二、翻译
Section II Reading Comprehension
Part A
Directions:
Read the following four texts. Answer the questions after each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET. (40 points)
Text 1
How can the train operators possibly justify yet another increase to rail passenger fares? It has become a grimly reliable annual ritual: every January the cost of travelling by train rises, imposing a significant extra burden on those who have no option but to use the rail network to get to work or otherwise. This year’s rise, an average of 2.7 per cent, may be a fraction lower than last year’s, but it is still well above the official Consumer Price Index (CPI) measure of inflation.
Successive governments have permitted such increases on the grounds that the cost of investing in and running the rail network should be borne by those who use it, rather than the general taxpayer. …? Equally, there is a sense that the travails of commuters in the South East, many of whom will face among the biggest rises, have received too much attention compared to those who must endure the relatively poor infrastructure of the Midlands and the North.
However, over the past 12 months, those commuters have also experienced some of the worst rail strikes in years. …The responsibility for the latest wave of strikes rests on the unions. However, there is a strong case that those who have been worst affected by industrial action should receive compensation for the disruption they have suffered.
The Government has pledged to change the law to introduce a minimum service requirement so that, even when strikes occur, …, more investment is needed, but passengers will not be willing to pay more indefinitely if they must also endure cramped, unreliable services, punctuated by regular chaos when timetables are changed, or planned maintenance is managed incompetently. The threat of nationalisation may have been seen off for now, but it will return with a vengeance if the justified anger of passengers is not addressed in short order.
21. The author holds that this year’s increase in rail passengers fares ______.
A. will ease train operators’ burden
B. has kept pace with inflation
C. is a big surprise to commuters
D. remains an unreasonable measure
22. The stockbroker in Paragraph 2 is used to stand for ______.
A. car drivers
B. rail travellers
C. local investors
D. ordinary taxpayers
23. It is indicated in Paragraph 3 that train operators ______.
A. are offering compensation to commuters
B. are trying to repair relations with the unions
C. have failed to provide an adequate service
D. have suffered huge losses owing to the strikes
24. If unable to calm down passengers, the railways may have to face ______.
A. the loss of investment
B. the collapse of operations
C. a reduction of revenue
D. a change of ownership
25. Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
A. Who Are to Blame for the Strikes?
B. Constant Complaining Doesn’t Work
C. Can Nationalisation Bring Hope?
D. Ever-Rising Fares Aren’t Sustainable
