The spread of COVID-19 has exposed how vulnerable (易受伤害的) people are while living modern urban lifestyles. The sharing economy, working in open offices, commuting (通勤), living in crowded city apartments and reusability in the service industry have all created the perfect storm for a pandemic (疾病的大流行).
Although the sharing economy may be beneficial – it’s cheaper to rent than to own – sharing things is a great way to spread virus. How does one practice “social distancing” when they are expected to share cars, bikes, apartments and even the same work spaces?
The business trend of using open office, which can squeeze more people into a smaller space, is working against us. In this type of office, workers don’t have their own desk or work station – everything is shared. Sometimes, computers, keyboards and chairs are also shared, which is less hygienic (卫生的).
This is called “hot desking”, which is an office organization system that involves multiple workers rotating (轮流) use of a single work station. Fortunately, more employees are working from home now during the pandemic, but that won’t last forever.
To get to and from work in the city, you must commute back and forth. Subways and buses are the most common forms of transportation in the city for people without cars. They are often overcrowded during rush hours, creating the perfect condition for spreading a virus.
Residents (居民) of cities living in small apartments also seem to be at a disadvantage during the pandemic. This sort of living arrangement forces residents to rely on the constant availability of food and products in supermarkets. Stockpiling (囤积) daily necessities for a long period of self-isolation is nearly impossible.
In order to be mindful about the environment, reusability is a common practice in the restaurant industry. Reusable cups and eating utensils (餐具) are used more often than the disposable variety. Unfortunately, reusing objects increases the chance to spread a disease. For example, Starbucks coffeehouses recently stopped refilling customers’ reusable cups in order to control the spread of the virus.
No doubt people like to be social, but viruses can take advantage of our social nature, so we must be mindful to reduce our interactions with others for the time being. Perhaps it’s time for us to rethink society’s urban lifestyle to reduce the spread of future pandemics.
Choose the best answer
01
What do we learn from the first three paragraphs?
A. People nowadays get hurt more easily than before.
B. Modern lifestyles contribute to the spread of a virus.
C. Modern lifestyles make it easier to practice “social distancing.”
D. The sharing economy has more disadvantages than advantages.
02
What point do Paragraphs 4-5 make?
A. How people work during the pandemic.
B. How “hot desking” works in a company.
C. Why “hot desking” doesn’t help during the pandemic.
D. Why businesses like the trend of using open offices.
03
What is the author’s purpose in writing the article?
A. To call on people to reflect on modern lifestyles.
B. To compare modern and traditional lifestyles.
C. To stress the importance of self-isolation during the pandemic.
D. To suggest that working from home should be a standard practice.
答案：
BCA
全文翻译：
COVID-19的传播暴露了人们生活在现代都市生活方式中的脆弱性。共享经济，在开放式办公室工作，通勤，居住在拥挤的城市公寓和服务业的可再利用性，都为大流行创造了完美的风暴。
尽管共享经济可能是有益的——租比拥有更便宜——但共享是传播病毒的好方法。当人们被期望分享汽车、自行车、公寓甚至是同样的工作空间时，人们该如何实践“社会距离”？
使用开放式办公室的商业趋势对我们不利，它可以把更多的人挤到一个更小的空间里。在这种类型的办公室里，员工没有自己的办公桌或工作台——一切都是共享的。有时，电脑、键盘和椅子也是共享的，这是不太卫生的。
这被称为“办公桌轮用制”，它是一种办公组织系统，涉及到多个员工的轮换（轮流) 使用单个工作站。幸运的是，在大流行期间，更多的员工正在家中工作，但这不会永远持续下去。
要在城市上下班，你必须往返上下班。对于没有汽车的人来说，地铁和公共汽车是城市中最常见的交通方式。在交通高峰期，它们往往人满为患，为传播病毒创造了完美的条件。
居民在大流行期间，生活在小公寓里的城市似乎也处于不利地位。这种生活方式迫使居民不得不依靠超市里的食物和产品。囤积日常所需用于长期的自我孤立生活几乎是不可能的。
为了关注环境，可重用性是餐饮业的常见做法。可重复使用的杯子及餐具(餐具) 比一次性品种使用得更频繁。不幸的是，重复使用物品增加了传播疾病的机会。例如，星巴克咖啡屋最近为了控制病毒的传播而停止给顾客的可重复使用的杯子重新填充。
毫无疑问，人们喜欢社交，但是病毒可以利用我们的社交本性，所以我们必须注意暂时减少与他人的交流。也许是时候让我们重新思考社会的城市生活方式，以减少未来流行病的传播了。
Although the sharing economy may be beneficial – it’s cheaper to rent than to own – sharing things is a great way to spread virus. How does one practice “social distancing” when they are expected to share cars, bikes, apartments and even the same work spaces?
