2．Not too many decades ago it seemed"obvious"both to the general public and to sociologists that modern society has changed people's natural relations，loosened their responsibilities to relatives and neighbors，and substituted in their place loosel relationships with passing acquaintances（相识之人）．However，in recent years a growing body of research has revealed that the"obvious"is not true．It seems that if you are a city resident，you typically know a smaller proportion of your neighbors than you do if you are a resident of a smaller community．But，for the most part，this fact has few significant consequences．It does not necessarily follow that if you know few of your neighbors you will know no one else．
Even in very large cities，people maintain close social ties within small，private social worlds．Indeed，the number and quality of meaningful relationships do not differ between more and less urban people．Small-town residents are more involved with kin than are big-city residents．Yet city dwellers compensate by developing friendships with people who share similar interests and activities．Urbanism may produce a different style of life，but the quality of life does not differ between town and city．Nor are residents of large communities any likelier to display psychological symptoms of stress or alienation，a feeling of not belonging，than are residents of smaller communities．However，city dwellers do worry more about crime，and this leads them to a distrust of strangers．
These findings do not imply that urbanism makes little or no difference．If neighbors are strangers to one another，they are less likely to sweep the sidewalk of an elderly couple living next door or keep an eye out for young trouble makers．Moreover，as Wirth suggested，there may be a link between a community's population size and its social heterogeneity（多样性）．For instance，sociologists have found much evidence that the size of a community is associated with bad behavior including gambling，drugs，etc．Large-city urbanites are also more likely than their small-town counterparts to have a cosmopolitan（见多识广的） outlook，to display less responsibility to traditional kinship roles，to vote for leftist political candidates，and to be tolerant of nontraditional religious groups，unpopular political groups，and so-called undesirables．Everything considered，heterogeneity and unusual behavior seem to be outcomes of large population size．
66．According to the paragraph 1，it was once a common belief that people in modern societyB．
A．tended to acqaint themselves with people passing by
B．could not develop very close relationships wth others
C．bore great responsibilities to neighbors and relatives
D．usually had more friends than small-town residents
67．One of the consequences of urbanism is that the city residentsC．
A．suffer fron the lack of friendship
B．lower the quality of relationships
C．show little concern for other people
D．become suspicious of each other
68．We can learn from the passage that the bigger a community is，A
A．the more open-minded people are
B．the more similar its interests is
C．the more likely it it to display stress
D．the better its quality of life is
69．What is the passage mainly aboutB？
A．Advantages and disadvantages of living in big cities or small towns
B．Minor differences in the interpersonal relations between cities and towns
C The positive role that urbanism has been playing in our modern society．
D The strong feeling of alienation that city inhabitants are suffering．
分析 本文是一篇说明文．主要讲的是城市与小镇人际关系的微小区别．现代社会改变了人们的自然关系，使亲情、邻里观念变得淡薄，取而代之的是彼此之间萍水相逢的表面关系．如果你居住在城市里，那么你认识的邻居就必定会比你住在小社区里认识的少．小镇居民比大城市居民更愿意同亲戚走动．但是城里人通过结交志趣相投的朋友弥补了这个缺憾．城市居民对犯罪行为更为担心，这使他们不信任陌生人．大城市的居民比小城镇的居民见多识广，对传统的亲情角色承担更小的责任，更有可能投票选举左翼政党候选人，对非传统的宗教团体、不得人心的政团组织或所谓的讨人嫌者更能容忍．通盘考虑，多样性和不同寻常的举止是巨大的人口规模造成的．
解答 66．B 细节理解题．根据第一段第一句"Not too many decades ago it seemed"obvious"both to the general public and to sociologists that modern society has changed people's natural relations，loosened their responsibilities to relatives and neighbors，and substituted in their place loosened relationships with passing acquaintances（相识之人）．"可知，一般大众与社会学家都认为亲人、邻居之间的关系变的淡薄，只与一些普通的熟人打交道．"，故选B．
67．C 推理判断题．根据第二段中"Small-town residents are more involved with kin than are big-city residents．"和"If neighbors are strangers to one another，they are less likely to sweep the sidewalk of an elderly couple living next door or keep an eye out for young trouble makers．"可知，城市居民相对小镇居民不够关心他人，故选C．
68．A 推理判断题．根据第三段中"Large-city urbanites are also more likely than their small-town counterparts to have a cosmopolitan（见多识广的） outlook，to display less responsibility to traditional kinship roles，to vote for leftist political candidates，and to be tolerant of nontraditional religious groups，unpopular political groups，and so-called undesirables．"可知，"城市居民比小镇居民更见多识广，更支持左翼政治候选人，更能宽容非传统的宗教团体等"，这说明他们思想更开放，故选A．
69．B 主旨大意题．本文第一段为中心段，"However，in recent years a growing body of research has revealed that the"obvious"is not true．It seems that if you are a city resident，you typically know a smaller proportion of your neighbors than you do if you are a resident of a smaller community．But，for the most part，this fact has few significant consequences．It does not necessarily follow that if you know few of your neighbors you will know no one else．"可知，本文讲的是城市与小镇人际关系的微小区别，故选B．
点评 解答细节理解题时，一个常用的方法就是运用定位法，即根据题干和选项中的关键词从原文中找到相关的句子，与选项进行比较从而确定答案；推理判断题既要求学生透过文章表面文字信息推测文章隐含意思，又要求学生对作者的态度、意图及文章细节的发展作正确的推理判断，力求从作者的角度去考虑，不要固守自己的看法或观点．
