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
翻译训练：
要了解中国文化，就应该对中国的戏曲文化有所了解。中国地方戏种类很多，其中京剧是一个具有代表性的剧种。作为一个独立的剧种，京剧的诞生大约是在1840年至I860年。京剧是在吸收其他地方戏营养的基础上形成的。京剧有明确的角色分工;在念白上用北京方言;在音乐上以胡琴为主要伴奏乐器。由于京剧是在融合各种地方戏之精华的基础上形成的，所以它不仅为北京的观众所钟爱，也受到全国人民的喜爱。
PartVWriting
写作指导
这是一篇描写文(Description)。用通俗的话说，描写文就是用文字给人物、地点、景物画象。一篇描写文主要是通过所感受的细节——所见所闻发展而来的。在写人时，不仅仅要用细节描写其外貌，而要注重通过他的言行来表现其人物性格、思想和品德，更要抓住他区别于他人的性格特点，这样就容易给读者留下深刻的印象。短文的第一、二段叙述故事发生的时间、地点，故事发生的原因及故事所涉及的人物。文章的三、四、五段描写的是人物的外貌，穿着及性格特点。通过对人物言行的简单描写来揭示主人翁的助人为乐的高尚精神。短文的最后一段，要用一句话概括作者对主人翁的看法：Agoodguy。文章有描述，有议论，要加叙加议，有血有肉，上下文连贯要紧密，首尾要呼应，人和事要给人们留下深刻印象。
Passage3
Questions11to15arebasedonthefollowingpassage:
UnliketheirAmericanorEuropeancounterparts,carsalesmeninJapanworkhardtogetabuyer.Insteadoflyinglazilyaroundshowroomswaitingforcustomerstodropby,manyJapanesecarsalesmenstillgoouttogetthem.Theywalkwearilyalongthestreetscarsdoor-to-door.Newcustomersarehuntedwithfruitandcakesontheirbirthdays.Butlifeisgettingtough,andnotjustbecausenew-carsalesarefalling.
WithmoreJapanesewomen(whooftencontrolthehouseholdbudget)goingouttowork,thesalesmenincreasinglyfindnobodyathomewhentheycall.Thatmeansanothervisitintheeveningortheweekend.Thentheyfaceanextraproblem:morepeople,especiallytheyoung,prefertochooseanewcarfromashowroomwheretheycancomparedifferentmodels.
Evenaslateasthemid-1980ssome90%ofnewcarsweresolddoor-to-door.Insomeruralareasmostnewcarsarestillsoldthisway.Butinthebigcitiesmorethanhalfthenewcarsarenowsoldfromshowrooms.
AlthoughinvestinginshowroomsisexpensivebecauseofthehighcostofJapaneseland,dealershavelittlechoice.AlaborshortageandhigheramongJapan’sworkforcearemakingitdifficulttohiredoor-to-doorsalesmen.MostofaJapanesecarsalesman’sworkingdayisspentdoingfavorsforcustomers,likearranginginsuranceorpickingupvehiclesforservicing,ratherthanactuallyselling.
Japan’sdoorstepcarsalesmenarenotabouttovanish.Thepersonalservicetheyprovideissodeep-rootedinJapanthattheyarelikelytooperatealongsidetheglitteringnewshowrooms.Thetwosystemsevencomplementeachother.Whatincreasinglyhappensisthattheshowroomattractstheinterestofapotentialbuyer,givingthefootsoresalesmenafirmleadtofollowupwithahomevisit.
11.Japanesecarsalesusuallydonotwaitatshowroomsforcustomerstodropby;instead,.
A.theysellcarsdoor-to-door
B.theybuypresentsfortheircustomers
C.theyenjoythemselvesinrecreationcenters
D.theygoouttodomarketresearches
12.Impliedbutstated:thecompetitionincarmarketis.
A.lightB.moderateC.fierceD.unfair
13.Youngpeopleliketobuyanewcar.
A.athomeB.fromashowroom
C.madeintheU.S.A.D.madeinJapan
14.ThesquadronofJapanesecarsalesmenisreducingbecauseof.
A.alaborshortage
B.higherexpectationsamongJapan’sworkforce
C.highcostland
D.bothAandB
15.Japanesecarsalesmentotheircustomersmanyfavorssuchas.
A.showingthemaroundinanexhibition
B.arranginginsurance
C.payingthemavisitonweekends
D.sellingolecarsforthem
Lifeistooshort________________(不可每天将时间浪费在看电视上).
Themotheralmost____whenshelearnedthathersonwasshotdead.
