Iftheoldmaximthatthecustomerisalwaysrightstillhasmeaning,thentheairlinesthatplytheworld’sbusiestairroutebetweenLondonandParishaveaflightontheirhands.
TheEurostartrainservicelinkingtheUKandFrenchcapitalsviatheChannelTunneliswinningcustomersinincreasingnumbers.InlateMay,itcarrieditsonemillionthpassenger,havingrunonlyalimitedservicebetweenLondon,ParisandBrusselssinceNovember1994,startingwithtwotrainsadayineachdirectiontoParisandBrussels.By1997,thecompanybelievesthatitwillbecarryingtenmillionpassengersayear,andcontinuetogrowfromthere.
FromJuly,EurostarstepsitsservicetoninetrainseachwaybetweenLondonandParis,andfivebetweenLondonandBrussels.Eachtraincarriesalmost800passengers,210oftheminfirstclass.
Theairlinesestimatethattheywillinitiallylosearound15%-20%oftheirLondon-ParistraffictotherailwaysonceEurostarstartsafullservicelaterthisyear(1995),with15trainsadayeachway.AsimilarservicewillstarttoBrussels.Thedamagewillbelimited,however,theairlinesbelieve,withpassengernumbersreturningtopreviouslevelswithintwotothreeyears.
Intheshortterm,thedamagecausedbythe1millionpeople-levelstravelingbetweenLondonandParisandBrusselsonEurostartrainsmeansthatsomeairservicesarealreadysuffering.Someofthemajorcarrierssaythattheirpassengernumbersaredownbylessthan5%andpointtotheirrivals-ParticularlyAirFrance-ashavingsufferedtheproblems.OntheBrusselsroute,therailwaycompanyhadlesssuccess,andtheairlinesreportanythingfromarounda5%droptonovisibledeclineintraffic.
Theairlines’optimismonreturningtrafficlevelsisbasedonhistoricalprecedent.BritishMidland,forexample,pointstoitsexperienceonHeathrowLeedsBradfordservicewhichsawpassengernumbersfoldby15%whenBritishRailelectrifiedandmodernizedtherailwaylinebetweenLondonandYorkshire.Twoyearslater,travelhadrisenbetweenthetwodestinationstothepointwheretheairlinewascarryingrecordnumbersofpassengers.
1.Britishairlinesconfideinthefactthat__.
A.theyaremorepowerfulthanotherEuropeanairlines.
B.theirtotallosswon’tgobeyondadropof5%passengers.
C.theirtrafficlevelswillreturnin2-3years.
D.travelingbyrailcannevercatchupwithtravelingbyair.
2.Theauthor’sattitudetowardsthedropofpassengersmaybedescribedas__.
A.worried.B.delightedC.puzzled.D.unrivaled.
3.Inthepassage,BritishRail(Para6)ismentionedto__.
A.provideacomparisonwithEurostar.
B.supporttheairlines’optimism.
C.provetheinevitabledropofairpassengers.
D.callforelectrificationandmodernizationoftherailway.
4.Therailway’sBrusselsrouteisbroughtforthtoshowthat__.
A.theEurostartrainserviceisnotdoinggoodbusiness.
B.theairlinescanwellcompetewiththerailway.
C.theEurostartrainserviceonlycausedlittledamage.
D.onlysomeairlines,suchasAirFrance,aresuffering.
5.Thepassageistakenfromthefirstofanessay,fromwhichwemaywellpredictthatinthefollowingparttheauthorisgoingto__.
A.praisetheairlines’clear-mindedness.
B.warntheairlinesofhigh-speedrailservices.
C.proposeareductionofLondon/Parisflights.
D.advisetheairlinestofollowBritishMidlandastheirmodel.
CABCB
暂无解析
PartIIICloze
Directions:Therearetwentyblanksinthefollowingpassage.Foreachblanktherearefourchoices.ChoosetheonethatbestfitsintothepassageandthenmarksyouranswerontheAnswerSheet.
Whatmakesachildspeakalanguagehaslongbeenapuzzletolinguists.61speaking,therearetwoschoolsoflinguists,bothofwhomtrytoexplain62achildpicksupalanguagesoeasily.Thefactthatachildpicksalanguage63is64:Atoneyearold,achildisabletosay“bye-bye”;attwo,heisabletousefifty;bytherehebeginsto65tenses.ThefamousAmericanlinguistNoamChomsky66thathumanbeinghaveasortofbuilt-insystemforlanguageuse,andthatthe67is68.Childrenarenottaughtlanguage69theyaretaughtarithmetic.Otherlinguists,70,holdtheviewthatachildlearns71ofhislanguagefromthehintsintheenvironment.72,theoristsofbothschools73thatthereisabiologicalbasisforlanguageuse.The74iswhichismoreimportant,theinnerabilityortheenvironment.Thisiscertainlyafield75tobeexplored.Researchersfrombothschoolsarebusyfindingevidenceto76theirowntheory,but77sideispersuadingtheother.
