大學(xué)英語(yǔ)六級(jí)（CET-6）模擬訓(xùn)練高頻過(guò)關(guān)題

COLLEGEENGLISHTEST

—BandSIX—

PartIWriting(30minutes)

Directions:Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteashortessayonlivinginthevirtualworld.Tryto

imaginewhatwillhappenwhenpeoplespendmoreandmoretimeinthevirtualworldinsteadofinteractinginthe

realworld.Youarerequiredtowriteatleast150wordsbutnomorethan200words.

PartIIListeningComprehension(30minutes)

Directions:Inthissection,youwillheartwolongconversations.Attheendofeachconversation,youwillhear

fourquestions.Boththeconversationandthequestionswillbespokenonlyonce.Afteryouhearaquestion,you

mustchoosethebestanswerfromthefourchoicesmarkedA),B),C)andD).Thenmarkthecorrespondingletter

onAnswerSheet1withasinglelinethroughthecenter.

Questions1to4arebasedontheconversationyouhavejustheard.

1.A)Projectorganizer.B)Publicrelationsofficer.

C)Marketingmanager.D)Marketresearchconsultant.

2.A)Quantitativeadvertisingresearch.B)Questionnairedesign.

C)Researchmethodology.D)Interviewertraining.

3.A)Theyareintensivestudiesofpeople'sspendinghabits.

B)Theyexaminerelationsbetweenproducersandcustomers.

C)Theylookfornewandeffectivewaystopromoteproducts.

D)Theystudytrendsorcustomersatisfactionoveralongperiod.

4.A)Thelackofpromotionopportunity.B)Checkingchartsandtables.

C)Designingquestionnaires.D)Thepersistentintensity.

Questions5to8arebasedontheconversationyouhavejustheard.

5.A)bisviewonCanadianuniversities.

B)Hisunderstandingofhighereducation.

C)Hissuggestionsforimprovementsinhighereducation.

D)HiscomplaintaboutbureaucracyinAmericanuniversities.

6.A)Itiswelldesigned.B)Itisratherinflexible.

C)Itvariesamonguniversities.D)Ithasundergonegreatchanges.

7.A)TheUnitedStatesandCanadacanlearnfromeachother.

B)Publicuniversitiesareoftensuperiortoprivateuniversities.

C)Everyoneshouldbegivenequalaccesstohighereducation.

D)Privateschoolsworkmoreefficientlythanpublicinstitutions.

8.A)Universitysystemsvaryfromcountrytocountry.

B)Efficiencyisessentialtouniversitymanagement.

C)Itishardtosaywhichisbetter;apublicuniversityoraprivateone.

D)ManyprivateuniversitiesintheUSareactuallylargebureaucracies.

SectionB

Directions:Inthissection,youwillheartwopassages.Attheendofeachpassage,youwillhearthreeorfour

questions.Boththepassageandthequestionswillbespokenonlyonce.Afteryouhearaquestion,youmust

choosethebestanswerfromthefourchoicesmarkedA),B),C)andD).Thenmarkthecorrespondingletteron

AnswerSheet1withasinglelinethroughthecenter.

Questions9to11arebasedonthepassageyouhavejustheard.

9.A)Government'sroleinresolvinganeconomiccrisis.

B)Theworseningrealwagesituationaroundtheworld.

C)IndicationsofeconomicrecoveryintheUnitedStates.

D)Theimpactofthecurrenteconomiccrisisonpeople'slife.

10.A)Theywillfeellesspressuretoraiseemployees'wages.

B)Theywillfeelfreetochoosethemostsuitableemployees.

C)Theywillfeelinclinedtoexpandtheirbusinessoperations.

D)Theywillfeelmoreconfidentincompetingwiththeirrivals.

11.A)Employeesandcompaniescooperatetopullthroughtheeconomiccrisis.

B)Governmentandcompaniesjoinhandstocreatejobsfortheunemployed.

C)Employeesworkshorterhourstoavoidlayoffs.

D)Teamworkwillbeencouragedincompanies.

Questions12to15arebasedonthepassageyouhavejustheard.

12.A)Whethermemorysupplementswork.B)Whetherherbalmedicineworkswonders.

C)Whetherexerciseenhancesone'smemory.D)Whetheramagicmemorypromisessuccess.

13.A)Theyhelptheelderlymorethantheyoung.B)Theyarebeneficialinonewayoranother.

C)Theygenerallydonothavesideeffects.D)Theyarenotbasedonrealscience.

