英語(yǔ)四級(jí)基礎(chǔ)閱讀訓(xùn)練 Text 6

Text 6

In recent years, railroads have been combining with each other, merging into super systems, causing heightened concerns about monopoly. As recently as 1995, the top four railroads accounted for under 70 percent of the total ton-miles moved by rails. Next year, after a series of mergers is completed, just four railroads will control well over 90 percent of all the freight moved by major rail carriers.

Supporters of the new super systems argue that these mergers will allow for substantial cost reductions and better coordinated service. Any threat of monopoly, they argue, is removed by fierce competition from trucks. But many shippers complain that for heavy bulk commodities traveling long distances, such as coal, chemicals, and grain, trucking is too costly and the railroads therefore have them by the throat.

The vast consolidation within the rail industry means that most shippers are served by only one rail company. Railroads typically charge such "captive" shippers 20 to 30 percent more than they do when another railroad is competing for the business. Shippers who feel they are being overcharged have the right to appeal to the federal government's Surface Transportation Board for rate relief, but the process is expensive, time consuming, and will work only in truly extreme cases.

Railroads justify rate discrimination against captive shippers on the grounds that in the long run it reduces everyone's cost. If railroads charged all customers the same average rate, they argue, shippers who have the option of switching to trucks or other forms of transportation would do so, leaving remaining customers to shoulder the cost of keeping up the line. It's theory to which many economists subscribe, but in practice it often leaves railroads in the position of determining which companies will flourish and which will fail. "Do we really want railroads to be the arbiters of who wins and who loses in the marketplace?" asks Martin Bercovici, a Washington lawyer who frequently represents shipper.

Many captive shippers also worry they will soon be hit with a round of huge rate increases. The railroad industry as a whole, despite its brightening fortuning fortunes, still does not earn enough to cover the cost of the capital it must invest to keep up with its surging traffic. Yet railroads continue to borrow billions to acquire one another, with Wall Street cheering them on. Consider the 1.02 billion bid by Norfolk Southern and CSX to acquire Conrail this year. Conrail's net railway operating income in 1996 was just 427 million, less than half of the carrying costs of the transaction. Who's going to pay for the rest of the bill? Many captive shippers fear that they will, as Norfolk Southern and CSX increase their grip on the market.

1.According to those who support mergers railway monopoly is unlikely because_______.

A.cost reduction is based on competition　　　B.services call for cross-trade coordination

C.outside competitors will continue to exist　　D.shippers will have the railway by the throat

2.What is many captive shippers' attitude towards the consolidation in the rail industry?

A.Indifferent.　　B.Supportive.　　C.Indignant.　　D.Apprehensive.

3.It can be inferred from Para. 3 that_______.

A.shippers will be charged less without a rival railroad

B.there will soon be only one railroad company nationwide

C.overcharged shippers are unlikely to appeal for rate relief

D.a government board ensures fair play in railway business

4.The word "arbiters" (Line 6, Para. 4) most probably refers to those_______.

A.who work as coordinators　　B.who function as judges

C.who supervise transactions　　D.who determine the price

5.According to the passage, the cost increase in the rail industry is mainly caused by_______.

A.the continuing acquisition　　B.the growing traffic

C.the cheering Wall Street　　D.the shrinking market

長(zhǎng)難例句分析

［長(zhǎng)難例句］If railroads charged all customers the same average rate, they argue, shippers who have the option of switching to trucks or other forms of transportation would do so, leaving remaining customers to shoulder the cost of keeping up the line.

［結(jié)構(gòu)分析］本句為虛擬語(yǔ)氣，主干是shippers would do so。If railroads charged all customers the same average rate為條件狀語(yǔ)從句，they argue為插入語(yǔ)，who引導(dǎo)的who have the option of switching to trucks or other forms of transportation是定語(yǔ)從句，修飾shippers，現(xiàn)在分詞結(jié)構(gòu)leaving remaining customers to shoulder the cost of keeping up the line作結(jié)果狀語(yǔ)。

［參考譯文］如果鐵路對(duì)所有客戶都平均收費(fèi)，那些可以選擇卡車或其他運(yùn)輸方式的客戶就會(huì)選擇這些方式。如此一來(lái)，剩余的客戶就要承擔(dān)保持運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)的費(fèi)用。

全文參考譯文

近年來(lái)，各個(gè)鐵路公司都一直在進(jìn)行合并而成為超級(jí)系統(tǒng)，這引起了人們對(duì)壟斷的日益關(guān)注。1995年四條最大的鐵路運(yùn)輸量不到總噸/英里數(shù)的70％。明年，經(jīng)過(guò)一系列的合并之后，這四條鐵路的運(yùn)輸量將遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)超過(guò)各大鐵路貨運(yùn)總量的90％。

