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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.
Onceitwaspossibletodefinemaleandfemaleroleseasilybythedivisionoflabor.Menworkedoutsidethehomeandearnedtheincometosupporttheirfamilies,whilewomencookedthemealsandtookcareofthehomeandthechildren.Theseroleswerefirmlyfixedformostpeople,andtherewasnotmuchopportunityforwomentoexchangetheirroles.Butbythemiddleofthiscentury,men’sandwomen’sroleswerebecominglessfirmlyfixed.
Inthe1950s,economicandsocialsuccesswasthegoalofthetypicalAmerican.Butinthe1960sanewforcedevelopedcalledthecounterculture.Thepeopleinvolvedinthismovementdidnotvaluethemiddle-classAmericangoals.Thecounterculturepresentedmenandwomenwithnewrolechoices.Takingmoreinterestinchildcare,menbegantosharechild-raisingtaskswiththeirwives.Infact,someyoungmenandwomenmovedtocommunalhomesorfarmswheretheeconomicandchildcareresponsibilitiesweresharedequallybybothsexes.Inaddition,manyAmericansdidnotvaluethetraditionalmaleroleofsoldier.SomeyoungmenrefusedtobedraftedassoldierstofightinthewarinVietnam.
Intermsofnumbers,thecounterculturewasnotaverylargegroupofpeople.ButitsinfluencespreadtomanypartsofAmericansociety.Workingmenofallclassesbegantochangetheireconomicandsocialpatterns.Industrialworkersandbusinessexecutivesalikecutdownon“overtime”worksothattheycouldspendmoreleisuretimewiththeirfamilies.Somedoctors,lawyers,andteachersturnedawayfromhighpayingsituationstopracticetheirprofessionsinpoorerneighborhoods.
Inthe1970s,thefeministmovement,orwomen’sliberation,producedadditionaleconomicandsocialchanges.Womenofallagesandatalllevelsofsocietywereenteringtheworkforceingreaternumbers.Mostofthemstilltooktraditionalwomen’sjobsaspublicschoolteaching,nursing,andsecretarialwork.Butsomewomenbegantoentertraditionallymaleoccupations:policework,banking,dentistry,andconstructionwork.Womenwereaskingforequalwork,andequalopportunitiesforpromotion.
Todaytheexpertsgenerallyagreethatimportantchangesaretakingplaceintherolesofmenandwomen.Naturally,therearedifficultiesinadjustingtothesetransformations.
1.WhichofthefollowingbestexpressthemainideaofParagraph1?
A.Womenusuallyworkedoutsidethehomeforwages.
B.Menandwomen’sroleswereeasilyexchangedinthepast.
C.Men’srolesathomeweremorefirmlyfixedthanwomen’s.
D.Menandwomen’sroleswereusuallyquiteseparatedinthepast.
2.WhichsentencebestexpressesthemainideaofParagraph2?
A.Thefirstsentence.
B.Thesecondandthethirdsentences.
C.Thefourthsentence.
D.Thelastsentence.
3.Inthepassagetheauthorproposesthatthecounterculture___.
A.destroyedtheUnitedStates.
B.transformedsomeAmericanvalues.
C.wasnotimportantintheUnitedStates.
D.broughtpeoplemoreleisuretimewiththeirfamilies.
4.Itcouldbeinferredfromthepassagethat___.
A.menandwomenwillneversharethesamegoals.
B.somemenwillbewillingtoexchangetheirtraditionalmaleroles.
C.mostmenwillbehappytosharesomeofthehouseholdresponsibilitieswiththeirwives.
D.moreAmericanhouseholdsareheadedbywomenthaneverbefore.
5.Thebesttitleforthepassagemaybe___.
A.ResultsofFeministMovements
B.NewinfluenceinAmericanLife
C.CountercultureandItsconsequence
D.TraditionalDivisionofMaleandFemaleRoles.
