Passage 13                                                      看点评

For years and years people have been saying that the railways are dead.  "We can do without railways."  People say ... as if motorcars and planes have made the railways unnecessary.  We all keep hearing that trains are slow, that they lose money, that they're dying.  But this is far from the truth:  In these days of expensive oil, the railways have become highly competitive (有竞争力的) with motorcars and planes.  If you want to carry people or goods from place to place, they are cheaper than planes.  And they have much in common with planes.  A plane goes in a straight line and so does a railway.  What is more, it takes you form the heart of a city into the heart of another.  It doesn't leave you up as a plane does, miles and miles from the city centre.  It doesn't hold you up as a car does, in endless traffic jams, and a single train can carry goods which a plane or motorcar could never do.

Far from being dead, the railways are very much alive.  Modern railway lines give you a smooth, untroubled journey.  Where else can you eat well, sleep in comfort, feel safe and enjoy the scene while you are travelling at speed at the same time?  And we are only at the beginning.  For we have just entered the age of super-fast trains(超级高速列车), trains travelling at 150 miles an hour and more.  Soon we will be wondering why we spent so much on motorcars we can't use because we have not enough money to buy the oil and planes we can't fly for the same reason.

　

1. Some people think the railways are unnecessary for many reasons except that __________.
A. planes and motorcars have taken the place of trains.
B. oil is expensive today.
C. trains are slow.
D. railways lose money.

2. The writer's idea seems to be that __________.
A. we can do without railways.
B. trains have much in common with motorcars and planes.
C. motorcars and planes are not as good as trains.
D. trains are as good as motorcars and planes.

3. According to the writer, which of the following is NOT true?
A. It is cheaper to travel by train than by plane.
B. The railway's station is usually at the centre of a city.
C. When you get off the plane you will find yourself right in the city centre.
D. No motorcar of  plane can carry as many goods as a train does.

4. The writer thinks that the railways, far from being dead, are very much alive because __________.
A. we can have a smooth and untroubled journey.
B. we'll not have enough money to fly in planes.
C. we can now travel in super fast train.
D. all of the above.

5. The best title for this passage may be "__________".
A. Not the End But the Beginning
B. Which is the Best: Train, Motorcar or Plane
C. Trains are More Competitive than Motorcars or Planes
D. Oh, Super-fast Trains

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