Itseemsthatinorderto78whyachildlearnsalanguagesoeasily,wehaveto79thejointeffortsofbothschools.Somelinguist,likeDeVilliers,hasrecognizedthevalueofcooperation,and80linguistsofbothsidestoworktogether.
61.A.SurprisinglyB.PersonallyC.ProperlyD.Roughly
62.A.thatB.whenC.whyD.how
63.A.independentlyB.naturallyC.withouthelpD.withease
64.A.confusingB.surprisingC.questionedD.suspected
65.A.masterB.studyC.haveD.get
66.A.doubtsB.believesC.realizesD.criticizes
67.A.helpB.teacherC.environmentD.hint
68.A.quiteessentialB.veryimportantC.notnecessaryD.onlysecondary
69.A.asB.forC.whenD.though
70.A.inparticularB.asaresultC.howeverD.therefore
71.A.alittleB.someC.nothingD.most
72.A.BeforeB.FromnowonC.JustnowD.Bynow
73.A.suspectB.disagreeC.agreeD.realize
74.A.caseB.argumentC.problemD.question
75.A.waitingB.planningC.neverD.unlikely
76.A.provideB.createC.supplyD.support
77.A.notaB.oneC.neitherD.either
78.A.findoutB.ruleoutC.searchforD.lookfor
79.A.getridofB.trustinC.relyonD.persistin
80.A.orderedB.criticizedC.challengedD.urged
Iftheoldmaximthatthecustomerisalwaysrightstillhasmeaning,thentheairlinesthatplytheworld’sbusiestairroutebetweenLondonandParishaveaflightontheirhands.
TheEurostartrainservicelinkingtheUKandFrenchcapitalsviatheChannelTunneliswinningcustomersinincreasingnumbers.InlateMay,itcarrieditsonemillionthpassenger,havingrunonlyalimitedservicebetweenLondon,ParisandBrusselssinceNovember1994,startingwithtwotrainsadayineachdirectiontoParisandBrussels.By1997,thecompanybelievesthatitwillbecarryingtenmillionpassengersayear,andcontinuetogrowfromthere.
FromJuly,EurostarstepsitsservicetoninetrainseachwaybetweenLondonandParis,andfivebetweenLondonandBrussels.Eachtraincarriesalmost800passengers,210oftheminfirstclass.
Theairlinesestimatethattheywillinitiallylosearound15%-20%oftheirLondon-ParistraffictotherailwaysonceEurostarstartsafullservicelaterthisyear(1995),with15trainsadayeachway.AsimilarservicewillstarttoBrussels.Thedamagewillbelimited,however,theairlinesbelieve,withpassengernumbersreturningtopreviouslevelswithintwotothreeyears.
Intheshortterm,thedamagecausedbythe1millionpeople-levelstravelingbetweenLondonandParisandBrusselsonEurostartrainsmeansthatsomeairservicesarealreadysuffering.Someofthemajorcarrierssaythattheirpassengernumbersaredownbylessthan5%andpointtotheirrivals-ParticularlyAirFrance-ashavingsufferedtheproblems.OntheBrusselsroute,therailwaycompanyhadlesssuccess,andtheairlinesreportanythingfromarounda5%droptonovisibledeclineintraffic.
Theairlines’optimismonreturningtrafficlevelsisbasedonhistoricalprecedent.BritishMidland,forexample,pointstoitsexperienceonHeathrowLeedsBradfordservicewhichsawpassengernumbersfoldby15%whenBritishRailelectrifiedandmodernizedtherailwaylinebetweenLondonandYorkshire.Twoyearslater,travelhadrisenbetweenthetwodestinationstothepointwheretheairlinewascarryingrecordnumbersofpassengers.
1.Britishairlinesconfideinthefactthat__.
A.theyaremorepowerfulthanotherEuropeanairlines.
B.theirtotallosswon’tgobeyondadropof5%passengers.
C.theirtrafficlevelswillreturnin2-3years.
D.travelingbyrailcannevercatchupwithtravelingbyair.
2.Theauthor’sattitudetowardsthedropofpassengersmaybedescribedas__.
A.worried.B.delightedC.puzzled.D.unrivaled.
3.Inthepassage,BritishRail(Para6)ismentionedto__.
A.provideacomparisonwithEurostar.
B.supporttheairlines’optimism.
C.provetheinevitabledropofairpassengers.
