21-23．BDA

My guide Farah, a tall, slim woman in her late 30s，wears jeans and a simple manteaux -- the required robe women must wear in public, covering neck to knee. Her long, straight black hair is hidden beneath her headscarf, but visible as it curls at her neck.

We're heading to Tajrish Bazaar, in north Tehran (capital of Iran)，to explore 10 different kinds of dried plums, and other goodies. We choose the Metro-Farah for its convenience, and I，for a chance to go underground in Tehran, because it provides a picture of the city most tourists never see.

It's mid-morning. Women and men sit separately, but the rule relaxes during busy times, like now. We, along with a few other women, clasp our hands around a pole, standing next to men, young and old in the air-conditioned, modern carriage. Two stops later, and about 20 commuters fewer, segregation happens naturally -- women at one end, men at the other, still within view, but separate.

A handful of fashionable girls admire their own reflections in the window. They wear tight leggings under their brightly coloured robes, pushing back headscarves and boundaries. We find seats next to a group of conservative women dressed in black cloaks called chador. They're nothing like the other women I have met, a sisterhood of outspoken opinions, most of them liberal. "We are a nation with one language," Farah says, "divided in two--traditional and modern. " Farah tells me it all began, not with imports from the West, but with the 1979 revolution. A combination of access, education and a bad economy created a society where women now have independence, careers and husbands happy to help around the house with chores and children*

56. We are setting out for Tajrish Bazaar most probably at __________.

A. 3 a. m. B. 1 p. m. C. 10 a. m. D. 5 p. m.

57. Why did the author choose to take the subway?

A. Because it's cheap.

B. Because it's convenient.

C. Because she can see more beautiful women on the subway.

D. Because it offers her an opportunity to see a different city from what most tourists see

58. What does the underlined word segregation in the 3rd paragraph probably mean?

A. isolation B. disaster

C. departure D. combination

59. What can we learn from the passage?

A. Women in Iran must wear manteau in public.

B. Fashionable girls can dress as freely as they like.

C. Iran is divided in two parts by the western forces.

D. Men in Iran won't help with the housework.

56-59: CDAA