Half
80%
20%
Not mentioned
第1题：
A.ease
B.suitability
C.practicability
D.possibility
第2题：
Text 3 In recent years, railroads have been combining with each other, mergingsintossuper 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 his 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 .2 billion bid by Norfolk Southern and CSX to acquire Conrail this year. Conrail's net railway operating income in 1996 was just 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.
第51题：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.
第3题：
30. --- Can you tell me when _____?
--- About two weeks ago.
A. does he buy the car B. did he buy the car
C. he bought the car D. he buys the car
第4题：
A、would go
B、went
C、will be going
D、goes
第5题：
The last paragraph is about how to teach a teenager
A．to use the phone in a sensible way
B．to pay for his own telephone
C．to share the phone with friends
D．to answer the phone quickly
第6题：
What can we learn about “Versed”?
A. It consists of three parts.
B. It is mainly about the American army.
C. It is a book published two decades ago.
D. It partly concerns the poet’s own life.
第7题：
—How about your journey to Mount Emei ?
—Everything was wonderful except that our car _________ twice on the way .
A. slowed down B. broke down C. got downD. put down
第8题：
此题为判断题(对，错)。
第9题：
A、which
B、whom
C、who
第10题：
This story is about some American students()learnt business skills by operating their own banks.
A. who
B. which
C. whom