Passage4

Questions16to20arebasedonthefollowingpassage:

Thenewglobalsatellitecommunicationssystemswillofferthreekindsservice,whichmayoverlapinmanydifferentkindsofreceivers.

VOICE.SatellitetelephoneswillbeabletomakecallsfromanywhereontheEarthtoanywhereelse.Thatcouldmakethemespeciallyusefultoremote,thirdworldvillages(someofwhichalreadyusestationarysatellitetelephones),explorersanddisaster-reliefteams.Today’smobiletelephonesdependonearth-boundtransmitters,wheretechnicalstandardsvaryfromcountrytocountry.Sobusinesstravelerscannotusetheirmobilephonesoninternationaltrips.Satellitetelephoneswouldmakethatpossible.

MESSAGING.Satellitemassagershavethesameglobalcoverageassatellitetelephones,butcarrytextalone,whichcouldbeusefulforthosewithlaptopcomputers.Equippedwithasmallscreenliketoday’spapers,satellitemassagerswillalsoreceiveshortmessages.

TRACKING.Voiceandmessagingsystemswillalsotelltheiruserswheretheyaretowithinafewhundredmeters.Combinedwiththemessagingservice,thelocationservicecouldhelprescueteamstofindstrandedadventurers,thepolicetofindstolencars,exporterstofollowtheprogressofcargoes,andhaulagecompaniestocheckthatdriversarenotdetouringthepub.America’smilitaryGlobalPositioningSystem(GPS)satellitewillprovidebetterpositioninginformationtoanyonewhohasareceiverfortheirsignals,butGPSdoesnotcarrymessages,sosuchareceivercannotbeusedonitsownfortrackingorrescue.Bythemid-1990s,GPSreceiverswillbeabletotellpeoplewheretheyaretowithin70metersanywhereintheworld,andtowithinameterorsoinareaswheretheserviceissupplementedbyground-basedtransmitter.

16.Globalsatellitecommunicationssystemswillbeusefulto.

A.laptopcomputerusers

B.remotevillages

C.disaster-reliefteams

D.allabove

17.Satellitetelephonewillmake.

A.businesstravelersusemobilephonesoninternationaltrips

B.possiblecallsfromanywhereonearthtoanywhereelse

C.explorershappy

D.allabove

18.Whichofthefollowingistrue?

A.ThepositioningprecisionofthevoicesystemisbetterthanthatofGPS.

B.ThepositioningprecisionofGPSisBetterthanthatofthevoicesystem.

C.ThepositioningprecisionofthemessagingsystemisbetterthanofGPS.

D.Thepositioningprecisionofvoicesystemisbetterthanthatofthemessagingsystem.

19.Whatcanwesayaboutthenewglobalsatellitecommunicationssystems?

A.Theyarewidelyused.

B.Theyareveryhelpful.

C.Theyarecostly.

D.BothAandB.

20.Whichofthefollowingmaybethebesttitleforthepassage?

A.GlobalSatelliteCommunications

B.NewVoiceandMessagingSystem

C.NewGenerationSatellite

D.AlwaysinTouch

According to the acoustics, continual exposure____ noise of high intensity would lead to loss of hearing.

Thevisitorsplannedto________________(花最少的时间游览公园以外的地方).

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.

PartIVTranslation

Asthesourceofaluminumisalmostinexhaustible,wecanexpectthatmoreandmoreuseswillbefoundforthisversatilemetal.(PassageTwo)