I fell in love with England because it was quaint (典雅)—all those little houses, looking terri­bly old-fashioned but nice, like dolls’ houses. I loved the countryside and the pubs, and I loved London. I’ve slightly changed my mind after seventeen years because I think it’s an ugly town now.

Things have changed. For everybody, England meant gentlemen, fair play, and good man­ners. The fair play is going, unfortunately, and so are the gentlemanly attitudes and good man­ners—people shut doors heavily in your face and politeness is disappearing.

I regret that there are so few comfortable meeting places. You’re forced to live indoors. In Paris I go out much more, to restaurants and nightclubs. To meet friends here it usually has to be in a pub, and it can be difficult to go there alone as a woman. The cafes are not terribly nice.

As a woman, I feel unsafe here. I spend a bomb on taxis because I will not take public trans­port after 10 p. m. I used to use it, but now I’m afraid.

The idea of family seems to be more or less non-existent in England. My family is well united and that’s typically French. In Middlesex I had a neighbour who is 82 now. His family only lived two miles away, but I took him to France for Christmas once because he was always alone.

小题1:The writer doesn’t like London because she ______.

A．is not used to the life there now

B．has lived there for seventeen years

C．prefers to live in an old-fashioned house

D．has to be polite to everyone she meets there小题2:Where do people usually meet their friends in England?

A．In a cafe.

B．In a restaurant.

C．In a nightclub.

D．In a pub.小题3:The underlined part “it” (in Para. 4) refers to______.

A．a taxi

B．the money

C．a bomb

D．public transport小题4:The writer took her neighbour to France for Christmas because he ______.

A．felt lonely in England

B．had never been to France

C．was from a typical French family

D．didn't like the British idea of family