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
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。
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。
Wecanbeginourdiscussionof“populationasglobalissue”withwhatmostpersonsmeanwhentheydiscuss“thepopulationproblem”:toomanypeopleonearthandatoorapidincreaseinthenumberaddedeachyear.Thefactsarenotindispute,Itwasquiterighttoemploytheanalogythatlikeneddemographicgrowthto“along,thinpowderfusethatburnssteadilyandhaltinglyuntilitfinallyreachesthechargeandexplodes.”
Tounderstandthecurrentsituation,whichischaracterizedbyrapidincreasesinpopulation,itisnecessarytounderstandthehistoryofpopulationtrends.Rapidgrowthisacomparativelyrecentphenomenon.Lookingbackatthe8,000yearsofdemographichistory,wefindthatpopulationshavebeenvirtuallystableorgrowingveryslightlyformostofhumanhistory.Formostofourancestors,lifewashard,oftennasty,andveryshort.Therewashighfertilityinmostplaces,butthiswasusuallybalancedbyhighmortality.Formostofhumanhistory,itwasseldomthecasethatoneintenpersonswouldlivepastforty,whileinfancyandchildhoodwereespeciallyriskyperiods.Often,societieswereincleardangerofextinctionbecausedeathratescouldexceedtheirbirthrates.Thus,thepopulationproblemthroughoutmostofhistorywashowtopreventextinctionofthehumanrace.
Thispatternisimportanttonotice.Notonlydoesitputthecurrentproblemsofdemographicgrowthintoahistoricalperspective,butitsuggeststhatthecauseofrapidincreaseinpopulationinrecentyearsisnotasuddenenthusiasmformorechildren,butanimprovementintheconditionsthattraditionallyhavecausedhighmortality.
Demographichistorycanbedividedintotwomajorperiods:atimeoflong,slowgrowthwhichextendedfromabout8,000BC.tillapproximatelyAD.1650.Inthefirstperiodofsome9600years,thepopulationincreasedfromsome8millionto500millionin1650.Between1650andthepresent,thepopulationhasincreasedfrom500milliontomorethan4billion.Anditisestimatedthatbytheyear2000therewillbe6.2billionpeoplethroughouttheworld.Onewaytoappreciatethisdramaticdifferenceinsuchabstractnumbersistoreducethetimeframetosomethingthatismoremanageable.Between8000BCand1650,anaverageofonly50,000personswasbeingaddedannuallytotheworld’spopulationeachyear.Atpresent,thisnumberisaddedeverysixhours.Theincreaseisabout80,000,000personsannually.
1.Whichofthefollowingdemographicgrowthpatternismostsuitableforthelongthinpowderfuseanalogy?
A.Avirtuallystableorslightlydecreasingperiodandthenasuddenexplosionofpopulation.
B.Aslowgrowthforalongtimeandthenaperiodofrapid,dramaticincrease.
C.Toomanypeopleonearthandafewrapidincreaseinthenumberaddedeachyear.
D.Alongperiodwhendeathratesexceedsbirthratesandthenashortperiodwithhigherfertilityandlowermortality.
2.Duringthefirstperiodofdemographichistory,societieswereoftenindangerofextinctionbecause___.
A.onlyoneintenpersonscouldlivepast40.
B.therewashighermortalitythanfertilityinmostplaces.
C.itwastoodangeroustohavebabiesduetothepoorconditions.
D.ourancestorshadlittleenthusiasmformorechildren.
3.Whichstatementistrueaboutpopulationincrease?
A.Theremightbeanincreaseof2.2billionpersonsfromnowtotheyear2000.
B.About50,000babiesareborneverysixhoursatpresent.
C.Between8000BCandthepresent,thepopulationincreaseisabout80,000,000personseachyear.
D.Thepopulationincreasedfasterbetween8000BCand1650thanbetween1650andthepresent.
4.Theauthorofthepassageintendsto___.
A.warnpeopleagainstthepopulationexplosioninthenearfuture.
B.comparethedemographicgrowthpatterninthepastwiththatafter1650.
C.findoutthecauseforrapidincreaseinpopulationinrecentyears.
D.presentusaclearandcompletepictureofthedemographicgrowth.
5.Theword“demographic”inthefirstparagraphmeans___.
A.statisticsofhuman.
B.surroundingsstudy.
C.accumulationofhuman.
D.developmentofhuman.
GriffithworkedforafirmthatspecializedineconomicdevelopmentinWashingtonD.C.becausesheneededmoneytopayforherdebt.