题目内容
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What is many captive shippers’ attitude towards the consolidation in the rail industry？
A．Indifferent.
B．Supportive.
C．Indignant.
D．Apprehensive.
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A．Indifferent.
B．Supportive.
C．Indignant.
D．Worried.
Supporters of the new supersystems argue that these mergers will allow f or substantial cost reductions and better coordinated service. Any threat of monopoly, they argue, is removed by fiercecompetition 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 percentmore 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 SurfaceTransportation 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 a 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 shippers.
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 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 $10.2 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 Paragraph 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 7, Paragraph 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 text, 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
A．Disbelieving.
B．Impartial.
C．Prejudiced.
D．Accepting.
But compelling as that slogan was, in truth the shopper was cheated of the crown. Although manufacturing efficiency boosted the variety of goods and lowered prices, advertising provided most information about products. Through much of the past century, ads spoke to a captive audience confined to just a few radio or television channels or a limited number of publications. Now media choice has exploded too, and consumers select what they want from a far greater variety of sources—especially with a few clicks of a computer mouse. Thanks to the internet, the consumer is finally seizing power.
As our survey in this issue shows, consumer power has profound implications for companies, because it is changing the way the world shops. Many firms already claim to be "customer-driven" or "consumer-centric". Now their claims will be tested as never before. Trading on shoppers' ignorance will no longer be possible: people will know—and soon tell others, even those without the internet—that prices in the next town are cheaper or that certain goods are inferior. The internet is working wonders in raising standards. Good and honest firms should benefit most.
But it is also intensifying competition. Today, window shopping takes place online. People can compare products, prices and reputations. They can read what companies say about products in far greater detail, but also how that tallies with the opinions of others, and—most importantly of all—discover what previous buyers have to say. Newsgroups and websites constantly review products and services.
This is changing the nature of consumer decision. Until recently, consumers usually learned about a product and made their choice at the same time. People would often visit a department store or dealership to seek advice from a salesman, look at his recommendations and then buy. Now, for many, each of these steps is separate. For instance, Ford is finding that eight out of ten of its customers have already used the internet to decide what car they want to buy—and what they are willing to pay—even before they arrive at a show room.
It can be inferred from the second paragraph that the consumers used to be put at a disadvantage in a large part due to
A．inefficient advertising.
B．underrated slogan.
C．medium handicap.
D．rampant dishonesty.
But compelling as that slogan was, in truth the shopper was cheated of the crown. Although manufacturing efficiency boosted the variety of goods and lowered prices, advertising provided most information about products. Through much of the past century, ads spoke to a captive audience confined to just a few radio or television channels or a limited number of publications. Now media choice has exploded too, and consumers select what they want from a far greater variety of sources-- especially with a few clicks of a computer mouse. Thanks to the internet, the consumer is finally seizing power.
As our survey in this issue shows, consumer power has profound implications for companies, because it is changing the way the world shops. Many firms already claim to be "customer-driven or consumer-centric". Now their claims will be tested as never before. Trading on shoppers' ignorance will no longer be possible: people will know-- and soon tell others, even those without the internet-- that prices in the next town are cheaper or that certain goods are inferior. The internet is working wonders in raising standards. Good and honest firms should benefit most.
But it is also intensifying competition. Today, window shopping takes place online. People can compare products, prices and reputations. They can read what companies say about products in far greater detail, but also how that matches up with the opinions of others, and-- most importantly of all-- discover what previous buyers have to say. News, groups and websites constantly review products and services.
This is changing the nature of consumer decisions. Until recently, consumers usually learned about a product and made their choice at the same time. People would often visit a department store or dealership to seek advice from a salesman, look at his recommendations and then buy. Now, for many, each of these steps is separate. For instance, Ford is finding that eight out of ten of its customers have already used the internet to decide what car they want to buy-- and what they are willing to pay-- even before they arrive at a showroom. When that happens consumers will truly be kings, and only those firms ready and able to serve these new monarchs will survive.
What is the meaning of "revolutionary concept"？ (Line 3, Para. 1)
A．Some customers are the shareholders of a store.
B．Department stores offer more service for customers.
C．Customers think they are kings.
D．Customers are respected as a king in business circle.
Section B
Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. You should decide on the best choice.
In 1750 BC, the Code of Hammurabi made it a crime punishable by death to sell any thing to a child without first obtaining a power of attorney. In 2001, selling products to children has become business as usual. The average American child may view as many as 40,000 commercials annually. And commercials clearly have an effect on children and adults: otherwise, businesses would not have paid the networks $ 7.3 billion this year for advertising time.
Many critics now feel that commercial American television programming exists for the sole purpose of delivering a certain demographic audience to a specific group of advertisers. In other words, the programs exist for the sake of the commercials, not the other way around. Beginning in the 1960s, advertisers began to target children specifically with advertisements, reaping great financial rewards in return. By 1998, the advertising industry was spending $2 billion on advertisements targeting children, a 20-fold increase from 1990. Advertisers recognize that children and teenagers not only influence their parents' spending habits, but also have their own money to spend.
But many are starting to question whether or not it is wrong for young children to be targeted by advertisers. Young children are cognitively and psychologically defenseless against television advertising. Numerous studies have documented that young children under the age of'6 to 8 years are unable to understand the intent of advertisements and, in fact, frequently accept advertising claims as being largely true.