14.A)Theyareavailableatmostcountryfairs.B)Theyaretakeninrelativelyhighdosage.

C)Theyarecollectedorgrownbyfarmers.D)Theyareprescribedbytrainedpractitioners.

15.A)Theyhaveoftenprovedtobeashelpfulasdoingmentalexercise.

B)Takingthemwithothermedicationsmightentailunnecessaryrisks.

C)Theireffectlastsonlyashorttime.

D)Manyhavebenefitedfromthem.

SectionC

Directions:Inthissection,youwillhearthreerecordingsoflecturesortalksfollowedbythreeorfourquestions.

Therecordingswillbeplayedonlyonce.Afteryouhearaquestion,youmustchoosethebestanswerfromthe

fourcnoicesmarkedA),B),C)andD).ThenmarkthecorrespondingletteronAnswerSheetwithasingleline

throughthecenter.

Questions16to18arebasedontherecordingyouhavejustheard.

16.A)Howcatastrophicnaturaldisastersturnouttobetodevelopingnations.

B)HowtheWorldMeteorologicalOrganizationstudiesnaturaldisasters.

C)Howpowerlesshumansappeartobeinfaceofnaturaldisasters.

D)Howthenegativeimpactsofnaturaldisasterscanbereduced.

17.A)Bytrainingrescueteamsforemergencies.B)Bytakingstepstopreparepeopleforthem.

C)Bychangingpeople'sviewsofnature.D)Byrelocatingpeopletosaferplaces.

18.A)Howpreventiveactioncanreducethelossoflife.

B)HowcourageousCubansareinfaceofdisasters.

C)HowCubanssufferfromtropicalstorms.

D)Howdestructivetropicalstormscanbe.

Questions19to22arebasedontherecordingyouhavejustheard.

19.A)PaybacktheirloanstotheAmericangovernment.

B)Provideloanstothoseinseverefinancialdifficulty.

C)Contributemoretothegoalofawiderrecovery.

D)Speeduptheirrecoveryfromthehousingbubble.

20.A)Somebanksmayhavetomergewithothers.

B)Manysmallerregionalbanksaregoingtofail.

C)Itwillbehardforbankstoprovidemereloans.

D)Manybankswillhavetolayoffsomeemployees.

21.A)Itwillworkcloselywiththegovernment.

B)Itwillendeavortowriteoffbadloans.

C)Itwilltrytolowertheinterestrate.

D)Itwilltrytoprovidemoreloans.

22.A)Itwon'thelptheAmericaneconomytoturnaround.

B)Itwon'tdoanygoodtothemajorcommercialbanks.

C)ItwillwintheapprovaloftheObamaadministration.

D)Itwillbenecessaryiftheeconomystartstoshrinkagain.

Questions23to25arebasedontherecordingyouhavejustheard.

23.A)Beingunabletolearnnewthings.B)Beingratherslowtomakechanges.

C)Losingtempermoreandmoreoften.D)Losingtheabilitytogetonwithothers.

24.A)Cognitivestimulation.B)Communityactivity.

C)Balanceddiet.D)Freshair.

25.A)Ignoringthesignsandsymptomsofaging.

B)Adoptinganoptimisticattitudetowardslife.

C)Endeavoringtogiveupunhealthylifestyles.

D)Seekingadvicefromdoctorsfromtimetotime.

PartIDReadingComprehension(40minutes)

SectionA.

Directions:Inthissection,thereisapassagewithtenblanks.Youarerequiredtoselectonewordforeachblank

fromalistofchoicesgiveninawordbankfollowingthepassage.Readthepassagethroughcarefullybefore

makingyourchoices.Eachchoiceinthebankisidentifiedbyaletter.Pleasemarkthecorrespondingletterforeach

itemonAnswerSheet2withasinglelinethroughthecentre.Youmaynotuseanyofthewordsinthebankmore

thanonce.

Questions36to45arebasedonthefollowingpassage.

Innovation,the(靈丹妙藥)ofprogress,hasalwayscostpeopletheirjobs.IntheIndustrial

Revolutionhandweaverswere36asidebythemechanicalloom.Overthepast30yearsthedigital

revolutionhas37manyofthemid-skilljobsthatsupported20th-centurymiddle-classlife.Typists,ticket

agents,banktellersandmanyproduction-linejobshavebeendispensedwith,justastheweaverswere.

