But the problems of the next generation or two can more readily be imagined. Scientists have already pointed out that unless something is done either to restrict the world’s rapid growth in population or to discover and develop new sources of food (or both), millions of people will be dying of starvation or at the best suffering from underfeeding before this century is out. But nobody has yet worked out any plan for housing these growing populations. Admittedly the worst situations will occur in the hottest parts of the world, where housing can be light structure or in backward areas where standards are traditionally low. But even the minimum shelter requires materials of some kind and in the teeming, bulging towns the low-standard “housing” of flattened petrol cans and dirty canvas is far more wasteful of ground space than can be tolerated.

　　Since the war, Hong Kong has suffered the kind of crisis which is likely to arise in many other places during the next generation. Literally millions of refugees arrived to swell the already growing population and emergency steps had to be taken rapidly to prevent squalor(骯臟)and disease and the spread crime. The city is tackling the situation energetically and enormous blocks of tenements(貧民住宅)are rising at an astonishing aped. But Hong Kong is only one small part of what will certainly become a vast problem and not merely a housing problem, because when population grows at this rate there are accompanying problems of education, transport, hospital services, drainage, water supply and so on. Not every area may give the same resources as Hong Kong to draw upon and the search for quicker and cheaper methods of construction must never cease.

　　1.What is the author’s opinion of housing problems in the first paragraph?

　　A.They may be completely solved at sometime in the future.

　　B.They are unimportant and easily dealt with.

　　C.They will not be solved until a new building material has been discovered.

　　D.They have been dealt with in specific detail in books describing the future.

　　2.The writer is sure that in the distant future ___.

　　A.bricks and mortar will be replaced by some other building material.

　　B.a new building material will have been invented.

　　C.bricks and mortar will not be used by people who want their house to be fashionable.

　　D.a new way of using bricks and mortar will have been discovered.

　　3.The writer believes that the biggest problem likely to confront the world before the end of the century ___.

　　A.is difficult to foresee.

　　B.will be how to feed the ever growing population.

　　C.will be how to provide enough houses in the hottest parts of the world.

　　D.is the question of finding enough ground space.

　　4.When the writer says that the worst situations will occur in the hottest parts of the world or in backward areas, he is referring to the fact that in these parts ___.

　　A.standards of building are low.

　　B.only minimum shelter will be possible.

　　C.there is not enough ground space.

　　D.the population growth will be the greatest.

　　5.Which of the following sentences best summarizes Paragraph 3?

　　A.Hong Kong has faced a serious crisis caused by millions of refugees.

　　B.Hong Kong has successfully dealt with the emergency caused by millions of refugees.

　　C.Hong Kong’s crisis was not only a matter of housing but included a number of other problems of population growth.

　　D.Many parts of the world may have to face the kind of problems encountered by Hong Kong and may find it much harder to deal with them.

　　答案：

　　AABDD

　　六級仔細閱讀模擬練習2：

　　Proxemics(空間關系學) is the study of what governs how closely one person stands to another. People who feel close will be close, though the actual distances will vary between cultures. For Amreicans we can discern four main categories of distance: intimate, personal, social and public. Intimate ranges from direct contact to about 45 centimeters. This is for the closest relationships such as those between husband and wife. Beyond this comes personal distance. This stands at between 45 and 80 centimeters. It is the most usual distance maintained for conversations between friends and relatives. Social distance covers people who work together or are meeting at social gatherings. Distances here tend to be kept between 1.30 to 2 meters. Beyond this comes public distance, such as that between a lecturer and his audience.

　　All cultures draw lines between what is an appropriate and what is an inappropriate social distance for different types of relationship. They differ, however, in where they draw these lines. Look at an international reception withrepresentatives from the US and Arabic countries conversing and you will see the Americans pirouetting(快速旋轉) backwards around the hall pursued by their Arab partners. The Americans will be trying to keep the distance between themselves and their partners which they have grown used to regarding as “normal”. They probably will not even notice themselves trying to adjust the distance between themselves and their partners, though they may have vague feeling that their Arab neighbors are being a bit “pushy”. The Arab, on the other hand, coming from a culture where much closer distance is the norm, may be feeling that the Americans are being “stand-offish”. Finding themselves happier standing close to and even touching those they are in conversation with they will persistently pursue the Americans round the room trying to close the distance between them.

　　The appropriateness of physical contact varies between different cultures too. One study of the number of times people conversing in coffee shops over a one hour period showed the following interesting variations: London, 0; Florida, 2; Paris, 10; and Puerto Rico 180. Not only dose it vary between societies, however, it also varies between different subcultures within one society. Young people in Britain, for example, are more likely to touch and hug friends than are the older generation. This may be partly a matter of growing older, but it also reflects the fact that the older generation grew up at a time when touching was less common for all age groups. Forty years ago, for example, footballers would never hug and kiss one another on the field after a goal as they do today.

　　1.In proxemics, ____governs the standing space between two persons.

　　A. distance　 B. culture　　 C. conversation　　 D. relationship

　　2.The word “stand-offish”(Line 14, Para. 2) could best be replaced by_________.

　　A. cold and distant in behaviour 　 B. ungentlemanlike in behaviour C. inhuman in behaviour　　 D. polite in behaviour

　　3. In conversation with an American partner at an international reception, an Arab deems that close distant is _________.

　　A. appropriate　 B. inappropriate　　 C. rash　 D. impetuous

　　4. We can infer from the third paragragh that the appropriateness of physical contact also varies with_________.

　　A. time　　 B. city　　 C. country　　 D. people

　　5. The best title for the passage would be __________.

　　A. Proxemics　 B. Appropriateness of Social Distance

　　C. Appropriateness Relationships Between Two Persons D. Appropriateness Physical Contact Between Two Persons

　　答案：

　　DAAAA