A
I live in a small town of about 12,000 people. Normally,the streets are busy with cars, the sidewalks are filled with pedestrians and the stores are filled with shoppers going about their business. My home is within sight of Victoria International Airport and we are used to the background sound of large passenger aircraft arriving and departing. Restaurants are usually crowded at mealtimes and friends visit back and forth frequently. However,z xx k life is different now.
Most stores here are now closed except for those such as grocery stores that supply an essential service. You can't have a meal in a restaurant now, although some are still cooking food you can take home. When I walk through downtown I can wander across the main street almost any time I please without much danger because there are so few cars. Even the airport is quiet because people aren't travelling as they used to.
We haven't been told if there are any actual cases of Covid-19 in our town, although I would be a little surprised if there weren't any. We have a fairly large proportion of our population made up of senior citizens who are likely to be affected by the disease. We have five or six long-term care homes for seniors here and the fear is that if the virus gets into one it will be disastrous.
There is no question but what the world has changed. We're lucky, in a sense, because we saw what happened in China and we learned from that experience. We know to stay at least two meters away from other people, we know to wash our hands frequently, to wear face-masks and to limit our time in those few stores that are open. It seems to be working and there is hope that we can soon beat this bug into submission (屈服） but, for now, it's a strange world. It also makes me wonder if this virus, like the flu virus, will mutate (突变） almost every year and turn the world into a series of situations like this.
21.What can we learn from the passage?
A. The small town where the author lives has a large population.
B. Most restaurants are usually crowded in spite of the disease.
C. People can walk freely on the streets as there are no cars.
D. It is quite possible for the elderly people to get infected.
22. Why does the author say “We're lucky” in the last paragraph?
A. We lead a normal life as usual.
B. We've learnt a lot from China.
C. We haven't been affected by Covid-19.
D. We are hopeful of defeating the disease.
23. In which section of a magazine may the passage be from
A. finance and business
B. culture and custom
C. health and life
D. travel and entertainment