Forthosewhobelievethattechnologicalprogresshasmadetheworldabetterplace,suchdisruptionisa

naturalpartofrising38Althoughinnovationkillssomejobs,itcreatesnewandbetterones,asamore39

societybecomesricheranditswealthierinhabitantsdemandmoregoodsandservices.Ahundredyearsagoone

inthreeAmericanworkerswas40onafarm.Todaylessthan2%ofthemproducefarmorefood.Themillions

freedfromthelandwerenotrendered41,butfoundbetter-paid

workastheeconomygrewmoresophisticated.Todaythepoolofsecretarieshas42,butthereareevermore

computerprogrammersandwebdesigners.

Optimismremainstherightstarting-point,butforworkersthedislocatingeffectsoftechnologymaymake

themselvesevidentfasterthanits43Evenifnewjobsandwonderfulproductsemerge,intheshort

termincomegapswillwiden,causinghugesocialdislocationandperhapsevenchangingpolitics.Technology^

44willfedlikeatomad。(旋風(fēng))，hittingtherichworldfirst,but45sweepingthroughpoorer

countriestoo.Nogovernmentispreparedforit.

注意：此部分記題請(qǐng)?jiān)诖痤}卡2上作答。_____________________________________________________

A)benefitsF)joblessK)rhythm

B)displacedG)primarilyL)sentiments

C)employedH)productiveM)shrunk

D)eventually1)prosperityN)swept

E)impactJ)responsive0)withdrawn

SectionB

Directions:Inthissection,youaregoingtoreadapassagewithtenstatementsattachedtoit.Eachstatement

containsinformationgiveninoneoftheparagraphs.Identifytheparagraphfromwhichtheinformationisderived.

Youmaychooseaparagraphmorethanonce.Eachparagraphismarkedwithaietter.Answerthequestionsby

markingthecorrespondingletteronAnswerSheet2.

PlasticSurgery

Abettercreditcardisthesolutiontoeverlargerhackattacks.

A)Athinmagneticstrip(magstripe)isallthatstandsbetweenyourcredit-cardinformationandthebadguys.

Andthey'ebeenworkinghardtobreakin.That'swhy2014isshapingupasamajorshowdown:banks,law

enforcementandtechnologycompaniesarealltryingtostopanetworkofhackerswhoaresucceedingin

stealingaccountnumbers,names,emailaddressesandothercrucialdatausedinidentitytheft.Morethan

100millionaccountsatTarget,NeimarMarcusandMichaelsstoreswerea仟ectedinsomewayduringthe

mostrecentattacks,startinglastNovember.

B)Sv/ipe(刷卡)istheoperativeword:cardsareincreasinglyvulnerabletoattackswhenyoumakepurchases

inastore.Inseveralrecentincidents,hackershavebeenabletoobtainmassiveinformationof

credit-debit-(借記)orprepaid-cardnumbersusingmalware,i.e.malicioussoftware,insertedsecretlyinto

theretailers'point-of-salesystem—thecheckoutregisters.Hackersthensoldthedatatoasecondgroupof

crminalsoperatinginshadowycornersoftheweb.Notlongafter,thestolendatawasshowinguponfake

cardsandbeingusedforonlinepurchases.

C)Thesolutioncouldcostaslittleas$2extraforeverypieceofplasticissued.Thefixisasecuritytechnology

usedheavilyoutsidetheUS.WhileAmericancreditcardsusethe40-year-oldmagstripetechnologyto

processtransactions,muchoftherestoftheworldusessmartercardswithatechnologycalledEMV(short

forEuropay,MasterCard,Visa)thatemploysachipembeddedinthecardplusacustomerPIN(personal

identificationnumber)toauthenticate(驗(yàn)證)everytransactiononthespot.Ifapurchaserfailstopunchin

thecorrectPINatthecheckout,thetransactiongetsrejected.(Onlinepurchasescanbemadebysettingupa

separatetransactioncode.)

D)Whyhaven'tbigbanksadoptedthemoresecuretechnology?Whenitcomestomailingoutnewcreditcards,

itsallaboutrelativecosts,saysDavidRobertson,whorunstheNilsonReport,anindustrynewsletter./zThe

costofthecard,puttingthestickeronit,codingtheaccountnumberandexpirationdate,emboss加g(凸印)

it,thesmallenvelope—allputtogether,you*reinthedollarrange.wAchip-and-PINcardcurrentlycosts

closerto$3,saysRobertson,becauseofthepriceofchips.(Oncelargeissuersconverttogether,thechip

costsshoulddrop.)

