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　　熟悉四六級閱讀理解題型的同學應該都了解，英語四六級考試閱讀理解材料大多選自《時代》《衛報》《科學美國人》等外刊。要想閱讀理解這部分拿到高分，必須在平常多閱讀，掌握新詞匯，鍛煉閱讀速度。

　　【今日閱讀推薦】本篇閱讀材料“慶祝英國高端商業區的沒落”選自《衛報》（原文標題：The British high street is dead – let's celebrate 2012.3.22），如果大家覺得比較簡單，就當作泛讀材料了解了解，認識幾個新單詞或新表達方式也不錯。如果大家覺得這些材料理解上有難度，不妨當做挑戰自己的拔高訓練，希望大家都有進步^^

　　The news that four out of 10 shops will have to shut in the next five years, casting further doubt on the future of the beleaguered British high street, need not be greeted with dismay.

　　beleaguered adj. 被圍困的；四面楚歌的

　　dismay n. 灰心；沮喪；驚慌  v. 使沮喪；使驚慌

　　There is no reason to be downhearted – we should embrace change. This could be very positive. My hope is that the disappearance of large retailers will provide an opportunity for young entrepreneurs to set up in affordable rental shop fronts and market units. I started my first fashion business, Red or Dead, in Camden market and Kensington market 30 years ago, and in many ways today feels like the early 80s and we are seeing a renaissance of a variation of the serendipitous market. In Wembley, north London, shops have closed on the high street and have been turned into multi-business outlets by the Asian community. In Gateshead, there are examples of creative communities getting together and attempting to reuse empty spaces such as the Shed project on Gateshead High Street where, working with the council, they have brought vibrancy back to this area of a town that was sinking fast. It has so successfully transformed a large, former bed retailer (the Bed Shed) that a second Shed will be opening soon.

　　downhearted adj. 垂頭喪氣的；無精打采的

　　shop front  店面；門面

　　renaissance  n. 新生；復活   Renaissance  （歐洲14-16世紀）文藝復興

　　But for any new-style high street to work requires good town centre planning and the cornerstone of this is common sense. Most of us want places that give us everything we need to fulfil our lives. Give us a town centre where we can live in an affordable home, walk, cycle or take easy public transport to employment, be able to go to the cinema, theatre, gallery, nightclub or gig, kick a ball in a park with our mates or our kids, read a book under a magnolia tree, maybe grow a bit of veg on an allotment, watch a bit of sport, while away the time at a cafe or a bar, shop at cool independent stores. We have to develop places that people want to see and be seen in. Most of us love people watching, get a buzz from other human beings. I don't believe we want to do most of our shopping online, especially as we are spending more and more of our working lives in front of a screen.

　　Vancouver is a city that has got it right. It boasts a wonderful natural setting but it doesn't rely on its natural beauty for liveability. Its commitment to the "green agenda" and the serendipity of being able to find independent cafes, second-hand vinyl record stores and vintage clothes stores right next to the big brands gives the city an ambience British cities have lost to the land value greed exerted by pension-fund landlords and short-sighted councils.

　　serendipity n. 意外新發現

　　vinyl record  黑膠唱片

　　vintage clothes  復古的衣裳

　　ambience n. 氣氛，布景

　　exert v. 運用；發揮；施以影響

　　Closer to home, Copenhagen has ensured it hasn't drifted towards the "clone town" status bestowed upon most indistinguishable British towns and cities. There are streets full of quirky start-up businesses next to chain stores and it has employed urban designers such as Jan Gehl to ensure the city is a joy to walk around and cars are relegated to fourth place behind walking, cycling (what a great cycling infrastructure they have established) and public transport.

　　drift to  轉向

　　quirky adj. 古怪的；離奇的

　　But we can't always wait for government to deliver the infrastructure. We have to "have a go" ourselves at making small shops work.

　　Our vision for the new-style high street will be on show at the pop-up high street at our vintage festival at Boughton House, Northampton, this July. The vintage high street is a place to promenade, shop, watch street artists, eat and drink and just sit and take in the magic of the high street, with the authenticity of a film set, in the middle of a wonderful landscape. But for our visions to become a reality in our towns and cities, we the consumers will have to frequent the galleries, cafes and new independent stores that rise out of the ashes of the tired old retail chains.

　　Question time:

　　1. According to the writer, to ensure the normal operation of the new-style high street, what is required?

　　2. What's Vancouver famous for?

　　3. As consumers, to embrace the new-style high street, what should we do?

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　　【答案】

　　1. Good town centre planning and the cornerstone of this.

　　2. It boasts a wonderful natural setting but it doesn't rely on its natural beauty for liveability.

　　3. We will have to frequent the galleries, cafes and new independent stores that rise out of the ashes of the tired old retail chains.

　　推薦：2012年12月英語四六級試題、答案專題>>　免費在線估分>>

　　備考攻略：報考網校　做模擬試題　記憶詞匯　歷年真題　模擬試題　范文背誦

　　最新試題請進入會員中心，模擬試題|題型練習等你來免費體驗！

（責任編輯：中大編輯）

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