綜合類考試：補全短文The Joy of Living Alone
More and more Americans are living alone.Some live alone because of divorce or the death of a partner.——(46)According to a recent U.S.census(人口普查)，25 percent of all households in the U.S.are made up of just one person.This is a dramatic change from the extended families of just a couple of generations ago.
The typical person living alone is neither old nor lonely.——(47)The majority of these people have chosen to live alone.They are responding to decreasing social pressure to get married and have a family.
It’s now socially acceptable，even fashionable，to live alone.As people get better jobs and become financially independent，it becomes possible for them to maintain a one.Person household.——(48)However， people who do get married are marrying at a later age and divorcing more often.
The number one reason given by most people for living alone is that they simply enjoy doing what they want when they want to do it.“Living alone is a luxury，”says Nina Hagiwara， “Once you do it，you can’t ever go back to living with others.’’David C’Debaca，agrees. (49)
Children think that being grown up means being able to do exactly as they please.
(50)The chance to discover whether that freedom is as wonderful as it sounds is a chance more and more Americans are taking.
A There’s more pressure to get married nowadays
B The growing number of women with good jobs has done much to increase the number of people living alone.
C However， even more people are living alone because they have chosen to.
D It seems that many grown-ups today are realizing that childhood dream
E In fact，a quarter of the 23 million single people in the U.S.are under the age of 35
F He says，“I like being by myself.”
答案及解析：
1. 文章標題分析：The Joy of Living Alone
More and more Americans are living alone.Some live alone because of divorce or the death of a partner.
分析：文章可能談及美國人為什么選擇過單身的生活，以及單身生活所帶來的快樂。
2. 被選項分析：
思路：
表意簡單的可能是干擾項；表意復雜的往往是答案；
有關系的被選項通常出答案；
代詞，定冠詞結構是解題線索；
邏輯連詞，副詞是解題線索；
與文章主題一致可能是答案；
特殊句子：轉折句，事實舉例句，總結句，觀點句等特殊句可能是答案。
A There’s more pressure to get married nowadays (與文章主題相反，且表意簡單，因此可能是干擾項)
B The growing number of women with good jobs has done much to increase the number of people living alone.(與文章主題一致，可能是答案)
C However， even more people are living alone because they have chosen to.
D It seems that many grown-ups today are realizing that childhood dream
E In fact，a quarter of the 23 million single people in the U.S.are under the age of 35 (事實舉例句，可能是答案)
F He says，“I like being by myself.”(與文章主題一致，可能是答案)
3. 直接解題：
先處理有特點的空格—段首句，段未句，文章結尾句等：
More and more Americans are living alone.Some live alone because of divorce or the death of a partner.——(46)According to a recent U.S.census(人口普查)，25 percent of all households in the U.S.are made up of just one person.This is a dramatic change from the extended families of just a couple of generations ago.
The typical person living alone is neither old nor lonely.——(47)The majority of these people have chosen to live alone.They are responding to decreasing social pressure to get married and have a family.
It’s now socially acceptable，even fashionable，to live alone.As people get better jobs and become financially independent，it becomes possible for them to maintain a one.Person household.——(48)However， people who do get married are marrying at a later age and divorcing more often.
The number one reason given by most people for living alone is that they simply enjoy doing what they want when they want to do it.“Living alone is a luxury，”says Nina Hagiwara， “Once you do it，you can’t ever go back to living with others.’’David C’Debaca， agrees. (49)
Children think that being grown up means being able to do exactly as they please.
(50)The chance to discover whether that freedom is as wonderful as it sounds is a chance more and more Americans are taking.