The business trend of using open office, which can squeeze more people into a smaller space, is working against us. In this type of office, workers don’t have their own desk or work station – everything is shared. Sometimes, computers, keyboards and chairs are also shared, which is less hygienic (卫生的).
This is called “hot desking”, which is an office organization system that involves multiple workers rotating (轮流) use of a single work station. Fortunately, more employees are working from home now during the pandemic, but that won’t last forever.
To get to and from work in the city, you must commute back and forth. Subways and buses are the most common forms of transportation in the city for people without cars. They are often overcrowded during rush hours, creating the perfect condition for spreading a virus.
Residents (居民) of cities living in small apartments also seem to be at a disadvantage during the pandemic. This sort of living arrangement forces residents to rely on the constant availability of food and products in supermarkets. Stockpiling (囤积) daily necessities for a long period of self-isolation is nearly impossible.
In order to be mindful about the environment, reusability is a common practice in the restaurant industry. Reusable cups and eating utensils (餐具) are used more often than the disposable variety. Unfortunately, reusing objects increases the chance to spread a disease. For example, Starbucks coffeehouses recently stopped refilling customers’ reusable cups in order to control the spread of the virus.
No doubt people like to be social, but viruses can take advantage of our social nature, so we must be mindful to reduce our interactions with others for the time being. Perhaps it’s time for us to rethink society’s urban lifestyle to reduce the spread of future pandemics.
Choose the best answer
01
What do we learn from the first three paragraphs?
A. People nowadays get hurt more easily than before.
B. Modern lifestyles contribute to the spread of a virus.
C. Modern lifestyles make it easier to practice “social distancing.”
D. The sharing economy has more disadvantages than advantages.
02
What point do Paragraphs 4-5 make?
A. How people work during the pandemic.
B. How “hot desking” works in a company.
C. Why “hot desking” doesn’t help during the pandemic.
D. Why businesses like the trend of using open offices.
03
What is the author’s purpose in writing the article?
A. To call on people to reflect on modern lifestyles.
B. To compare modern and traditional lifestyles.
C. To stress the importance of self-isolation during the pandemic.
D. To suggest that working from home should be a standard practice.
答案：
BCA
全文翻译：
COVID-19的传播暴露了人们生活在现代都市生活方式中的脆弱性。共享经济，在开放式办公室工作，通勤，居住在拥挤的城市公寓和服务业的可再利用性，都为大流行创造了完美的风暴。
尽管共享经济可能是有益的——租比拥有更便宜——但共享是传播病毒的好方法。当人们被期望分享汽车、自行车、公寓甚至是同样的工作空间时，人们该如何实践“社会距离”？
使用开放式办公室的商业趋势对我们不利，它可以把更多的人挤到一个更小的空间里。在这种类型的办公室里，员工没有自己的办公桌或工作台——一切都是共享的。有时，电脑、键盘和椅子也是共享的，这是不太卫生的。
这被称为“办公桌轮用制”，它是一种办公组织系统，涉及到多个员工的轮换（轮流) 使用单个工作站。幸运的是，在大流行期间，更多的员工正在家中工作，但这不会永远持续下去。
要在城市上下班，你必须往返上下班。对于没有汽车的人来说，地铁和公共汽车是城市中最常见的交通方式。在交通高峰期，它们往往人满为患，为传播病毒创造了完美的条件。
居民在大流行期间，生活在小公寓里的城市似乎也处于不利地位。这种生活方式迫使居民不得不依靠超市里的食物和产品。囤积日常所需用于长期的自我孤立生活几乎是不可能的。
为了关注环境，可重用性是餐饮业的常见做法。可重复使用的杯子及餐具(餐具) 比一次性品种使用得更频繁。不幸的是，重复使用物品增加了传播疾病的机会。例如，星巴克咖啡屋最近为了控制病毒的传播而停止给顾客的可重复使用的杯子重新填充。
毫无疑问，人们喜欢社交，但是病毒可以利用我们的社交本性，所以我们必须注意暂时减少与他人的交流。也许是时候让我们重新思考社会的城市生活方式，以减少未来流行病的传播了。
