第1824期阅读理解附答案

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

　　The Eurostar train service linking the UK andFrench capitals via the Channel Tunnel is winningcustomers in increasing numbers. In late May, itcarried its one millionth passenger, having run only a limited service between London, Paris and Brussels since November 1994, starting with twotrains a day in each direction to Paris and Brussels. By 1997, the company believes that it will becarrying ten million passengers a year, and continue to grow from there.

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

　　The airlines estimate that they will initially lose around 15%-20% of their London-Paristraffic to the railways once Eurostar starts a full service later this year , with 15 trains aday each 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 betweenLondon and Paris and Brussels on Eurostar trains means that some air services are alreadysuffering. Some of the major carriers say that their passenger numbers are down by less than5% and point to their rivals-Particularly Air France-as having suffered the problems. On theBrussels route, the railway company had less success, and the airlines report anything fromaround a 5% 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 saw passenger 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 wont 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 authors attitude towards the drop of passengers may be described as__.

　　A. worried.

　　B. delighted

　　C. puzzled.

　　D. unrivaled.

　　3. In the passage, British Rail 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 railways 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 inthe following 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