錯(cuò)。而現(xiàn)在很多人又開(kāi)始向城市遷移，不可能只剩下老人和窮人，故D）錯(cuò)。
38.【答案】B。
【譯文】商業(yè)向郊區(qū)遷移是因?yàn)樵S多人在城市工作，郊區(qū)生活。
【試題分析】細(xì)節(jié)推理題。
【詳細(xì)解答】大量的人居住在郊區(qū)，使得商業(yè)也向郊區(qū)遷移，這樣人們便不至于“spending long hours commuting” ,這不是由于郊區(qū)人有錢(qián)，郊區(qū)環(huán)境好或美國(guó)人喜歡搬遷，故排除A）C）D）。
39.【答案】D。
【譯文】在20世紀(jì)40年代，為什么城市變得破損失修呢？是由于太多的人搬出了城市。
【試題分析】細(xì)節(jié)考察題。
【詳細(xì)解答】A）選項(xiàng)中的人們沒(méi)有足夠的錢(qián)，不符合原文，故排除，B）選項(xiàng)中歸咎于市政規(guī)劃，顯然不符合原文，之所以失修，是因?yàn)?“they took with them the tax money the cities needed to maintain the neighborhoods...”可見(jiàn)太多的納稅人離開(kāi)了城市，使城市沒(méi)有足夠的錢(qián)去修護(hù)、建設(shè)，自然選D）了。
40.【答案】C。
【譯文】文章的主題是，向郊區(qū)的遷移并不能解決理想的居住環(huán)境的問(wèn)題。
【試題分析】細(xì)節(jié)推理題。
【詳細(xì)解答】依據(jù)課文內(nèi)容我們得知，在美國(guó)歷，人們大量移入郊區(qū)，從而使得城市的建設(shè)一度破落。商業(yè)的進(jìn)一步搬遷使得城市建設(shè)更加落后。但每天在城市與住所之間數(shù)個(gè)小時(shí)的往返，以及人們對(duì)城市文化生活的懷念使得人們又在重新搬回城市來(lái)。以此作者引出文章的主題，單純向郊區(qū)的遷移并不能為我們創(chuàng)建一片理想的工作生活的土地。故選C）。