媒体英语
Is Orkney the best place to live in the UK? 了解英国 “最宜居的地方”：奥克尼群岛
由苏格兰哈利法克斯银行（The Halifax Bank of Scotland）发布的一份年度调查报告显示，苏格兰奥克尼群岛位列英国最宜居地区排行榜首。但这里的生活是否真的完美无缺？
文字稿
The archipelago, which lies ten miles off Scotland's north coast, is famed for its spectacular landscapes and archaeological treasures. It is home to just 22,000 people, spread over 20 inhabitable islands.
这个群岛位于苏格兰北岸十英里（约 16 公里）外，以其壮观的景色和考古学珍宝而闻名。这里只居住着 2.2 万人，分布在 20 多个适于居住的岛屿上。
Orkney has high employment levels. Almost nine out of ten people aged between 16 and 64 are in work. The crime rate is low, more than seven times lower than the Scottish average.
奥克尼的就业率较高。年龄在 16 到 64 岁之间的人，每十人当中就有近九人有工作。这里的犯罪率低，比苏格兰平均水平低七倍多。
But there may also be some scepticism based largely on what reports like this tend not to ask about: the cost of living, reliability of transport links, robustness of digital connectivity and levels of fuel poverty.
但可能人们仍持怀疑态度，主要是基于这类报告往往不会问及的问题：生活成本、交通网络的可靠性、数字连通的稳健性和燃料匮乏程度。
1. 词汇
archipelago 群岛
famed for 以…闻名
spectacular 壮观的
landscapes 景色
archaeological 考古学的
inhabitable 可居住的
employment levels 就业水平
crime rate 犯罪率
scepticism 怀疑（态度）
cost of living 生活成本
reliability 可靠性
transport links 交通网络
robustness 稳健性
digital connectivity 数字连通
fuel poverty 燃料匮乏
2. 阅读理解：请在读完上文后，回答下列问题 。
1. True or false? Orkney has low unemployment levels.
2. What is Orkney known for?
3. What may be some of the difficulties of living on this island, according to the text?
4. Which word in the text means ‘the ordinary or usual standard of something’?
3. 答案
1. True or false? Orkney has low unemployment levels.
True. Orkney has high employment levels, which means it has low unemployment levels.
2. What is Orkney known for?
It is famed for its spectacular landscapes and archaeological treasures.
3. What may be some of the difficulties of living on this island, according to the text?
Some of the difficulties of living on this island may be the cost of living, reliability of transport links, robustness of digital connectivity and levels of fuel poverty.
4. Which word in the text means ‘the ordinary or usual standard of something’?
Average.