支持新超級(jí)鐵路的人們認(rèn)為，這些合并有助于大幅降低費(fèi)用，更好地協(xié)調(diào)貨運(yùn)服務(wù)。他們認(rèn)為，任何來(lái)自壟斷的威脅都可以通過(guò)來(lái)自汽車運(yùn)輸?shù)募ち腋?jìng)爭(zhēng)進(jìn)行消除。然而，許多托運(yùn)人卻抱怨說(shuō)，對(duì)于遠(yuǎn)途大宗貨物如煤、化肥和糧食等貨物而言，汽車貨運(yùn)的運(yùn)費(fèi)太昂貴，因此鐵路公司“扼住他們的咽喉”。

鐵路業(yè)大規(guī)模的合并意味著為托運(yùn)人服務(wù)的鐵路公司僅此一家。這樣，在沒(méi)有競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手時(shí)，鐵路一般向“受制”的托運(yùn)人多收20％～30％的費(fèi)用。那些覺(jué)得運(yùn)費(fèi)過(guò)高的人有權(quán)向聯(lián)邦政府地面運(yùn)輸委員會(huì)投訴，要求給予運(yùn)費(fèi)補(bǔ)貼。然而，這個(gè)過(guò)程既耗時(shí)又費(fèi)錢，而且只有在極端的情況下才有效。

從長(zhǎng)遠(yuǎn)來(lái)看，費(fèi)率的差別降低了各個(gè)客戶的成本，所以鐵路方面認(rèn)為鐵路方收費(fèi)差別是合理的。如果鐵路對(duì)所有客戶都平均收費(fèi)，那些可以選擇卡車或其他運(yùn)輸方式的客戶就會(huì)去選擇這些方式。如此一來(lái)，剩余的客戶就要承擔(dān)保持鐵路運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)的費(fèi)用。對(duì)于這一理論，許多經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家都贊成。但是，實(shí)際上常常使鐵路處于這樣一種地位，即決定哪些公司該繼續(xù)發(fā)展而哪些公司該倒閉。經(jīng)常作為托運(yùn)方代理人的華盛頓律師Martin Bercovici問(wèn)道：“難道我們真的要讓鐵路成為市場(chǎng)上誰(shuí)興誰(shuí)衰的仲裁人嗎？”

許多受控制的托運(yùn)人也擔(dān)心遭受費(fèi)用大幅度增加的打擊。就整個(gè)鐵路業(yè)來(lái)說(shuō)，盡管財(cái)源大有希望，其收入仍然不足以支付為維持日益增加的運(yùn)量而投入的資本。然而，由于有華爾街為其鼓氣，鐵路方面仍在借貸資金以相互兼并。今年Norfolk Southern公司和CSX公司出資10.2億美元購(gòu)得聯(lián)合鐵路公司。1996年聯(lián)合鐵路公司的鐵路純收入僅為4.27億美元，還不到運(yùn)輸成本的一半。那么這筆賬的另一半由誰(shuí)來(lái)支付呢？許多受制的托運(yùn)人擔(dān)心，由于Norfolk Southern公司和CSX公司加強(qiáng)對(duì)市場(chǎng)的掌控，托運(yùn)人將承擔(dān)余下的費(fèi)用。

題目答案與解析

1.按照那些支持合并者的觀點(diǎn)，鐵路壟斷不可能發(fā)生的原因是_________。

A.成本的降低以競(jìng)爭(zhēng)為基礎(chǔ)　　　　B.服務(wù)需要跨行業(yè)的協(xié)調(diào)

C.來(lái)自外面的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)者將繼續(xù)存在　　D.托運(yùn)人將控制鐵路運(yùn)輸

【答案】C

【解析】本題可參照文章的第二段。從中可知，支持新超級(jí)鐵路的人們認(rèn)為，這些合并有助于大幅降低運(yùn)費(fèi)，并更好地協(xié)調(diào)貨運(yùn)服務(wù)；他們認(rèn)為，任何來(lái)自壟斷的威脅都可以通過(guò)來(lái)自汽車運(yùn)輸?shù)募ち腋?jìng)爭(zhēng)而消除。據(jù)此可知，支持鐵路合并的人認(rèn)為來(lái)自于外面的激烈競(jìng)爭(zhēng)會(huì)消除壟斷的局面。C項(xiàng)與文意相符，因此為正確答案。

