2. 职称英语
  3. I am one of the many city people who are always saying that given the choice

I am one of the many city people who are always saying that given the choice

游客2023-10-23  28
问题     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 about 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. [br] In the author’s opinion, the following may cause city people to be unhappy EXCEPT _______.
选项 A、a strong sense of fear
B、lack of communication
C、housing conditions
D、a sense of isolation
答案 A
解析 本文第2段的第1句提到frightening，容易给人一种a strong sense of fear。这也是文中被提到的印象，但这句话的意思是“城市可能有很多可怕的方面”，并不是说人们通常感到害怕，所以此题应选A。根据第2段可知，绝大多数城里人都居住在喧闹、肮脏、毫无人情味的高楼大厦里。没有归属感，所能看到的就是天空和其他的楼房，住在同一楼层的住户见面也不打招呼。由此可知，B、C、D都有提及，而唯独没有提到A。
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