Each for its own reason, the study of residential mobility has been a concern of three disciplines: sociology, economics, and geography. For the economist, residential shifts provide a means for studying the housing and land markets. Geographers study mobility to understand the spatial distributions of population types. For the sociologist, interest in residential mobility has two sources: one stemming from the study of human ecology and the other, from a concern with the peculiar qualities of urban life. Of course, there are clearly overlapping concerns and it is often difficult to discern the disciplinary origins of a researcher by only examining the kinds of questions he or she raises about mobility although it is usually easier to identify a researcher’s discipline by noting the methods used and the concepts employed.

　　Urban mobility first appears in the sociological literature as term expressing rather generalized qualities of urban, as opposed to non-urban life. Some sociologists refer to the mobility of the city as the considerable sum of countless and continual sources of stimulation impinging upon the urban dweller, a sort of sensory overload which produces sophistication, indifference, and a lowered level of affect in urban dwellers. There is simply so much to experience that the urban dweller’s capacity is reduced to react in a “spontaneous” and “natural” way to urban existence . It is mobility in this sense that produces some of the special qualities of urban life, which appeal to migrants as an escape from the dullness and oppression of rural existence with its lack of change and stimulation, and, on the other hand, produces anomie and alienation in a society where men see each other primarily as means to ends rather than as ends in themselves.

　　1. Geographers who study mobility are most likely to be interested in _______.

　　A. the fact that people of different racial groups reside in different places

　　B. what types of people move frequently and why they keep changing their places.

　　C. why people of one type prefer to isolate themselves from those of another type

　　D. peculiar characteristics of people from different countries in choosing living places

　　2. Examining the kinds of questions a researcher raised about mobility is _______.

　　A. the only way to discern the discipline he or she applies

　　B. not an ideal way to identify his or her disciplinary origins

　　C. easier than noting the methods used and the concepts employed

　　D. too difficult to be used in finding out his or her disciplinary origins