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
Wecanconcludefromthepassagethat________.
Thefirstparagraphisintendedto________.
Withoutregularsuppliesofsomehormonesourcapacitytobehavewouldbeseriouslyimpaired;withoutotherswewouldsoondie.Tinyamountsofsomehormonescanmodifymoodsandactions,ourinclinationtoeatordrink,ouraggressivenessorsubmissiveness,andourreproductiveandparentalbehavior.Andhormonesdomorethaninfluenceadultbehavior;earlyinlifetheyhelptodeterminethedevelopmentofbodilyformandmayevendetermineanindividual’sbehavioralcapacities.Laterinlifethechangingoutputsofsomeendocrineglandsandthebody’schangingsensitivitytosomehormonesareessentialaspectsofthephenomenaofaging.
Communicationwithinthebodyandtheconsequentintegrationofbehaviorwereconsideredtheexclusiveprovinceofthenervoussystemuptothebeginningofthepresentcentury.TheemergenceofendocrinologyasaseparatedisciplinecanprobablybetracedtotheexperimentsofBaylissandStarlingonthehormonesecretion.Thissubstanceissecretedfromcellsintheintestinalwallswhenfoodentersthestomach;ittravelsthroughthebloodstreamandstimulatesthepancreastoliberatepancreaticjuice,whichaidsindigestion.Byshowingthatspecialcellssecretchemicalagentsthatareconveyedbythebloodstreamandregulatedistanttargetorgansortissues.Baylissandstarlingdemonstratedthatchemicalintegrationcouldoccurwithoutparticipationofthenervoussystem.
Theterm“hormone”wasfirstusedwithreferencetosecretion.StarlingderivedthetermfromtheGreekhormone,meaning“toexciteorsetinmotion.Theterm“endocrine”wasintroducedshortlythereafter“Endocrine”isusedtorefertoglandsthatsecretproductsintothebloodstream.Theterm“endocrine”contrastswith“exocrine”,whichisappliedtoglandsthatsecrettheirproductsthoughductstothesiteofaction.Examplesofexocrineglandsarethetearglands,thesweatglands,andthepancreas,whichsecretspancreaticjuicethroughaductintotheintestine.Exocrineglandsarealsocalledductglands,whileendocrineglandsarecalledductless.
1.Whatistheauthor’smainpurposeinthepassage?
A.Toexplainthespecificfunctionsofvarioushormones.
B.Toprovidegeneralinformationabouthormones.
C.Toexplainhowtheterm“hormone”evolved.
D.Toreportonexperimentsinendocrinology.
2.Thepassagesupportswhichofthefollowingconclusions?
A.Thehumanbodyrequireslargeamountsofmosthormones.
B.Synthetichormonescanreplaceaperson’snaturalsupplyofhormonesifnecessary.
C.Thequantityofhormonesproducedandtheireffectsonthebodyarerelatedtoaperson’sage.
D.Theshortchildoftallparentsverylikelyhadahormonedeficiencyearlyinlife.
3.ItcanbeinferredfromthepassagethatbeforetheBaylissandStarlingexperiments,mostpeoplebelievedthatchemicalintegrationoccurredonly___.
A.duringsleep.
B.intheendocrineglands.
C.undercontrolofthenervoussystem.
D.duringstrenuousexercise.
4.Theword“liberate”couldbestbereplacedbywhichofthefollowing?
A.EmancipateB.DischargeC.SurrenderD.Save
5.Accordingtothepassageanothertermforexocrineglandsis___.
A.ductglands
B.endocrineglands
C.ductlessglands
D.intestinalglands.