Almost every park has one: a thin brown line worn across the grass where people have walked, again and again, instead of using the paved path. Planners call these tracks "desire lines". They appear wherever the official path makes people go the long way round: around a corner, past a flower bed, or away from the gate they actually want to reach.
For a long time, desire lines were treated as a nuisance. Councils put up low fences, planted prickly hedges or added signs asking people to keep off the grass. Often the fences were stepped over and the signs ignored, and within a few weeks a fresh line had appeared beside the hedge.
Some designers now see desire lines differently. Instead of fighting them, they study them. A few have even opened new parks or school grounds with no paths at all. They wait for several months, watch where the grass wears thin, and then pave those exact routes. The result is a set of paths that people are happy to use, because they are the paths people had already chosen.
Desire lines can also show what a place is missing. A track leading to a gap in a fence may mean that a gate is needed there. A line that curves around the same patch of grass every winter may show where the ground stays soggy because a drain is blocked.
A worn strip of grass might look like damage. Read carefully, though, it is a message from the people who use a place, telling planners exactly what they need.
讲解示例 1
What is the main idea of the second paragraph?
AA.
Prickly hedges are the best way to protect grass.
BB.
Most people obey signs asking them to keep off the grass.
CC.
Desire lines appear only beside fences and hedges.
DD.
Early attempts to stop desire lines often did not work.
答案: D
答案:D(Early attempts to stop desire lines often did not work.)
这一段先列出议会的各种办法(低矮的围栏、带刺的树篱、标牌),然后说围栏被人跨过,标牌没人理会,几周内又出现了新的小路。每一句都指向同一个意思:这些办法都没有用。
其他选项为什么不对
选项 A:只是段中的一个细节,而且树篱旁边还是踩出了新的小路。
选项 B:这一段说标牌被人无视了。
选项 C:确实有一条新路出现在树篱旁边,但文中从没说“只”出现在那里。
讲解示例 2
Which sentence best sums up the third paragraph?
AA.
Most new parks are now opened with no paths at all.
BB.
Some designers let people's walking decide where paths go.
CC.
Grass grows back quickly once people stop walking on it.
DD.
Paths last longer when they follow routes people already use.
答案: B
答案:B(Some designers let people's walking decide where paths go.)
这一段说,有些设计师不再和 desire lines 对着干,而是去研究它们:先看草地哪里被踩秃了,再把这些路线铺成正式的小路。简单说,就是让走路的人来决定路修在哪里。
其他选项为什么不对
选项 A:只有 a few(少数)设计师这样做,而且这些公园最后也铺了路。
选项 C:文中从没提到草会重新长出来。
选项 D:听起来像是这种做法的合理结果,但这一段只说人们乐意走这些路,没有说路会更耐用。
讲解示例 3
Which heading would best suit the fourth paragraph?
AA.
Clues to Hidden Problems
BB.
How to Unblock a Drain
CC.
Why Fences Do Not Work
DD.
Waiting Before Paving
答案: A
答案:A(Clues to Hidden Problems)
这一段开头就说 desire lines can also show what a place is missing,然后举了两个例子:缺一道门,以及排水口堵了。两者都是这些小路揭示出来的问题。
其他选项为什么不对
选项 B:排水口只是其中一个例子,这一段并没有教人怎么疏通。
选项 C:围栏是第二段的内容。
选项 D:先等待再铺路是第三段的内容。
讲解示例 4
Which sentence best states the main idea of the whole passage?
AA.
Councils were wrong to try to stop people walking on the grass.
BB.
Many designers now open parks with no paths and pave them later.
CC.
Worn tracks across grass can show planners what people need from a place.
DD.
Paths made by walkers are always better than paths drawn by planners.
答案: C
答案:C(Worn tracks across grass can show planners what people need from a place.)
主旨必须涵盖整篇文章,而不只是其中一部分。第1段解释什么是 desire lines,第2段说明阻止它们的做法失败了,第3、4段说明它们可以指导修路、揭示问题,最后一句把它们称为给规划者的 a message。只有 C 涵盖了全部内容。
其他选项为什么不对