英语专四阅读理解练习（十六）附答案解析

英语专四阅读理解练习（十六）附答案解析

　　英语专四阅读提分的技巧来源于多做练习，不仅是为了高质快速选择答案正确，更重要的是希望同学们能从阅读理解练习中分析文章的布局安排，作者的意图，换位思考自己在专四写作中会如何运用。希望能对考生们有所帮助。

　　If the old maxim that the customer is always rightstill has meaning, then the airlines that ply theworld’s busiest air route between London and Parishave a flight on their hands.

　　The Eurostar train service linking the UK and Frenchcapitals via the Channel Tunnel is winning customersin increasing numbers. In late May, it carried its onemillionth passenger, having run only a limited service between London, Paris and Brussels sinceNovember 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 growfrom there.

　　From July, Eurostar steps its service to nine trains each way between London and Paris, and fivebetween London and Brussels. Each train carries almost 800 passengers, 210 of them in firstclass.

　　The airlines estimate that they will initially lose around 15%-20% of their London-Paris trafficto the railways once Eurostar starts a full service later this year (1995), with 15 trains a dayeach way. A similar service will start to Brussels. The damage will be limited, however, theairlines 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 Londonand 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% andpoint to their rivals-Particularly Air France-as having suffered the problems. On the Brusselsroute, the railway company had less success, and the airlines report anything from around a5% drop to no visible decline in traffic.

　　The airlines' optimism on returning traffic levels is based on historical precedent. BritishMidland, for example, points to its experience on Heathrow Leeds Bradford service which sawpassenger numbers fold by 15% when British Rail electrified and modernized the railway linebetween London and Yorkshire. Two years later, travel had risen between the two destinationsto 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.delighted

　　C.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 thefollowing 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.

　　答案：CABCB

　　词汇讲解

　　1. initially 最初,开头

　　She came initially to spend a few days, but in theend she stayed for a whole month.

　　起先她只打算来待几天，但後来却住了整整一个月。

　　Initially, I disagree with his proposal, but later I changed my mind.

　　起初我不同意他的提议，不过后来我改了主意。

　　2. optimism 乐观,乐观主义

　　Her mood varied from optimism to extreme depression.

　　她的情绪由乐观一变而为极度消沉.

　　They professed optimism about the outcome.

　　他们对结果表示乐观.

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