If the old maxim that the customer is always right still has meaning, then the airlines that ply the world’s busiest air route between London and Paris have a flight on their hands.

The Eurostar train service linking the UK and French capitals via the Channel Tunnel is winning customers in increasing numbers. In late May, it carried its one millionth passenger, having run only a limited service between London, Paris and Brussels since November 1994, starting with two trains a day in each direction to Paris and Brussels. By 1997, the company believes that it will be carrying ten million passengers a year, and continue to grow from there.

From July, Eurostar steps its service to nine trains each way between London and Paris, and five between London and Brussels. Each train carries almost 800 passengers, 210 of them in first class.

The airlines estimate that they will initially lose around 15%-20% of their London-Paris traffic to the railways once Eurostar starts a full service later this year (1995), with 15 trains a day each way. A similar service will start to Brussels. The damage will be limited, however, the airlines believe, with passenger numbers returning to previous levels within two to three years.

In the short term, the damage caused by the 1 million people-levels traveling between London and Paris and Brussels on Eurostar trains means that some air services are already suffering. Some of the major carriers say that their passenger numbers are down by less than 5% and point to their rivals-Particularly Air France-as having suffered the problems. On the Brussels route, the railway company had less success, and the airlines report anything from around a 5% drop to no visible decline in traffic.

The airlines’ optimism on returning traffic levels is based on historical precedent. British Midland, for example, points to its experience on Heathrow Leeds Bradford service which saw passenger numbers fold by 15% when British Rail electrified and modernized the railway line between London and Yorkshire. Two years later, travel had risen between the two destinations to the point where the airline was carrying record numbers of passengers.

1.British airlines confide in the fact that__.

A.they are more powerful than other European airlines.

B.their total loss won’t go beyond a drop of 5% passengers.

C.their traffic levels will return in 2-3 years.

D.traveling by rail can never catch up with traveling by air.

2.The author’s attitude towards the drop of passengers may be described as__.

A.worried.B.delightedC.puzzled.D.unrivaled.

3.In the passage, British Rail (Para 6) is mentioned to__.

A.provide a comparison with Eurostar.

B.support the airlines’ optimism.

C.prove the inevitable drop of air passengers.

D.call for electrification and modernization of the railway.

4.The railway’s Brussels route is brought forth to show that__.

A.the Eurostar train service is not doing good business.

B.the airlines can well compete with the railway.

C.the Eurostar train service only caused little damage.

D.only some airlines, such as Air France, are suffering.

5.The passage is taken from the first of an essay, from which we may well predict that in the following part the author is going to__.

A.praise the airlines’ clear-mindedness.

B.warn the airlines of high-speed rail services.

C.propose a reduction of London/Paris flights.

D.advise the airlines to follow British Midland as their model.

Questions 1 to 5 are based on the following passage:

Some years ago the captain of a ship was very interested in medicine. He always took medicine books to sea and liked to talk about different diseases.

One day a lazy sailor on his ship pretended to be ill. He lay on his bunk (铺) and groaned as if he were very sick. The captain came to see him and was very pleased to have a patient to look after. He told the man to rest for a few days and made the other sailors do his work. Three days later another sailor pretended that he had something wrong with his chest. Once more the captain looked in his medical books and told “sick” man to have a rest.

The other sailors were very angry because they had more work to do. The patients had the best food and laughed at their friends when the captain was not looking. At last the mate (船长副手) decided to cure the “sick” men. He mixed up some soap, soot (烟灰), glue (胶水) and other unpleasant things. Then he obtained permission from the captain to give his medicine to the “sick” men. When they tasted the medicine, they really did feel ill. It was so horrible that one of the patients jumped out of hi bunk, ran up on desk and climbed the highest mast on the ship. He did not want any more medicine.

The mate told both of the men that they must take the medicine every half an hour, night and day. This soon cured them. They both said they felt better and wanted to start word again. The captain realized that the men tried to deceive him so he made them work very hard for the rest of the voyage.

1. The first sailor pretended to be ill because he wanted to .

A. test the captain’s knowledge of medicine 

B. be free from work

C. have the best food on the ship

 D. play a joke on his friends

2. When the captain knew a sailor was ill, he .

A. didn’t care much 

B. sent for a doctor

C. looked after him and told him to have a rest

D. gave him some medicine

3. The patients felt better quickly because .

A. they had been given proper medicine

B. they learned that the captain had found out the truth

C. they were laughed at by their friends

D. the medicine the mate gave was horrible

4. When the captain knew he had been deceived, he .

A. told them not to do so again 

B. lost his temper

C. made them work harder 

D. fired them

5. Which of the following best summarizes the passage?

A. A sudden Cure. 

B. Two Patients. 

C. Captain and Sailors. 

D. A Difficult Voyage.

GriffithworkedforafirmthatspecializedineconomicdevelopmentinWashingtonD.C.becausesheneededmoneytopayforherdebt.

翻译训练：

筷子(chopsticks)是中国传统的独具特色的进食工具(diningutensils)，至今已有数千年的历史。筷子在古代被称为“箸”，大约从明朝开始才有了“筷子”的称呼。筷子多为竹子制成，也有用木头、象牙(ivory)、金属或其他材料制作而成。它要么上方下圆，要么上下全圆而上粗下细。不管其形状如何，筷子必须是成对使用的，并且两只筷子的大小长短要相同。筷子是中国人日常生活的必备工具，它的发明充分反映了中国人民的智慧。

While doing calculation for the project, the designers____a new solution to a geological problem.