Question

    London, New York, Tokyo and Paris these famous cities have a commanding influence on the world economy and are home to millions of people, as well as internationally famous arts, culture and educational institutions. But they are hardly representative of the rest of the world’s cities. While 54% of the global population live in cities, around half of those live in cities that have 500,000 inhabitants or fewer.

These “ordinary” cities can be overlooked by politicians, investors, researchers and big businesses. But they are dynamic places with many layers of social, cultural and economic significance. After experiencing a period of post-industrial decline, many such cities are considering urban regeneration (再生) programmes.

But that doesn't mean they have to follow the same path as other urban areas. In fact, the research into urban development has found that ordinary cities can avoid some of the ill effects of regeneration, by embracing what makes them unique.

At the turn of the century, city leaders became increasingly interested in the idea of the “creative city,” The idea was to encourage a “creative class” of talented workers to make their homes and businesses in cities, by creating urban spaces that are open, inclusive and diverse, as well as attractive and technologically advanced.

“Regeneration” became a buzzword associated with these types of strategies, which seek to repurpose seemingly disused or rundown spaces to support an economy led by creative and technological industries. The apparent success of creative city policies was seen in post-industrial centres such as Detroit, US, following investments in cultural, artistic and musical urban renewal.

Such policies swiftly became the go-to strategy for seemingly “ordinary” post-industrial cities around the world, even resulting in new rankings that pit cities against each other, based on criteria including entrepreneurship (创业精神), urban leadership and “liveability”. Having plenty of former industrial spaces that can be adapted for new uses, and a desire to be noticed on the national or global stage, encourages investment in urban regeneration from both public and private sources.

Yet regeneration programmes inspired by the creative city agenda can cause problems. Property developers (地产开发商) and foreign investors have recognized the economic potential of real estate(房地产) in “creative” cities. This has led to rocketing land costs, and many low-income residents have felt the effects of being displaced from their homes.

Yet as more cities seek to emphasize their cultural assets(资产), city leaders and policy makers must be aware of the negative impacts that can arise if local residents are not central to the decision-making process. This emphasizes the need to consider local contexts and communities before operating copycat creative policies.

1.Some famous cities can’t represent the rest of the world's cities in that____________.

A.they are always ignored by politicians, researchers and businessmen

B.they accommodate millions of people but don't contribute to the world economy.

C.about a quarter of global population live in middle-sized and small cities.

D.not all famous arts, culture and educational organizations are distributed there.

2.What measure was probably taken by cities like Detroit to promote city development?

A.Using culture and art as a driving force.

B.Forcing low-income residents to move.

C.Following the same path as some big cities.

D.Encouraging industrial investment continuously.

3.What does the author want to stress in the passage?

A.Cities should copy regeneration programmes.

B.Cities should compete with each other based on some criteria.

C.Cities should seek financial support from sources around the world.

D.Cities should consider regional factors before using creative policies.

4.What does the passage mainly talk about?

A.Ordinary cities successfully avoid ill-effects of development.

B.Ordinary cities don' t have to copy trends to regenerate.

C.Ordinary cities are trying to recover from post-industrial decline.

D.Ordinary cities are dynamic places with social importance.

Answer

1.C

2.A

3.D

4.B

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章讲述了普通中小城市的发展不必遵循其他城市的方向，而应该保持自己的独特方式，避开一些再生的弊端，换发新的活力。

1.细节理解题。由第一段的最后一句“While 54% of the global population live in cities, around half of those live in cities that have 500,000 inhabitants or fewer.”可知，虽然全球人口中有54%的人口住在城市，但是那些人中大约有一半是住在有500,000居民或者更少的城市中。由此可见，全球54%的人口的一半是住在中小型城市，所以一些著名大城市并不能代表全世界其他城市。结合选项可知，C选项正确。

2.细节理解题。由第五段最后一句“The apparent success of creative city policies was seen in post-industrial centres such as Detroit, US, following investments in cultural, artistic and musical urban renewal.”可知，伴随着在城市文化，艺术和音乐美化方面的投资，创意型城市正常的显著成功可以在后工业中心看见，例如美国的底特律市。由此可见，城市的再发展可以在文化，艺术，音乐方面进行更新，所以为了促进城市的发展，像底特律市那样的城市可以通过推动文化，艺术的使用来实现。结合选项可知，A选项正确。

3.细节理解题。由最后一段最后一句“This emphasizes the need to consider local contexts and communities before operating copycat creative policies.”可知，这就强调在盲目模仿创意型政策之前，有必要考虑以下当地的环境和群体。由此可见，作者想要在文中强调城市在进行创意型政策之前，应该考虑下地区因素，如当地环境，当地群体。结合选项可知，D选项正确。

4.主旨大意题。由第三段第一句 “But that doesn't mean they have to follow the same path as other urban areas.”和第二句“In fact, the research into urban development has found that ordinary cities can avoid some of the ill effects of regeneration, by embracing what makes them unique.”，第四段第一句“At the turn of the century, city leaders became increasingly interested in the idea of the “creative city,””可知，但是这并不意味着普通城市不得不去跟随其他城市一样的再生途径。实际上，对城市发展的深入研究发现普通城市可以通过突出自己的独特性，能够让自己避免一些再生中出现的不良效应。城市的领导者们越来越多地对创意型城市感到兴趣。由此可知，文章首先提出了普通城市在城市再生项目中可以通过突出自己独特性，而不需要去模仿其他城市，紧接着具体介绍实施创意性城市政策可以实现自己的独特性。所以本文主要是在讲述普通城市不需要模仿其他城市。结合选项可知，B选项正确。