Passage 11

Britain almost more than any other country in the world must seriously face the problem of building upwards, that is to say, of accommodating a considerable proportion of its population in high blocks of flats.It is said that the Englishman objects to this type of existence, but if the case is such, he does in fact differ from the inhabitants of most countries of the world today.In the past our own blocks of flats have been associated with the lower—income groups and they have lacked the obvious provisions, such as central heating, constant hot water supply, electrically operated lifts from top to

bottom, and so on, as well as such details, important notwithstanding, as easy facilities for disposal of dust and rubbish and storage places for baby carriages on the ground floor, playgrounds for children on the top of the buildings, and drying grounds for washing.

It is likely that the dispute regarding flats versus individual houses will continue to rage on for a long time as far as Britain is concerned.and it is unfortunate that there should be hot feelings on both sides whenever this subject is raised.Those who oppose the building of flats base their case primarily on the assumption that everyone prefers an individual home and garden and on the high cost per unit of accommodation.The latter ignores the higher cost of providing full services to a scattered community and the cost in both money and time of the journeys to work forthe suburban resident.

1. We can infer from the passage that .

   1. English people, like most people in other countries, dislike living in flats

   2. people in most countries of the world today are not opposed to living in flats

   3. people in Britain are forced to move into high blocks of flats

   4. modern flats still fail to provide the necessary facilities for living

2. What is said about the blocks of flats built in the past in Britain?

   1. They were mostly inhabited by people who did not earn much.

   2. They were usually not large enough to accommodate the big

      families.

   3. They were sold to people before necessary facilities were

      installed.

   4. They provided playgrounds for children on the top of the

      buildings.

3. the word "rage" means " "

   1. be ignored

   2. develop with great force

   3. encourage people greatly

   4. be in fashion

4. Some people oppose the building of flats because .

   1. the living expenses for each individual family are higher

   2. it involves higher cost compared with the building of hous- es

   3. they believe people like to live in houses with gardens

   4. the disposal of rubbish remains a problem for those living in flats

5. The author mentions that people who live in suburban houses .

   1. don't have access to easy facilities because they live away from

the city

1. have to pay a lot of money to employ people to do service work

2. take longer time to know each other because they are a scattered

   community

3. have to spend more money and time traveling to work every day