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Unit 15 Part Ⅱ Reading Comprehension Directions: There are 4 reading passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre. Passage One Questions 52 to 56 are based on the following passage. As a wise man once said, we are all ultimately alone. But an increasing number of Europeans are choosing to be so at an ever earlier age. This isnt the stuff of gloomy philosophical contemplations, but a fact of Europes new economic landscape, embraced by sociologists, real-estate developers and ad executives alike. The shift away from family life to solo lifestyle, observes a French sociologist, is part of the irresistible momentum of individualism over the last century. The communications revolution, the shift from a business culture of stability to one of mobility and the mass entry of women into the workforce have greatly wreaked havoc on Europeans private lives. Europes new economic climate has largely fostered the trend toward independence. The current generation of home-aloners came of age during Europes shift from social democracy to the sharper, more individualistic climate of American style capitalism. Raised in an era of privatization and increased consumer choice, todays tech-savvy workers have embraced a free market in love as well as economics. Modern Europeans are rich enough to afford to live alone, and temperamentally independent enough to want to do so. | 
