听下面一段独白,回答以下小题。【1】When should the listeners get to school next Tuesday?A.At 5:50. B.At 6:00. C.At 7:30.【2】What does the speaker ask the listeners to do?A.Attend a birthday celebration. B.Read the play ahead. C.Copy the play.【3】How much should each listener pay for the visit in total?A.$15. B.$17. C.$18.【4】What will the listeners do after visiting Staunton Theater?A.Meet at the front gate. B.Have a big meal. C.Go to a cafe.
Imagine,one
day,getting out of bed in Beijing and
being at your office in Shanghai in only a couple of hours,and
then,after a full day of work,going
back home to Beijing and having dinner there.
Sounds
unusual,doesn't it? But it's not that
unrealistic,with the development of China’s
high—speed railway system.And that’s not a11.China
has an even greater high—speed railway plan—to connect the country with
Southeast Asia,and eventually Eastern Europe.
China
is negotiating to extend its own high·-speed railway network to up to 17
countries in 1 0 to 15 years,eventually reaching
London and Singapore.
China
has proposed three such projects.The first would
possibly connect Kunming withSingapore via Vietnam and Malaysia.Another
could start in Urumqi and go through Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan,and
possibly
to
Germany.The third would start in the
northeast and go north through Russia and then into Western Europe.
If
China’s plan for the high-speed railway goes forward,people
could zip over from London to Beiling in under two days.
The
new system would still follow China’s high—speed railway standard.And
the trains would be able to go 346 kilometers an hour,almost
as fast as some airplanes.
China’s bullet train(高速客车),the
one connecting Wuhan to Guangzhou,already has the
World’s
fastest average speed.It covers 1,069
kilometers in about three hours.
Of
course,there are some technical
challenges to overcome.There are so many
issues that need to be settled,such as safety,rail
gauge(轨距),maintenance
of railway tracks.So,it’s
important to pay attention to every detail.
But
the key issue is really money.China is already
spending hundreds of billions of yuan on
domestic
railway expansion.
China
prefers that the other countries pay in natural resources rather than with
capital
investment.Resources
from those countries could stream into China to sustain development.
It’11
be a win-win project. For other countries,the railway network
will definitely create more opportunities for business,tourism
and so on,not to mention the better
communication among those countnes.
For
China,such a project would not only
connect it with the rest of Asia and bring some much-needed resources,but
would also help develop China’s far west.We foresee that in the
coming decades,millions of people will migrate
to the western regions,where the land is
empty and resources unused.With high-speed trains,people
will set up factories and business centers in the west once and for a11.And
they’11 trade with Central Asian and Eastern European countries.
1.China’s
new high-speed railway plan will be a win-win project because ____________.
A.China
will get much-needed resources and develop its western regions
B.China and the countries involved will benefit from
the project in various ways
C.China will develop its railway system and
communication with other countries
D. the foreign countries involved will develop their
railway transportation,business and tourism
2.According
to the passage,the greatest challenge to the new
high-speed railway plan is____________.
A.technical issues B.safety
of the system
C.financial problems D.maintenance
of railway tracks
3.Which
of the following words best describes the author’s attitude towards China’s
high-speed
railway plan?
A.Critical. B.Reserved.
C.Doubtful D. Positive.
4.Which
of the following might be the best title for the passage?
A.New Railway Standards B.Big
Railway Dreams
C.High—speed Bullet Trains D.International
Railway Network