Task 4
Questions 25-32
Read the text about life in the city.
For questions 25-32, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) that best fits each space.
Mark your answer on the answer sheet.
There is an example at the beginning (0).
Life in the City
The pace of city life is obviously (0) ______ D hectic than that in the country. People in cities walk (25) ______ average at 1 to 1.5 metres per second, considerably faster than in villages. For the past 30 years we (26) ______ told the hurried pace of urban life is potentially more harmful. But research says that the noise and bustle of city life produces so much adrenaline that we become addicted to the excitement it gives us. We even speed up to maximise the (27) ______ of the pleasure we start experiencing. For example, we try to do many things simultaneously, such as driving and talking on the phone.
We have adapted to city life in other ways too, learning to respect another person's space so as (28) ______ on their privacy. Shopping transactions take place (29) ______ a distance of at least 1.5 metres, while friends talk a metre apart. These social rules allow us to retain our privacy but make the beginning of a friendship with strangers more difficult, (30) ______ turns the city into a lonely place. The long-term city dweller has about 1,800 people whom they know and could potentially have a social interaction with; (31) ______ , they end up having no more than five.
One thing is certain. Enjoying city life would not be possible if the inhabitants (32) ______ by a set of strict rules. The rules that make life in the city easier.
25) People in cities walk (25) ______ average at 1 to 1.5 metres per second, considerably faster than in villages.
26) For the past 30 years we (26) ______ told the hurried pace of urban life is potentially more harmful.
27) We even speed up to maximise the (27) ______ of the pleasure we start experiencing.
28) We have adapted to city life in other ways too, learning to respect another person's space so as (28) ______ on their privacy.
29) Shopping transactions take place (29) ______ a distance of at least 1.5 metres, while friends talk a metre apart.
30) These social rules allow us to retain our privacy but make the beginning of a friendship with strangers more difficult, (30) ______ turns the city into a lonely place.
31) The long-term city dweller has about 1,800 people whom they know and could potentially have a social interaction with; (31) ______ , they end up having no more than five.
32) One thing is certain. Enjoying city life would not be possible if the inhabitants (32) ______ by a set of strict rules. The rules that make life in the city easier.