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.
51.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.
52.What is many captive shippers" attitude towards the consolidation in the rail industry?
A. Indifferent.
B. Supportive.
C. Indignant.
D. Apprehensive.
53.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.
54.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.
55.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.
CCDBA
Text 4 It is said that in England death is pressing, in Canada inevitable and in California optional Small wonder. Americans" life expectancy has nearly doubled over the past century. Failing hips can be replaced, clinical depression controlled, cataracts removed in a 30-minuts surgical procedure. Such advances offer the aging population a quality of life that was unimaginable when I entered medicine 50 years ago. But not even a great health-care system can cure death-and our failure to confront that reality now threatens this greatness of ours.
Death is normal; we are genetically programmed to disintegrate and perish, even under ideal conditions. We all understand that at some level, yet as medical consumers we treat death as a problem to be solved. Shielded by third-party payers from the cost of our care, we demand everything that can possibly be done for us, even if it"s useless. The most obvious example is late-stage cancer care. Physicians-frustrated by their inability to cure the disease and fearing loss of hope in the patient-too often offer aggressive treatment far beyond what is scientifically justified.
In1950, the U.S. spent .7 billion on health care. In 2002, the cost will be billion. Anyone can see this trend is unsustainable. Yet few seem willing to try to reverse it. Some scholars conclude that a government with finite resources should simply stop paying for medical care that sustains life beyond a certain age-----say 83 or so. Former Colorado governor Richard Lamm has been quoted as saying that the old and infirm"have a duty todie and get out of the way",so that younger, healthier people can realize their potential.
I would not go that far. Energetic people now routinely work through their 60s and beyond, and remain dazzlingly productive. At 78,Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone jokingly claims to be 53.Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O"Connor is in her 70s,and former surgeon general C.Everett Koop chairs an Internet start-up in his 80s.These leaders are living proof that prevention works and that we can manage the health problems that come naturally with age. As a mere 68-year-old,I wish to age as productively as they have.
Yet there are limits to what a society can spend in this pursuit. Ask a physician, I know the most costly and dramatic measures may be ineffective and painful. I also know that people in Japan and Sweden, countries that spend far less on medical care, have achieved longer, healthier lives than we have. As a nation, we may be overfunding the quest for unlikely cures while underfunding research on humbler therapies that could improve people"s lives.
56.What is implied in the first sentence?
A. Americans are better prepared for death than other people.
B. Americans enjoy a higher life quality than ever before.
C. Americans are over-confident of their medical technology.
D. Americans take a vain pride in their long life expectancy.
57.The author uses the example of caner patients to show that
A. medical resources are often wasted.
B. doctors are helpless against fatal diseases.
C. some treatments are too aggressive.
D. medical costs are becoming unaffordable.
58.The author"s attitude to ward Richard Lamm"s remark is one of
A. strong disapproval.
B. reserved consent.
C. slight contempt.
D. enthusiastic support.
59.In contras to the U.S. ,Japan and Sweden are funding their medical care
A. more flexibly.
B. more extravagantly.
C .more cautiously.
D. more reasonably.
60.The text intends to express the idea that
A medicine will further prolong people"s lives.
B. life beyond a certain limit is not worth living.
C. death should be accepted as a fact of life.
D. excessive demands increase the cost of health care.
DABDC
Part B
Directions:
Read the following text carefully and the translate the underlines segmentssintosChinese. Your translation should be written clearly on ANSWER SHEET 2.(10 points)
Human beings in all times and places think about their world and wonder at their place in it. Humans are thoughtful and creative, possessed of insatiable curiosity.(61)Furthermore, humans have the ability to modify the environment in which they live, thus subjecting all other life forms to their own peculiar ideas and fancies. Therefore, it is important to study humans in all their richness and diversity in a calm and systematic manner, with the hope that the knowledge resulting from such studies can lead humans to a more harmonious way of living with themselves and with all other life forms on this planet Earth.
"Anthropology"derives from the Greek words"anthropos":"human"and logos"the study of."By its very name, anthropology encompasses the study of all humankind.
Anthropology is one of the social sciences.(62)Social science is that branch of intellectual enquiry which seeks to study humans and their endeavors in the same reasoned, orderly, systematic, and dispassioned(原文如此) manner that natural scientists use for the study of natural phenomena.
Social science disciplines include geography, economics, political science, psychology, and sociology. Each of these social sciences has a subfield or specialization which lies particularly close to anthropology.
All the social sciences focus upon the study of humanity. Anthropology is a field-study oriented discipline which makes extensive use of the comparative method in analysis.(63)The emphasis on data gathered first-hand, combined with a cross-cultural perspective brought to the analysis of cultures past and present, makes this study a unique and distinctly important social science.
Anthropological analyses rest heavily upon the concept of culture. Sir Edward Tylor's formulation of the concept of culture was one of the great intellectual achievements of 19th century science.(64)Tylor defined culture as"...that complex whole which includes belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society."This insight, so profound in its simplicity, opened up an entirely new way of perceiving and understanding human life. Implicit within Tylor's definition is the concept that culture is learned. shared, and patterned behavior.
(65)Thus, the anthropological concept of"culture,"like the concept of"set"in mathematics, is an abstract concept which makes possible immense amounts of concrete research and understanding.
Section IV Writing
66.Directions:
1) describe the set of drawings, Interpret its meaning, and
2) point out its implications in our life.
You should write about 200 words neatly on ANSWER SHEET 2.(20 points)
2003年英语试卷答案
Section I Listening Comprehension （20 points）
Part A （5 points）
1.1876
2.1981
3.textiles
4.19,137
5.concerts
Part B (5 points)
6.(the couple) themselves
7.constructively
8.a qualified psychologist
9.good intentions
10.absence
Part C (10points)
11.D 12.A 13.D 14.B 15.C 16.B 17.B 18.C 19.A 20.D
Section II Use of English （10 points）
21.A 22.B 23.C 24.D 25.C 26.B 27.D 28.C 29.A 30.D 31.A 32.D 33.B 34.D 35.C 36.D 37.B 38.A 39.C 40.A
Section III Reading Comprehension （50 points）
Part A （40 points）
41.B 42.A 43.C 44.D 45.B 46.A 47.B 48.B 49.A 50.D 51.C 52.D 53.C 54.B 55.A 56.C 57.A 58.B 59.D 60.C
Part B（10 points）
61.而且，人类还有能力改变自己的生存环境，从而是让所有其它形态的生命服从人类自己独特的想法和想象。
62.社会科学是知识探索的一个分支，它力图像自然科学家研究自然现象那样，用理性的、有序的、系统的和冷静的方式研究人类及其行为。
63.强调收集第一手资料，加上在分析过去和现在文化形态时采用跨文化视角，使得这一研究成为一门独特并且非常重要的社会科学。
64.泰勒把文化定义为"......一个复合整体，它包括人作为社会成员所获得的信仰、艺术、道德、法律、风俗以及其它能力和习惯"。
65.因此，人类学中"文化"概念就像数学中"集"的概念一样，是一个抽象概念，它使大量的具体研究和认识成为可能。
Section IV Writing （20 points）
66.(略)