E)Multiply$3bythemorethan5billionmagstripecreditandprepaidcardsincirculationintheUS.Then

considerthatthere'sanestimated$12.4billionincardfraudonaglobalbasis,saysRobertson.With44%of

thatintheUS,Americancredit-cardfraudamountstoabout$5.5billionannually.Cardissuershavesofar

calculatedthatabsorbingtheliabilityforevenbighacksliketheTargetoneisstillcheaperthanreplacingall

thatplastic.

F)ThatleavesAmericanretailersprettymuchalonetheworldoverinrelyingonmagstripetechnologyto

chargepurchases—andleavesconsumersvulnerable.Eachmagstripehasthreetracksofinformation,

explainspaymentssecurityexpertJeremyGumbley,thechieftechnologyofficerofCreditCall,an

electronic-paymentscompany.Thefirstandthirdareusedbythebankorcardissuer.Yourvitalaccount

informationlivesonthesecondtrack,whichhackerstrytocapture."Malwareisscanningthroughthe

memoryinrealtimeandlookingfordata,“hesays."Itcreatesatextfilethatgetsstolen.w

G)Chip-and-PINcards,bycontrast,makefakecardsorskimmingimpossiblebecausetheinformationthatgets

scannedisencrypted(力口密).ThehistoricalreasontheUShasstuckwithmagstripe,ironicallyenough,isonce

superiortechnology.Ourcheap,ultra-reliablewirednetworksmadecredit-cardauthenticationoverthe

phonefrictionless.InFrance,cardcompaniescreatedEMVinpartbecausethetelephonemonopolywasso

maddeninglyinefficientandexpensive.TheEMVsolutionallowedtransactionstobeverifiedlocallyand

securely.

H)Semebigbanks,likeWellsFargo,arenowofferingtoconvertyourmagstripecardtoachip-and-PINmodel.

(Itsactuallyahybird(混合體)thatwillstillhaveamagstripe,sincemostUSmerchantsdon'thaveEMV

terminals.)Shouldyoutakethemuponit?Ifyoutravelinternationally,theanswerisyes.

I)Keepinmind,too,thatcreditcardstypicallyhavebetterliabilityprotectionthandebitcards.Ifsomeoneuses

yourcreditcardfraudulently(欺詐性的),it'stheissuerormerchant,notyou,thattakesthehit.Debitcards

havedifferentliabilitylimitsdependingonthebankandtheeventssurroundinganyfraud."Ifit'savailable,

thelogicalthingistogetachip-and-PINcardfromyourbank,“saysEricAdemowsky,aco-founderofCredit

Cardinsider,com."\wouldusecreditcardsoverdebitcardsbecauseofliabilityissues.,zCashstillworks

prettywelltoo.

J)Retailersandbanksstandtobenefitfromthelowerfraudlevelsofchip-and-PINcardsbuthavebeenreluctan

foryearstoinvestinthenewinfrastructure(基袖設(shè)施)neededforthetechnology,especiallyifconsumers

don1thaveaccesstoit.It'sachicken-and-eggproblem:noonewantstospendthemoneyonupgraded

point-of-salesystemsthatcanreadthechipcardsifshoppersaren'tcarryingthem—yetthere'slittlepointin

consumers*carryingthefancyplasticifstoresaren'tequippedtousethem.(AnearliereffortbyTargetto

movetochipandPINnevergainedprogress.)AccordingtoGumbley,there'sa"you-firstmentality.The

logjam(僵局)hastobebroken/7

K)JPMorganChaseCEOJamieDimonrecentlyexpressedhiswillingnesstodoso,notingthatbanksand

merchantshavespentthepastdecadesuingeachotheroverinterchangefees—thepercentageofthe

transactionpricetheykeep-ratherthandealwiththegrowinghackingproblem.Chaseoffersachip-

enabledcardunderitsownbrandandseveralothersfortravel-relatedcompaniessuchasBritishAirwaysand

Ritz-Carlton.

L)TheTargetandNeimanhackshavealsochangedthecostcalculation:althoughretailershavebeen

reluctanttospendthe$6.75billionthatCapgeminiconsultantsestimateitwilltaketoconvertalltheir

registerstobechip-and-PIN-compatible,thepotentialliabilitytheynowfaceisdramaticallygreater.Target

hasbeenhitwithclassactionsfromhackedconsumers."It'stheultimatenightmare/aretailexecutivefrom

awell-knownchainadmittedtoTIME.

