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.
CABCB
暂无解析
PartIVTranslation
Bymakingvehicleslighterinweightaluminumhasgreatlyreducedtheamountoffuelneededtomovethem,(PassageTwo)
Passage 2
Questions 6 to 10 are based on the following passage:
The food we eat seems to have profound effects on our health. Although science has made enormous steps in making food more fit to eat, it has, at the same time, made many foods unfit to eat. Some research has shown tat 40 percent of cancer is related to the diet as well, especially cancer of the colon. Different cultures ate more prone to get certain illnesses because of the food that is characteristic in these cultures. That food is related to illness is not a new discovery. In 1945, government researchers realized that nitrates and nitrites, commonly used to preserve color in meats, and other food additives, caused cancer. Yet these carcinogenic additives remain in our food, and it becomes more difficult all the time to know which things on the packaging labels of processed food are helpful or harmful. The additives that we eat are not all so direct. Farmers often give penicillin to beef and poultry, and because of this, penicillin has been found in the milk of treated cows. Sometimes similar drugs are administered to animals not for medicinal purposes, but for financial reasons. The farmers are simply trying to fatten the animals in order to obtain a higher price on the market. Although the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has tried repeatedly to control these procedures, the practices continue.
6. How has science done a disservice to mankind?
A. Because of science, most of the foods we eat today are contaminated.
B. It has caused a lack of information concerning the value of food.
C. As a result of scientific intervention, some potentially harmful substances has been added to our food.
D. The scientists have preserved the color of meats, but not of vegetables.
7. What are nitrates used for?
A. They preserves flavor in packaged foods.
B. They preserve the color of meats.
C. They are the objects of research.
D. They cause the animals to become fatter.
8. The FDA has tried repeatedly to control .
A. the attempt to fatten the animals
B. the attempt to cure sick animals
C. the using of drugs to animals
D. the using of additives to preserve the dolor of food
9. The word “carcinogenic” means most nearly the same as .
A. trouble-making B. color-retaining
C. money-saving D. cancer-causing
10. Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. Drugs are always given to animals for medical reasons.
B. Some of the additives in our food are added to the food itself and some are given to the living animals.
C. Researchers have known about the potential hazards of the food additives for over thirty-five years.
D. Food may cause forty percent of cancer in the world.
Lifeistooshort________________(不可每天将时间浪费在看电视上).
Whatdoesthefutureholdfortheproblemofhousing?Agooddealdepends,ofcourse,onthemeaningof“future”.Ifoneisthinkingintermsofsciencefictionandthespaceage,itisatleastpossibletoassumethatmanwillhavesolvedsuchtrivialandearthlyproblemsashousing.Writersofsciencefiction,fromH.G.Wellsonwards,havehadlittletosayonthesubject.Theyhaveconveyedthesuggestionthatmenwillliveingreatcomfort,witheveryconceivableapparatustomakelifesmooth,healthyandeasy,ifnothappy.Buttheyhavenotsaidwhathishousewillbemadeof.Perhapssomenewbuildingmaterial,asyetunimagined,willhavebeendiscoveredorinventedatleast.Onemaybecertainthatbricksandmortar(泥灰,灰浆)willlonghavegoneoutoffashion.
Buttheproblemsofthenextgenerationortwocanmorereadilybeimagined.Scientistshavealreadypointedoutthatunlesssomethingisdoneeithertorestricttheworld’srapidgrowthinpopulationortodiscoveranddevelopnewsourcesoffood(orboth),millionsofpeoplewillbedyingofstarvationoratthebestsufferingfromunderfeedingbeforethiscenturyisout.Butnobodyhasyetworkedoutanyplanforhousingthesegrowingpopulations.Admittedlytheworstsituationswilloccurinthehottestpartsoftheworld,wherehousingcanbelightstructureorinbackwardareaswherestandardsaretraditionallylow.Buteventheminimumshelterrequiresmaterialsofsomekindandintheteeming,bulgingtownsthelow-standard“housing”offlattenedpetrolcansanddirtycanvasisfarmorewastefulofgroundspacethancanbetolerated.
Sincethewar,HongKonghassufferedthekindofcrisiswhichislikelytoariseinmanyotherplacesduringthenextgeneration.Literallymillionsofrefugeesarrivedtoswellthealreadygrowingpopulationandemergencystepshadtobetakenrapidlytopreventsqualor(肮脏)anddiseaseandthespreadcrime.Thecityistacklingthesituationenergeticallyandenormousblocksoftenements(贫民住宅)arerisingatanastonishingaped.ButHongKongisonlyonesmallpartofwhatwillcertainlybecomeavastproblemandnotmerelyahousingproblem,becausewhenpopulationgrowsatthisratethereareaccompanyingproblemsofeducation,transport,hospitalservices,drainage,watersupplyandsoon.NoteveryareamaygivethesameresourcesasHongKongtodrawuponandthesearchforquickerandcheapermethodsofconstructionmustnevercease.
1.Whatistheauthor’sopinionofhousingproblemsinthefirstparagraph?
A.Theymaybecompletelysolvedatsometimeinthefuture.
B.Theyareunimportantandeasilydealtwith.
C.Theywillnotbesolveduntilanewbuildingmaterialhasbeendiscovered.
D.Theyhavebeendealtwithinspecificdetailinbooksdescribingthefuture.
2.Thewriterissurethatinthedistantfuture___.
A.bricksandmortarwillbereplacedbysomeotherbuildingmaterial.
B.anewbuildingmaterialwillhavebeeninvented.
C.bricksandmortarwillnotbeusedbypeoplewhowanttheirhousetobefashionable.
D.anewwayofusingbricksandmortarwillhavebeendiscovered.
3.Thewriterbelievesthatthebiggestproblemlikelytoconfronttheworldbeforetheendofthecentury___.
A.isdifficulttoforesee.
B.willbehowtofeedtheevergrowingpopulation.
C.willbehowtoprovideenoughhousesinthehottestpartsoftheworld.
D.isthequestionoffindingenoughgroundspace.
4.Whenthewritersaysthattheworstsituationswilloccurinthehottestpartsoftheworldorinbackwardareas,heisreferringtothefactthatintheseparts___.
A.standardsofbuildingarelow.
B.onlyminimumshelterwillbepossible.
C.thereisnotenoughgroundspace.
D.thepopulationgrowthwillbethegreatest.
5.WhichofthefollowingsentencesbestsummarizesParagraph3?
A.HongKonghasfacedaseriouscrisiscausedbymillionsofrefugees.
B.HongKonghassuccessfullydealtwiththeemergencycausedbymillionsofrefugees.
C.HongKong’scrisiswasnotonlyamatterofhousingbutincludedanumberofotherproblemsofpopulationgrowth.
D.ManypartsoftheworldmayhavetofacethekindofproblemsencounteredbyHongKongandmayfinditmuchhardertodealwiththem.
翻译:
The captain realized that the men tried to deceive him so he made them work very hard for the rest of the voyage. (Passage One)