2.對(duì)鐵路部門合并這件事，很多受控制的托運(yùn)人的態(tài)度是什么？

A.漠不關(guān)心?！　.支持?！　.憤怒?！　.擔(dān)心。

【答案】D

【解析】本題可參照文章的第三段。從中可知，在沒(méi)有競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手時(shí)鐵路一般向這樣的“受制的”托運(yùn)人多收20％～30％的費(fèi)用；從文章第五段的內(nèi)容可知，許多受制的托運(yùn)人也擔(dān)心將受到費(fèi)用大幅度增加的打擊；就整個(gè)鐵路行業(yè)來(lái)說(shuō)，其收入仍不足以支付為維持日益增加的運(yùn)量而投入的資金；而且，鐵路公司仍在借貸資金以相互兼并；今年，Norfolk Southern公司和CSX投入了10.2億美元兼并了聯(lián)合鐵路公司；許多受制的托運(yùn)人擔(dān)心，隨著Norfolk Southern公司和CSX對(duì)市場(chǎng)的控制力加強(qiáng)，托運(yùn)人將承擔(dān)余下的費(fèi)用。據(jù)此可知，受控制的托運(yùn)人擔(dān)心鐵路部門的合并。D項(xiàng)為正確答案。

3.從第三段可以推知，______。

A.如果沒(méi)有競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手，鐵路公司向托運(yùn)者索取的費(fèi)用將少一些

B.不久，全國(guó)將只剩下一家鐵路公司

C.被索價(jià)過(guò)多的托運(yùn)人不可能上訴減少費(fèi)率

D.政府部門保證在鐵路經(jīng)營(yíng)中實(shí)行公平競(jìng)爭(zhēng)

【答案】C

【解析】本題可參照文章的第三段。從中可知，鐵路業(yè)規(guī)?？涨暗暮喜⒁馕吨蠖鄶?shù)托運(yùn)人將由唯一的一家鐵路公司提供服務(wù)；鐵路公司向這樣“受制的”托運(yùn)人收取的費(fèi)用比有別的鐵路公司競(jìng)爭(zhēng)時(shí)多20％～30％；那些覺(jué)得被索價(jià)過(guò)高的托運(yùn)人有權(quán)向聯(lián)邦政府的水陸運(yùn)輸委員會(huì)投訴，要求降低費(fèi)率，但是這種過(guò)程既費(fèi)錢也費(fèi)時(shí)間，只有在極端情況下才有效。據(jù)此可知，托運(yùn)人上訴的可能性不大。C項(xiàng)與文章的意思相符，因此為正確答案。

4.單詞arbiters（第四段第六行）最可能意指那些_________。

A.像協(xié)調(diào)員一樣的工作者　　B.行使法官職能者

C.監(jiān)督交易者　　　　　　　D.決定價(jià)格者

【答案】B

【解析】本題可參照文章的第四段。從中可知，這是一種許多經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家都贊成的理論，但實(shí)際上，這使得鐵路公司可以決定哪些公司會(huì)興旺，哪些公司會(huì)倒閉；經(jīng)常為托運(yùn)人作代理的華盛頓律師問(wèn)道：“難道我們真的要讓鐵路公司成為決定市場(chǎng)上誰(shuí)興誰(shuí)衰的仲裁人嗎？”據(jù)此可知，arbiters的意思應(yīng)該是“裁決者”。B項(xiàng)的“行使法官職能者”與文章的意思相符，因此為正確答案。

5.依照本文的觀點(diǎn)，鐵路業(yè)的成本增加主要是由_________引起的。

A.持續(xù)的合并　　　　　　　B.日益繁忙的運(yùn)輸

C.令人鼓舞的華爾街股市　　D.萎縮的市場(chǎng)

【答案】A

【解析】本題可參照文章的最后一段。從中可知，許多受制的托運(yùn)人也擔(dān)心將受到又一輪費(fèi)用大幅度增加的打擊；就整個(gè)鐵路行業(yè)來(lái)說(shuō)，盡管出現(xiàn)好的轉(zhuǎn)機(jī)，但其收入仍不足以支付它必須用于維持日益增加的運(yùn)輸而投入的資金；而且，鐵路公司仍在借貸數(shù)十億的資金以相互兼并，華爾街則在旁邊為他們鼓氣；接著舉例說(shuō)：Norfolk Southern公司和CSX投入了10.2億美元兼并了聯(lián)合鐵路公司，聯(lián)合鐵路公司在1996年的凈運(yùn)營(yíng)收入只有4.27億美元，不到交易的運(yùn)輸成本的一半，那么，誰(shuí)來(lái)支付余下的費(fèi)用呢？許多受制的托運(yùn)人擔(dān)心，隨著Norfolk Southern公司和CSX公司對(duì)市場(chǎng)的控制力加強(qiáng)，托運(yùn)人將承擔(dān)余下的費(fèi)用。據(jù)此可知，鐵路部門成本增加的主要原因是進(jìn)一步的合并。A項(xiàng)的“持續(xù)的合并”與文章意思相符，因此為正確答案。