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TOEFL Directory > TOEFL writing > TOEFL Reading Class Unit 1_Passage 2_Question 12-22
TOEFL Reading Class Unit 1_Passage 2_Question 12-22
You have about 15 minutes to finish this passage.
First,use about 3-4 minutes to read the passage, try to understand the main idea of this passage.
Don't read it so slowly or try to remember all details.You need to do "fast reading",and "scan" the passage.
Second, read questions 1-11, and with questions you go back the passage again and look for correct answers.
Questions 12-22
Passage 2
The city is a global phenomenon. It is also a regional and cultural variable. Even within the seemingly homogenous North American cultural realm, the city shows subtle but significant differences---not only between older eastern and newer western United States cities but also between cities of Canada and those of the United States. Although the urban expression is similar in the two countries, it is not identical, and the truly "North American?city is more a myth than a reality.
The Canadian city, for example, is more compact than its United States counterpart of equal population size, with a higher density of buildings and people and a lesser degree of suburbanization of populations and functions. Space-saving, multiple-family housing units are more the rule in Canada, so a similar population is housed on a smaller land area with much higher densities, on average, within the central area of cities. The Canadian city is better served by and more dependent on mass transportation than is the United States city. This dependence gives form and structure to the Canadian central city, qualities now lost in the sprawling United States metropolis, whose residents view the central district as increasingly less central to their lives. Since Canadian metropolitan areas have only one-quarter the number of kilometers of superhighways per capita as United States metropolitan areas ---and at least as much resistance to constructing more -- suburbanization of peoples and functions is less extensive north of the border than south. It is likely to remain that way.
Besides these physical differences, Canadian-United States contrasts are also apparent in their cities' social structures. While cities in both countries are ethnically diverse---Canadian communities, in fact, have the higher proportion of immigrants --- in the United States there are pronounced economic contrasts between central city and suburban residents.
That is, there has been much less "flight to the suburbs?by middle-income Canadians. As a result, the Canadian city shows greater social stability, employment opportunities, and urban amenities than its United States counterpart. In particular, it does not have the rivalry from well-defined competitive "outer cities?of suburbia that so spread and fragment United States metropolitan complexes.
12. What does the passage mainly discuss?
a) Features that characterize the typical North American city
b) The development of suburbs in North America
c) Major differences between United States and Canadian cities
d) Population migration toward newer cities
13. What does the author mean by referring to the truly North American city as more a myth than a reality?
a) Commonly studied histories of cities in North America distort reality.
b) Cities in Canada and the United States exhibit cultural similarities.
c) There is no city that can be considered representative of all North American cities.
d) Eastern and western cities display greater differences than the differences between Canadian and United States cities.
14. According to paragraph 2, which of the following statements about the typical Canadian city is true?
a) Canadian cities are spread out over a large area.
b) Canadian cities vary little in size.
c) People and functions in Canadian cities are centrally concentrated.
d) Canadian cities have taller buildings than other countries.
15. The phrase the rule in the passage is closest in meaning to
a) spacious
b) practical
c) well-built
d) usual
16. It can be inferred from the passage that Canadian cities are marked by
a) narrow streets
b) open spaces
c) an absence of skyscrapers
d) a coherent central area
17. The word apparent in the passage is closest in meaning to
a) unique
b) obvious
c) decreasing
d) dependent
18. The word pronounced in the passage is closest in meaning to
a) strong
b) recent
c) divisive
d) growing
19. It can be inferred from the passage that, when compared to their Canadian counterparts, middle-income people in the United States tend to
a) move away from city centers more frequently
b) represent a greater range of income
c) prefer living closer to urban amenities
d) dominate the older eastern cities
20. The word it in the passage refers to
a) flight to the suburbs
b) Canadian city
c) social stability
d) United States counterpart
21. The word fragment in the passage is closest in meaning to
a) hold down
b) break up
c) characterize
d) distinguish
22. Which of the following does the author mention as a similarity between Canadian and United States cities?
a) The size of the land area
b) The quality of mass transportation
c) The density of buildings in city centers
d) The resistance to constructing new roadways
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