London--A morning train rides away, across the channel. English kids discuss the Liverpool's football team in a Paris pub.
Some Parisians have started to travel to work in London.
In the 19th century, Charles Dickens compared the two cities, London and Paris, in A Tale of Two Cities. These days, it might be A tale of One City.
As there are few jobs at home over recent years, perhaps 250,000 Frenchmen moved across the channel. With an undersea tunnel, they could travel between cities in three hours. The European Union freed them from immigration and customs.
Paris, rich in beauty, is more stylish. But London feels more full of life, and more fun until the pubs shut down.
“For me, the difference is that London is real, alive,” said Trevor Wheeler, a financial expert.
Chantal Jaouen, a professional designer, agrees. “I am French, but I’ll stay in London,” she said.
There is, of course, the other view. Julie Lenoux is a student who moved to London two years ago. “I think people laugh more in Paris,” she said.
“Both cities have changed beyond recognition,” said Larry Collins, an author and sometimes a Londoner. Like most people who know both cities well, he finds the two now fit together comfortably. “I first fell in love with Paris in the 1950s. Things are so much more ordered, and life is better.”
But certainly not cheaper. In some parts of London, rents can be twice those on Avenue Foch in Paris.
Deciding between London and Paris requires a lifestyle choice. Like Daphne Benoit, a French journalism student with perfect English, many young people are happy to be close enough so they don’t have to choose. “I love Paris, my little neighborhood, the way I can walk around a centre, but life is too organized,” she said. “In London, you can be whoever you want. No one cares.”
小题1:It can be inferred that ___________.
A．Paris and London are the two biggest cities in the world
B．In the 19th century, Dickens told his stories in the two cities
C．London and Paris used to be separated
D．Liverpool is a big city in France小题2:According to this passage, which of the following is TRUE?
A．People feel it difficult to find a job in Paris.
B．People can't travel to London without a passport.
C．Living in France is more expensive than in London.
D．People can find any job in London.小题3:The underlined phrase in Para9 most probably means “_____________”
A．beyond one’s imagination
B．so much that people don’t know them well again
C．so little that people still know them well
D．to people’s satisfaction小题4:What’s the meaning of the last two sentences?
A．People can do everything in London.
B．People will feel lonely in London.
C．People in London enjoy living in different ways.
D．People in London enjoy a lawless life.
