【正文】 es the price of a journey. A writer in Kolkata told me, When it rains, even the governor takes rickshaws. While I was in Kolkata, a magazine called India Today published its annual ranking of Indian states, according to such measurements as prosperity and infrastructure. Among India39。ve visited a dera. They gross between 100 and 150 rupees a day, out of which they have to pay 20 rupees for the use of the rickshaw and an occasional 75 or more for a payoff if a policeman stops them for, say, crossing a street where rickshaws are prohibited. A 2003 study found that rickshaw pullers are near the bottom of Kolkata occupations in ine, doing better than only the beggars. For someone without land or education, that still beats trying to make a living in Bihar. There are people in Kolkata, particularly educated and politically aware people, who will not ride in a rickshaw, because they are offended by the idea of being pulled by another human being or because they consider it not the sort of thing people of their station do or because they regard the handpulled rickshaw as a relic of colonialism. Ironically, some of those people are not enthusiastic about banning rickshaws. The editor of the editorial pages of Kolkata39。s plan to rid the city of rickshaws was based on a genuine interest in his welfare, he smiled, with a quick shake of his head — a gesture I interpreted to mean, If you are so na?ve as to ask such a question, I will answer it, but it is not worth wasting words on. Some rickshaw pullers I met were resigned to the imminent end of their livelihood and pinned their hopes on being offered something in its place. As migrant workers, they don39。s sidewalk hawkers, who, after supposedly being scaled back at the beginning of the modernization drive, still clog the sidewalks, selling absolutely everything — or, as I found during the 48 hours of rain, absolutely everything but umbrellas. The government was the government of the poor people, one sardar told me. Now they shake hands with the capitalists and try to get rid of poor people. But others in Kolkata believe that rickshaws will simply be confined more strictly to certain neighborhoods, out of the view of World Bank traffic consultants and California investment delegations — or that they will be allowed to die out naturally as they39。t been decided, he said. When will it be decided? That hasn39。s sense of humour?A. ...— not the poor but people who are just a notch above the poor. (2nd paragraph) B. ..., which sounds like a pretty good deal until you’ve visited a dera. (4th paragraph) C. Kolkata, a resident told me, has difficulty letting go. (7th paragraph) D. ...or, as I found during the 48 hours of rain, absolutely everything but umbrellas. (6th paragraph)16. The dialogue between the author and the city official at the end of the passage seems to suggest _______.A. the uncertainty of the court39。lite security lines and priority boarding, and disembark before the unwashed in coach, held at bay by a flight attendant, are allowed to foul the Jetway. At amusement parks, too, you can now buy your way out of line. This summer I haplessly watched kids use a $52 Gold Flash Pass to jump the lines at Six Flags New England, and similar systems are in use in most major American theme parks, from Universal Orlando to Walt Disney World, where the haves get to watch the havemores breeze past on their way to their seats. Flash Pass teaches children a valuable lesson in realworld economics: that the rich are more important than you, especially when it es to waiting. An NBA player once said to me, with a bemused chuckle of disbelief, that when playing in Canada — get this — We have to wait in the same customs line as everybody else. Almost every line can be breached for a price. In several . cities this summer, early arrivers among the early adopters waiting to buy iPhones offered to sell their spots in the lines. On Craigslist, prospective iPhone purchasers offered to pay waiters or placeholders to wait in line for them outside Apple stores. Inevitably, some semipopulist politicians have seen the value of sortof waiting in lines with the ordinary people. This summer Philadelphia mayor John Street waited outside an ATamp。s first driven by motorcade past the stop nearest his house to a station 22 blocks away, where the wait, or at least the ride, is shorter. As early as elementary school, we39。s outofdate. There was something about the orderly boarding of Noah39。t even wait in line when he or she is online. Some cultures are not renowned for lining up. Then again, some cultures are too adept at lining up: a citizen of the former Soviet Union would join a queue just so he could get to the head of that queue and see what everyone was queuing for. And then there is the ., where society seems to be cleaving into two groups: Very Important Persons, who don39。s democracy. B. Lines still give Americans equal opportunities. C. Lines are now for ordinary Americans only. D. Lines are for people with democratic spirit only.18. Which of the following is NOT cited as an example of breaching the line?A. Going through the customs at a Canadian airport. B. Using Gold Flash Passes in amusement parks. C. Firstclass passenger status at airports. D. Purchase of a place in a line from a placeholder. 19. We can infer from the passage that politicians (including mayors and Congressmen) _______.A. prefer to stand in lines with ordinary people. B. advocate the value of waiting in lines. C. believe in and practice waiting in lines. D. exploit waiting in lines for their own good.20. What is the tone of the passage?A. Instructive. B. Humorous. C. Serious. D. Teasing.TEXT C A bus took him to the West End, where, among the crazy coloured fountains of illumination, shattering the blue dusk with green and crimson fire, he found the caf233。 and behind the thin marble front we