Advertising may also contribute to the development of skepticism among children and adolescents as they compare what they see advertised with the real item. In the late 1980s, Consumer Reports made three superb videotapes in their "Buy Me That" series, which documented how deceptive many ads for children's toys can be. For example, the disclaimers are spoken rapidly or shown in small print and are not understood by small children.
Children represent a captive audience to broadcasters and advertisers. They learn from what they view on television, in movies, in video games, and in music videos. It is now time for parents, educators, and the government to acknowledge this crucial fact and move on and to protect young people from unhealthy media influences such as overexposure to television advertising.
According to the text, selling products to children in today's society is.
A．a common activity
B．illegal
C．looked down upon
D．punishable by death
The first essential in elephant training is to assign to the animal a single mahout who will be entirely responsible for the job. Elephants like to have one master just as dogs do, and are capable of a considerable degree of personal affection. There are even stories of half-trained elephant calves who have refused to feed and pained to death when by some unavoidable circumstance they have been deprived of their own trainer. Such extreme cases must probably be taken with a grain of salt, but they do underline the general principle that the relationship between elephant and mahout is the key to successful training.
The most economical age to capture an elephant for training is between fifteen and twenty years, for it is then almost ready to undertake heavy work and can begin to earn its keep straight away. But animals of this age do not easily become subservient to man, and a very firm hand must be employed in the early stages. The captive elephant, still roped to a tree, plunges and screams every time a man approaches, and for several days will probably refuse all food through anger and fear. Sometimes a tame elephant is tethered nearby to give the wild one confidence, and in most cases the captive gradually quietens down and begins to accept its food. The next stage is to get the elephant to the training establishment, a ticklish business which is achieved with the aid of two tame elephants roped to the captive on either side.
When several elephants are being trained at one time, it is customary for the new arrival to be placed between the stalls of two captives whose training is already well advanced. It is then left completely undisturbed with plenty of food and water so that it can absorb the atmosphere of its new home and see that nothing particularly alarming is happening to its companions when it is eating normally, its own training begins. The trainer stands in front of the elephant holding a long stick with a sharp metal point. Two assistants, mounted on tame elephants, control the captive from either side, while others rub their hands over his skin to the accompaniment of a monotonous and soothing chant. This is supposed to induce pleasurable sensations in the elephant, and its effects are reinforced by the use of endearing epithets, such as 'ho! my son', or 'ho! My father', or 'my mother' according to the age and sex of the captive. The elephant is not immediately susceptible to such blandishments, however, and usually lashes fiercely with its trunk in all directions. These movements are controlled by the trainer with the metal-pointed stick, and the trunk eventually becomes so sore that the elephant curls it up and seldom afterwards uses it for offensive purposes.
The ill-treatment of an elephant during training______.
A．can have unpleasant consequences later
B．is the most effective method available
C．increases the time it takes to train the animal
D．ensures loyal service for years to come
Supporters of the new super systems argued 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 travelling 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 only one rail company serves most shippers. 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 this 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 $ 10.2 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 will, as Norfolk Southern and CSX increase their grip on the market.
According to those who support mergers railway monopoly is likely 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
The first essential in elephant training is to assign to the animal a single mahout who will be entirely responsible for the job. Elephants like to have one master just as dogs do, and are capable of a considerable degree of personal affection. There are even stories of half- trained elephant calves who have refused to feed and pained to death when by some unavoidable circumstance they have been deprived of their own trainer. Such extreme cases must probably be taken with a grain of salt, but they do underline the general principle that the relationship between elephant and mahout is the key to successful training.
The most economical age to capture an elephant for training is between fifteen and twenty years, for it is then almost ready to undertake heavy work and can begin to earn its keep straight away. But animals of this age do not easily become subservient to man, and a very firm hand must be employed in the early stages. The captive elephant, still roped to a tree, plunges and screams every time a man approaches, and for several days will probably refuse all food through anger, and fear. Sometimes a tame elephant is tethered nearby to give the wild one confidence, and in most cases the captive gradually quietens down and begins to accept its food. The next stage is to get the elephant to the training establishment, a ticklish business which is achieved with the aid of two tame elephants roped to the captive on either side.
When several elephants are being trained at one time, it is customary for the new arrival to be placed between the stalls of two captives whose training is already well advanced. It is then left completely undisturbed with plenty of food and water so that it can absorb the atmosphere of its new home and see that nothing particularly alarming is happening to its companions. When it is eating normally, its own training begins. The trainer stands in front of the elephant holding a long stick with a sharp metal point. Two assistants, mounted on tame elephants, control the captive from either side, while others rub their hands over his skin to the accompaniment of a monotonous and soothing chant. This is supposed to induce pleasurable sensations in the elephant, and its effects are reinforced by the use of endearing epithets, such as "ho! my son", or "ho! my father", or "my mother", according to the age and sex of the captive. The elephant is not immediately susceptible to such blandishments, however, and usually lashes fiercely with its trunk in all directions. These movements are controlled by the trainer with the metal-pointed stick, and the trunk eventually becomes so sore that the elephant curls it up and seldom afterwards uses it for offensive purposes.
The ill-treatment of an elephant during training ______.
A．can have unpleasant consequences later
B．is the most effective method available
C．increases the time it takes to tram the animal
D．ensures loyal service for years to come
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