M)Thecard-paymentcompaniesMasterCardandVisaarepushinghardforchange.Thetwofirmshavewarned

allpartiesinthetransactionchain-merchant,network,bank-thatiftheydon'tbecomeEMV-compliant

byOctober2015,thepartythatisleastcompliantwillbearthefraudrisk.

N)Inthemeantime,app-equippedsmartphonesanddigitalwallets-allofwhichcanuseEMVtechnology—are

beginningtomakeinroads(侵染)oncardsandcash.PayPal,forinstance,istestinganappthatletsyouuse

yourmobilephonetopayontheflyatlocalmerchants—withoutsurrenderinganycardinformationtothem.

Andfurtherdowntheroadisbiometricauthentication,whichcouldbeencryptedwith,say,afingerprint.

0)Creditanddebitcards,though,aregoingtobewithusfortheforeseeablefuture,andsoarehackers,ifwe

stickwithmagstripetechnology."Itseemscrazytome,“saysGumbley,whoisEnglish,“thata

cutting-edge-technologycountryisdependingona40-year-oldtechnology.That'swhyitmaybeupto

consumerstomovetheneedleonchipandPIN.SaysRobertson:,zWhenyougettheconsumerintoaposition

ofworryandinconvenience,that/swheretherubberhitstheroad.n

注意：此部分試題請(qǐng)?jiān)诖痤}卡2上作答。

46.ItisbesttouseanEMVcardforinternationaltravel.

47.Personalinformationoncreditanddebitcardsisincreasinglyvulnerabletohacking.

48.TheFrenchcardcompaniesadoptedEMVtechnologypartlybecauseofinefficienttelephoneservice.

49.WhilemanycountriesusethesmarterEMVcards,theUSstillclingstoitsoldmagstripetechnology.

50.Attemptsarebeingmadetopreventhackersfromcarryingoutidentitytheft.

51.Creditcardsaremuchsafertousethandebitcards.

52.Bigbankshavebeenreluctanttoswitchtomoresecuretechnologybecauseofthehighercostsinvolved.

53.Thepotentialliabilityforretailersusingmagstripeisfarmorecostlythanupgradingtheirregisters.

54.TheuseofmagstripecardsbyAmericanretailersleavesconsumersexposedtotherisksoflosingaccount

information.

55.ConsumerswillbeadrivingforcebehindtheconversionfrommagstripetoEMVtechnology.

SectionC

Directions:Thereare2passagesinthissection.Eachpassageisfollowedbysorrequestionsorunfinished

statements?ForeachofthemtherearefourchoicesmarkedA),B),C)andD).Youshoulddecideonthebest

choiceandmarkthecorrespondingletteronAnswerSheet2withasinglelinethroughthecentre.

PassageOne

Questions56to60arebasedonthefollowingpassage.

ThereportfromtheBureauofLaborStatisticswasjustasgloomyasanticipated.UnemploymentinJanuary

jumpedtoa16-yearhighof7.6percent,as598000jobswereslashedfromUSpayrollsintheworstsingle-month

declinesinceDecember,1974.With1.8millionjobslostinthelastthreemonths,thereisurgentdesiretoboost

theeconomyasquicklyaspossible.ButWashingtonwoulddowelltotakeadeepbreathbeforereactingtothe

grimnumbers.

Collectively,werelyontheunemploymentfiguresandotherstatisticstoframeoursenseofreality.Theyare

avitalpartofanarrayofdatathatweusetoassessifweredoingwellordoingbadly,andthatinturnshapes

governmentpoliciesandcorporatebudgetsandpersonalspendingdecisions.Theproblemisthatthestatistics

arentanobjectivemeasureofreality；theyaresimplyabestapproximation.Directionally,theycapturethe

trends,buttheideathatweknowpreciselyhowmanyareunemployedisamyth.Thatmakesfindingasolution

allthemoredifficult.

First,thereisthewaythedataisassembled.Theofficialunemploymentrateistheproductofatelephone

surveyofabout60000homes.Thereisanothersurvey,sometimesreferred:oasthe"payrollsurvey”that

assesses400000businessesbasedontheirreportedpayrolls.Bothsurveyshaveproblems.Thepayrollsurveycan

easilydouble-countsomeone:ifyouareonepersonwithtwojobs,youshowupastwoworkers.Thepayroll

surveyalsodoesn'tcapturethenumberofself-employed,andsosayslittleabouthowmanypeopleare

generatinganindependentincome.