D.callforelectrificationandmodernizationoftherailway.
4.Therailway’sBrusselsrouteisbroughtforthtoshowthat__.
A.theEurostartrainserviceisnotdoinggoodbusiness.
B.theairlinescanwellcompetewiththerailway.
C.theEurostartrainserviceonlycausedlittledamage.
D.onlysomeairlines,suchasAirFrance,aresuffering.
5.Thepassageistakenfromthefirstofanessay,fromwhichwemaywellpredictthatinthefollowingparttheauthorisgoingto__.
A.praisetheairlines’clear-mindedness.
B.warntheairlinesofhigh-speedrailservices.
C.proposeareductionofLondon/Parisflights.
D.advisetheairlinestofollowBritishMidlandastheirmodel.
PartIVTranslation
Directions:TranslatethefollowingsentencesintoEnglish.
每个人手里都有一张申请表,但却都不知道送往哪个办公室。
Paragraphs2and3explain________.
Whichissafer-stayingathome,travelingtoworkonpublictransport,orworkingintheoffice?Surprisingly,eachofthesecarriesthesamerisk,whichisverylow.However,whataboutflyingcomparedtoworkinginthechemicalindustry?Unfortunately,theformeris65timesriskierthanthelatter!Infact,theaccidentrateofworkersinthechemicalindustryislessthanthatofalmostanyofhumanactivity,andalmostassafeasstayingathome.
Thetroublewiththechemicalindustryisthatwhenthingsgowrongtheyoftencausedeathtothoselivingnearby.Itisthiswhichmakeschemicalaccidentssonewsworthy.Fortunately,theyareextremelyrare.ThemostfamousoneshappenedatTexasCity(1947),Flixborough(1974),Seveso(1976),Pemex(1984)andBhopal(1984)。
Someofthesearealwaysinthemindsofthepeopleeventhoughthelossoflifewassmall.NoonediedatSeveso,andonly28workersatFlixborough.TheworstaccidentofallwasBhopal,whereupto3,000werekilled.TheTexasCityexplosionoffertilizerkilled552.ThePemexfireatastorageplantfornaturalgasinthesuburbsofMexicoCitytook542lives,justamonthbeforetheunfortunateeventatBhopal.
Someexpertshavediscussedtheseaccidentsandusedeachaccidenttoillustrateaparticulardanger.ThustheTexasCityexplosionwascausedbytonsofammoniumnitrate(硝酸铵),whichissafeunlessstoredingreatquantity.TheFlixboroughfireballwasthefaultofmanagement,whichtookriskstokeepproductiongoingduringessentialrepairs.TheSevesoaccidentshowswhathappensifthelocalauthoritieslackknowledgeofthedangerontheirdoorstep.Whenthepoisonousgasdriftedoverthetown,localleaderswereincapableoftakingeffectiveaction.ThePemexfirewasmadeworsebyanoverloadedsiteinanovercrowdedsuburb.Thefiresetoffachainreactionosexplodingstoragetanks.Yet,byamiracle,thetwolargesttanksdidnotexplode.Hadthesecaughtfire,then3,000strongrescueteamandfirefighterswouldallhavedied.
1.Chemicalaccidentsareusuallyimportantenoughtobereportedasnewsbecause____.
A.theyareveryrare
B.theyoftencauselossoflife
C.theyalwaysoccurinbigcities
D.theyarousetheinterestofallthereaders
2.Whichofthefollowingstatementsistrue?
A.Workingattheofficeissaferthanstayingathome.
B.Traverllingtoworkonpublictransportissaferthanworkingattheoffice.
C.Stayingathomeissaferthanworkinginthechemicalindustry.
D.Workinginthechemicalindustryissaferthantravelingbyair.
3.Accordingtopassage,thechemicalaccidentthatcausedbythefaultofmanagementhappenedat____.
A.TexascityB.FlixboroughC.SevesoD.MexicoCity
4.Fromthediscussionamongsomeexpertswemaycocludethat____.
A.toavoidanyaccidentsweshouldnotrepairthefacilitiesinchemicalindustry
B.thelocalauthoritiesshouldnotbeconcernedwiththeproductionofthechemicalindustry
C.alltheseaccidentscouldhavebeenavoidedorcontrolledifeffectivemeasurehadbeentaken
D.naturalgasstoredinverylargetanksisalwayssafe
5.Fromthepassageweknowthatammoniumnitrateisakindof____.
A.naturalgas,whichcaneasilycatchfire
B.fertilizer,whichcan'tbestoredinagreatquantity
C.poisonoussubstance,whichcan'tbeusedinovercrowdedareas
D.fuel,whichisstoredinlargetanks