三、閱讀理解 (共20小題；每小題2分，滿分40分)

??? 閱讀下列短文，從每題所給的四個選項(A、B、C和D)中，選出最佳選項，并在答題卡上將該項涂黑。

A

I fell in love with England because it was quaint (古雅)—all those little houses, looking terri-bly old-fashioned but nice, like dolls’ houses. I loved the countryside and the pubs, and I loved London. I’ve slightly changed my mind after seventeen years because I think it’s an ugly town now.

Things have changed. For everybody, England meant gentlemen, fair play, and good man-ners. The fair play is going, unfortunately, and so are the gentlemanly attitudes and good man-ners—people shut doors heavily in your face and politeness is disappearing.

I regret that there are so few comfortable meeting places. You’re forced to live indoors. In Paris I go out much more, to restaurants and nightclubs. To meet friends here it usually has to be in a pub, and it can be difficult to go there alone as a woman. The cafes are not terribly nice.

As a woman, I feel unsafe here. I spend a bomb on taxis because I will not take public trans-port after 10 p. m. I used to use it, but now I’m afraid.

The idea of family seems to be more or less non-existent in England. My family is well united and that’s typically French. In Middlesex I had a neighbour who is 82 now. His family only lived two miles away, but I took him to France for Christmas once because he was always alone.

56. The writer doesn’t like London because she ______.

A. is not used to the life there now

B. has lived there for seventeen years

C. prefers to live in an old-fashioned house

D. has to be polite to everyone she meets there

57. Where do people usually meet their friends in England?

A. In a cafe. B. In a restaurant. C. In a nightclub. D. In a pub.

58. The underlined part “it” (in Para. 4) refers to______.

A. a taxi??????????????? B. the money???????????????????????????????????? C. a bomb????? D. public transport

59. The writer took her neighbour to France for Christmas because he ______.

A. felt lonely in England????????????????????? B. had never been to France

C. was from a typical French family???? D. didn't like the British idea of family

?

B

If the world were a village of 1,000 people it would include:

? 584 Asians

? 124 Africans

? 95 Eastern and Western Europeans

? 84 Latin Americans

? 55 former Soviets (including Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians, and other national groups)

? 52 North Americans

? 6 Australians and New Zealanders

The people of the village would speak:

? 165 Mandarin

? 86 English

? 83 Hindu/Urdu

? 64 Spanish

? 58 Russian

? 37 Arabic

The above list covers the mother tongues of only half the village.

One-third of the people in the village are children, and only 60 are over the age of 65. Just under half of the married women in the village have access to modem equipments.

This year 28 babies will be bom. Ten people will die, 3 of them for lack of food, 1 from can-cer. Two of the deaths will be of babies bom within the year. With the 28 births and 10 deaths, the population of the village next year will be 1,018.

In this village of 1,000 persons, 200 people receive 75 percent of the income; another 200 re-ceive only 2 percent of the income.

About one-third have access to clean, safe drinking water.

Of the 670 adults in the village, half can not read nor write.

The village has a total yearly budget (預(yù)算) , public and private, of over $3 million—$ 3 ,000 per person if it is distributed evenly. Of the total $3 million:

$ 181,000 goes to weapons and warfare

$ 159,000 to education

$ 132,000 to health care

These weapons are under the control of just 100 of the people. The other 900 are watching them with deep anxiety, wondering whether they can learn to get along together.

60. Which of the following is true about Mandarin according to the text?

A. Nearly one-third of Asian people speak Mandarin in the village.

B. About 8.25 per cent of the people speak Mandarin in the village.

C. About 16. 5 per cent of the people speak Mandarin in the village.

D. Nearly all the Mandarin-speaking people are from Asia in the village.

61. Which of the following problems is NOT mentioned in the text?

A. Poverty. B. Education. C. Environment. D. Marriage.

62. The underlined part “have access to” (in Para. 4) means_____.

A. use?????????????????? B. buy?????????????????? C. produce??????????? D. try

63. The last sentence in the text implies that most of the people long for _____.

A. a peaceful world??????????????????????????? B. good education

C. better health care??????????????????????????? D. a life without anxiety