阅读训练

　　Passage Two

　　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 discouraged 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, the 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 1940a, urban Americans began a mass move to the suburbs in search of fresh air, elbowroom, 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 cites, with the result that urban centers declined even further and the suburbs expanded still more. This movement of businesses 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. h 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.

　　57. The author of the passage suggests that ______.

　　A) moving to suburbs is not the answer to an ideal environment

　　B) cities are likely to be replaced by the suburbs

　　C) downtown areas are too crowded to live

　　D) American people moves lot in history

　　58. The word "elbowroom" in Paragraph 3 most probably means" ______.

　　A) private space B) room to move freely

　　C) peaceful places D) confined room

　　59. Which of the following statements is true?

　　A) There are just old and poor people left in the cities.

　　B) The movement to the suburbs begins to decline.

　　C) Downtown areas must die in the future.

　　D) Suburbs are sure to replace cities.

　　60. Why have businesses been moving to suburbs?

　　A) Because the environment is pleasant in the suburbs.

　　B) Because the suburbs have developed rapidly.

　　C) Because rich people have moved to suburbs.

　　D) Because many people work in cites and live in suburbs. 61. Many cities began to fall into disrepair in the 1940s because ______.

　　A) housing construction costs continued to rise

　　B) housing was allowed to decay

　　C) many people moved out of the cities

　　D) only old and poor people were left in the cities

阅读答案及解析

　　57--61 ABBDC

　　57.推断题。作者提到，过去人们大量移居郊区使得城市建设一度破落，商业区迁至郊区进一步加剧了城市的没落.但人们最终厌倦了每天在城市和郊区之间数小时的往返，开始怀念城市的文化生活，最终重新搬回城市。文章最后得出结论：向郊区迁移并不能为我们创建一个理想的工作和生活环境。因此，答案为A项。

　　58.词义推断题.结合上下文可以看出人们迁往郊区是为了改善工作和生活环境。第三段中提到的新鲜空气、个人的私密性和“elbowroom”都是城市没有而郊区拥有的。与郊区相比，城市的活动空间相对狭小，由此可以推断“elbowroom”是指自由活动的空间.因此，正确答案为B项。

　　59.细节题。第三段中提到“The people left in the cities were often those who were too old or too poor to move.”但选项A说留下的只有(just)老人和穷人，太过于绝对，因而排除。由第二段第四句可知选项C错误。最后一段提到泰勒夫妇的决定表明人们最终将回到城市，重新建设城市，因此郊区不可能替代城市，故选项D也错误。因此，正确答案为B项。

　　60.细节题。第四段提到人们白天进城工作，晚上离城回家。因此有人提出“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?”不如把商业也迁至郊区，省得人们两地奔波.故正确答案为D项。

　　61.细节属。从第三段第三、四、五句可知纳税人迁离城市使城市没有足够的资金去维护和建设，因而破败失修.因此正确答案为C项。