Question

A few months after we moved to a small city in France, I wanted to meet my husband for lunch at the university where he worked. I got lost. I had to call him for help. One of his friends said to him later, “How could she get lost? She just needed to go straight.”

Well, no. That’s the problem. You never “just go straight”, because France is the land of roundabouts (弯道). Highways, major streets, little village lanes – if you go straight long enough, you’ll end up going in circles.

Even after a year here, I’d still get lost going to the grocery store, or just about anywhere that wasn’t within a hundred yards of my house.

I admit I have a horrible sense of direction, can’t read a map, and am not such a good driver. Plus, I’ve been spoiled (宠坏) by living in American cities, where you just indeed need to “go straight”. But in France, driving became my nightmare — the roads are roundabouts within roundabouts.

Finally I found a solution: a GPS program on my smart phone. I rely on it to get anywhere, even places I’ve been.

But it does leave me feeling very bad and helpless when, often, the program doesn’t work, can’t find a GPS signal, or gives wrong information. I’d have to wait until my GPS gets recovered, or else I use my old solution: I call my husband. Is the GPS making us more stupid, or helping us going around more? In my case, it’s probably both.

1.The friend of the writer’s husband’s thought ________.

A. the roundabouts were confusing B. the way to the university was simple

C. she didn’t lose her way D. she was a foolish woman

2.The writer thinks if one just “goes straight” in France, he will probably ________.

A. arrive at his destination at last B. come back to where he starts

C. find his way out of the city D. end up in a grocery store

3.Which of the following statements is NOT true about the writer?

A. She lacks the sense of direction.

B. She once lived in a different country.

C. She has stayed in France for more than a year.

D. She has already got used to the French way of life.

4.What does the writer think of the GPS program?

A. It’s a satisfactory solution to her problem.

B. It improves her sense of direction.

C. It doesn’t always work very well.

D. It is a useless device for her.

Answer 1