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
暫無(wú)解析
Theareagets________________(年降雨量不足五厘米).
翻譯：
幾千年的中國(guó)文化充實(shí)著中國(guó)夢(mèng)，同時(shí)，過(guò)去三十幾年的改革開(kāi)放也激勵(lì)著中國(guó)夢(mèng)。中國(guó)夢(mèng)最顯著的特征是包容性和雙贏合作。這些也是使中國(guó)夢(mèng)擴(kuò)大它的全球影響范圍和被其他國(guó)家的人民認(rèn)可的基本特征。中國(guó)夢(mèng)是民族復(fù)興的夢(mèng)。它是建設(shè)一個(gè)強(qiáng)大繁榮的國(guó)家，給中國(guó)人民帶來(lái)幸福生活的夢(mèng)。中國(guó)夢(mèng)需要維持穩(wěn)定健康的經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展，科學(xué)管理社會(huì)，以及有效應(yīng)對(duì)外部發(fā)展的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)和挑戰(zhàn)。
Paragraphs2and3explain________.
Theywillneverreconcilethemselvesto____.
Recentresearchhasclaimedthatanexcessofpositiveionsintheaircanhaveanilleffectonpeople’sphysicalorpsychologicalhealth.Whatarepositiveions?Well,theairisfullofions,electricallychargedparticles,andgenerallythereisaroughbalancebetweenthepositiveandthenegativecharged.Butsometimesthisbalancebecomesdisturbedandalargerproportionofpositiveionsarefound.Thishappensnaturallybeforethunderstorm,earthquakeswhenwindssuchastheMistral,HamsinorSharavareblowingincertaincountries.Oritcanbecausedbyabuild-upofstaticelectricityindoorsfromcarpetsorclothingmadeofman-madefibres,orfromTVsets,duplicatorsorcomputerdisplayscreens.
Whenalargenumberofpositiveionsarepresentintheairmanypeopleexperienceunpleasanteffectssuchasheadaches,fatigue,irritability,andsomesensitivepeoplesuffernauseaorevenmentaldisturbance.Animalsarealsoaffected,particularlybeforeearthquakes,snakeshavebeenobservedtocomeoutofhibernation,ratstofleefromtheirburrows,dogshowlandcatsjumpaboutunaccountably.ThishasledtheUSGeographicalSurveytofundanetworkofvolunteerstowatchanimalsinanefforttoforeseesuchdisastersbeforetheyhitvulnerableareassuchasCalifornia.
Conversely,whenlargenumbersofnegativeionsarepresent,thenpeoplehaveafeelingofwell-being.Naturalconditionsthatproducetheselargeamountsarenearthesea,closetowaterfallsorfountains,orinanyplacewherewaterissprayed,orformsaspray.Thisprobablyaccountsforthebeneficialeffectofaholidaybythesea,orinthemountainswithtumblingstreamsorwaterfalls.
Toincreasethesupplyofnegativeionsindoors,somescientistsrecommendtheuseofionisers:smallportablemachines,whichgeneratenegativeions.Theyclaimthationisersnotonlycleanandrefreshtheairbutalsoimprovethehealthofpeoplesensitivetoexcesspositiveions.Ofcourse,therearethedetractors,otherscientists,whodismisssuchclaimsandareskepticalaboutnegative/positiveionresearch.Thereforepeoplecanonlymakeuptheirownmindsbyobservingtheeffectsonthemselves,oronothers,ofanegativerichorpoorenvironment.Afterallitisdebatablewhetherdependingonseismicreadingstoanticipateearthquakesismoreeffectivethanwatchingthecat.
1.Whateffectdoesexceedingpositiveionizationhaveonsomepeople?
A.Theythinktheyareinsane.
B.Theyfeelratherbad-temperedandshort-fussed.
C.Theybecomeviolentlysick.
D.Theyaretootiredtodoanything.
2.Inaccordancewiththepassage,staticelectricitycanbecausedby___.
A.usinghome-madeelectricalgoods.
B.wearingclothesmadeofnaturalmaterials.
C.walkingonartificialfloorcoverings.
D.copyingTVprogramsonacomputer.
3.Ahighnegativeioncountislikelytobefound___.
A.nearapoundwithawaterpump.
B.closetoaslow-flowingriver.
C.highinsomebarrenmountains.
D.byarotatingwatersprinkler.
4.Whatkindofmachinecangeneratenegativeionsindoors?
A.Ionisers.
B.Air-conditioners.
C.Exhaust-fans
D.Vacuumpumps.
5.Somescientistsbelievethat___.
A.watchinganimalstoanticipateearthquakesismoreeffectivethandependingonseismography.
B.theunusualbehaviorofanimalscannotbetrusted.
C.neitherwatchingnorusingseismographsisreliable.
D.earthquake
