City Challenges

Reading Comprehension

Choose the best answer for each question.

1. What is the main purpose of this passage?

A. To show how two cities are improving people’s lives 

B. To describe the benefits of smaller cities

C. To explain why more people are moving into cities

D. To describe the life of an urban planner

2. Which reason for making a city greener is NOT stated in the passage?

A. It makes a city cleaner.

B. It helps people work better.

C. It lowers crime rates.

D. It makes it easier to exercise.

3. In line 8, what does the word greener mean?

A. More brightly colored

B. Better for the environment

C. Taller

D. More full of trees

4. According to the passage, what problem does Sao Paulo have?

A. A lot of people don’t have jobs.

B. Too many people live in the city center.

C. A lot of people are moving out of the city.

D. Too many people drive into the city every day.

5. In line 20, what does there refer to?

A. Brazil               B. In a city   

C. Outside Sao Paulo   D. Central Sao Paulo

Background information

In 1950, only one city in the world had more than ten million people-New York. By 2030, 60 percent of the world’s population will live in cities. Many residents of large urban areas will face problems with housing, pollution (for example, of the air and water),and crime.

Vocabulary:

fix 解决

fix the problem 解决问题

resident 居民

remove from 去除

property 贫穷

Sao Paulo 圣保罗

Word Partnership

heavy traffic 交通拥挤

light traffic  通畅的交通

oncoming traffic 迎面而来的车辆

stuck in traffic 堵在路上

Comprehension key:

1 a 第一段最后一句点明文章主旨。

2 b 第二段，make a city cleaner, lower crime, easier to exercise都提到了。

3 b

4 c第三段they’ve spread out to neighborhoods outside the city, where house is  

  cheaper可知。

5 d 第三段第一句的in the center of Sao Paulo可知。