Question

If your boss asks you to work in Moscow this year, he’d better offer you more money to do so — or even double that depending on where you live now. That’s because Moscow has just been found to be the world’s most expensive city for the second year in a row by Mercer Human Resources Consulting.
Using the cost of living in New York as a base, Mercer determined Moscow is 34.4 percent more expensive including the cost of housing, transportation, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment(娱乐).
A two-bedroom flat in Moscow now costs $4,000 a month; a CD $24.83, and an international newspaper $6.30, according to Mercer. By comparison, a fast food meal with a hamburger (汉堡包) is a steal at $4.80.
London takes the No.2 place, up from No.5 a year ago, thanks to higher cost of housing and a stronger British pound relative to the dollar. Mercer estimates (估算) London is 26 percent more expensive than New York these days. Following London closely are Seoul and Tokyo, both of which are 22 percent more expensive than New York, while No.5 Hong Kong is 19 percent more costly.
Among North American cities, New York and Los Angeles are the most expensive and are the only two listed in the top 50 of the world’s most expensive cities. But both have fallen since last year’s study — New York came in 15th, down from 10th place, while Los Angeles fell to 42nd from 29th place a year ago. San Francisco came in a distant third at No. 54, down 20 places from a year earlier.
Toronto, meanwhile, is Canada’s most expensive city but fell 35 places to take 82nd place worldwide. In Australia, Sydney is the priciest place to live in and No. 21 worldwide.
小题1: What do the underlined words “a steal” in Paragraph 3 mean?

A．an act of stealing	B．something very cheap
C．something delicious	D．an act of buying

小题2:London has become the second most expensive city because of ______.

A．the high cost of clothing

B．its expensive transportation

C．the stronger pound against the dollar

D．the high prices of fast food meals

小题3: Which city is the third most expensive on the list?

A．Sydney.

B．Hong Kong.

C．Moscow.

D．Tokyo.

小题4:Which city has dropped most on the list in North America?

A．Toronto.

B．Los Angeles.

C．San Francisco.

D．New York.

Answer 1

小题1:B
小题2:C
小题3:D
小题4:A

试题分析：文章讲述的是世界上几个日常生活费用最高的城市的情况，和他们消费水平名词的排名及其变化。
小题1:猜测词义题，根据上文的物价比较可知，汉堡的价格非常便宜，所以选择B
小题2:事实细节题，根据第四段的thanks to higher cost of housing and a stronger British pound relative to the dollar可知伦敦现在是第二贵的城市，因为英镑相比美元更稳固。选C。
小题3:事实细节题，根据第四段Following London closely are Seoul and Tokyo可知，汉城和东京名列第三，选D。
小题4:推理判断题，根据前面几个城市的名词的变化和最后一段的Toronto, meanwhile, is Canada’s most expensive city but fell 35 places to take 82nd place worldwide可知，多伦多的下降的最多。选A。