Thehouseholdsurveyhasalargerproblem.Whenaskedstraightforwardly,peopletendtolieorshadethe

truthwhenthesubjectissex,moneyoremployment.Ifyougetacallandareaskedifyou'reemployed,andyou

sayyes,you'reemployed.Ifyousayno,however,itmaysurpriseyoutolearnthatyouareonlyunemployedif

you'vebeenactivelylookingforworkinthepastfourweeks；otherwise,youare“marginallyattachedtothe

laborforce**andnotactuallyunemployed.

Theurgetoquantifyisembeddedinoursociety.Buttheideathatstatisticianscanthencaptureanobjective

realityisn'tjustimpossible.Italsoleadstoseriousmisjudgments.DemocratsandRepublicanscanandwilltake

sidesonanumberofissues,butamorecrucialconcernisthatbotharebasingmajorpolicydecisionson

guesstimatesratherthanlookingatthevastwealthofrawdatawithacriticaleyeandanopenmind.

隹意：此部分試題請(qǐng)?jiān)诖痤}卡2上作答。

56.Whatdowelearnfromthefirstparagraph?

A)TheUSeconomicsituationisgoingfrombadtoworse.

B)Washingtonistakingdrasticmeasurestoprovidemorejobs.

CiTheUSgovernmentisslashingmorejobsfromitspayrolls.

D)TherecenteconomiccrisishastakentheUSbysurprise.

57.Whatdoestheauthorthinkoftheunemploymentfiguresandotherstatistics?

A)Theyformasolidbasisforpolicymaking.C)Theysignalfutureeconomictrends.

B)Theyrepresentthecurrentsituation.D)Theydonotfullyreflectthereality.

58.Oneproblemwiththepayrollsurveyisthat_____

A)itdoesnotincludeallthebusinessesC)itmagnifiesthenumberofthejobless

B)itfailstocountintheself-employedD)itdoesnottreatallcompaniesequally

59.Tiehouseholdsurveycanbefaultyinthat.

A)peopletendtoliewhentalkingonthephone

noteverybodyiswillingorreadytcrespond

C>somepeoplewon'tprovidetruthfulinformation

D)thedefinitionofunemploymentistoobroad

60.Attheendofthepassage,theauthorsuggeststhat.

A)statisticiansimprovetheirdata-asssmblingmethods

B>decisionmakersviewthestatisticswithacriticaleye

C)politicianslistenmorebeforemakingpolicydecisions

D)DemocratsandRepublicanscooperateoncrucialissues

PassageTwo

Questions61to65arebasedonthefollowingpassage.

Atsomepointin2008,someone,probablyineitherAsiaorAfrica,madethedecisiontomovefromthe

countrysidetothecity.Thisnamelesspersonpushedthehumanraceoverahistoricthreshold,foritwasinthat

yearthatmankindbecame,forthefirsttimeinitshistory,apredominantlyurbanspecies.

Itisatrendthatshowsnosignofslowing.Demographers/人口統(tǒng)計(jì)學(xué)家)reckonthatthree-quartersof

humanitycouldbecity-dwellingby2050,withmostoftheincreasecominginthefast-growingtownsofAsiaand

Africa.Migrantstocitiesareattractedbyplentifuljobs,accesstohospitalsandeducation,andtheabilityto

escapetheboredomofafarmer'sagriculturallife.Thosefactorsaremorethanenoughtomakeupforthe

squalor(骯臟.)，diseaseandspectacularpovertythatthosesamemigrantsmustoftenatfirstendurewhenthey

becomeurbandwellers.

ItisthecitythatinspiresthelatestbookfromPeterSmith.Hismainthesisisthatthebuzzofurbanlife,and

theopportunitiesitoffersforco-operationandcollaboration,iswhatattractspeopletothecity,whichinturn

makescitiesintotheenginesofart,commerce,scienceandprogress.Thisishardlyrevolutionary,butitis

presentedinacharmingformat.Mr.Smithhaswrittenabreezyguidebook,withaseriesofshortchapters

dedicatedtospecificaspectsofurbanity—parks,say,orthevariousschemesthathavebeenputforwardoverthe

yearsforbuildingtheperfectcity.Theresultisasortofhigh-quality,unusuallyrigorouscoffee-tablebook,

designedtobedippedintoratherthanreadfrombeginningtoend.

Inthechapteronskyscrapers,forexample,Mr.Smithtouchesonconstructionmethods,therevolutionary

inventionoftheautoma