考研英语真题阅读理解试题及名师解析(17)

英语真题阅读理解试题及名师解析（17）Inrecentyears,railroadshavebeencombiningwitheachother,mergingintosupersystems,causingheightenedconcernsaboutmonopoly.Asrecentlyas1995,thetopfourrailroadsaccountedforunder70percentofthetotalton-milesmovedbyrails.Nextyear,afteraseriesofmergersiscompleted,justfourrailroadswillcontrolwellover90percentofallthefreightmovedbymajorrailcarriers.Supportersofthenewsupersystemsarguethatthesemergerswillallowforsubstantialcostreductionsandbettercoordinatedservice.Anythreatofmonopoly,theyargue,isremovedbyfiercecompetitionfromtrucks.Butmanyshipperscomplainthatforheavybulkcommoditiestravelinglongdistances,suchascoal,chemicals,andgrain,truckingistoocostlyandtherailroadsthereforehavethembythethroat.Thevastconsolidationwithintherailindustrymeansthatmostshippersareservedbyonlyonerailcompany.Railroadstypicallychargesuch“captive”shippers20to30percentmorethantheydowhenanotherrailroadiscompetingforthebusiness.Shipperswhofeeltheyarebeingoverchargedhavetherighttoappealtothefederalgovernment'sSurfaceTransportationBoardforraterelief,buttheprocessisexpensive,timeconsuming,andwillworkonlyintrulyextremecases.Railroadsjustifyratediscriminationagainstcaptiveshippersonthegroundsthatinthelongrunitreduceseveryone'scost.Ifrailroadschargedallcustomersthesameaveragerate,theyargue,shipperswhohavetheoptionofswitchingtotrucksorotherformsoftransportationwoulddoso,leavingremainingcustomerstoshoulderthecostofkeepinguptheline.It'satheorytowhichmanyeconomistssubscribe,butinpracticeitoftenleavesrailroadsinthepositionofdeterminingwhichcompanieswillflourishandwhichwillfail.“Dowereallywantrailroadstobethearbitersofwhowinsandwholosesinthemarketplace?”asksMartinBercovici,aWashingtonlawyerwhofrequentlyrepresentsshippers.Manycaptiveshippersalsoworrytheywillsoonbehitwitharoundofhugerateincreases.Therailroadindustryasawhole,despiteitsbrighteningfortunes,stilldoesnotearnenoughtocoverthecostofthecapitalitmustinvesttokeepupwithitssurgingtraffic.Yetrailroadscontinuetoborrowbillionstoacquireoneanother,withWallStreetcheeringthemon.Considerthe＄10.2billionbidbyNorfolkSouthernandCSXtoacquireConrailthisyear.Conrail'snetrailwayoperatingincomein1996wasjust＄427million,lessthanhalfofthecarryingcostsofthetransaction.Who'sgoingtopayfortherestofthebill?Manycaptiveshippersfearthattheywill,asNorfolkSouthernandCSXincreasetheirgriponthemarket.31.Accordingtothosewhosupportmergers,railwaymonopolyisunlikelybecause[A]costreductionisbasedoncompetition.[B]servicescallforcross-tradecoordination.[C]outsidecompetitorswillcontinuetoexist.[D]shipperswillhavetherailwaybythethroat.32.Whatismanycaptiveshippers'attitudetowardstheconsolidationintherailindustry?[A]Indifferent.[B]Supportive.[C]Indignant.[D]Apprehensive.33.Itcanbeinferredfromparagraph3that[A]shipperswillbechargedlesswithoutarivalrailroad.[B]therewillsoonbeonlyonerailroadcompanynationwide.[C]overchargedshippersareunlikelytoappealforraterelief.[D]agovernmentboardensuresfairplayinrailwaybusiness.34.Theword“arbiters”(Line7,Paragraph4)mostprobablyreferstothose[A]whoworkascoordinators.[B]whofunctionasjudges.[C]whosupervisetransactions.[D]whodeterminetheprice.35.Accordingtothetext,thecostincreaseintherailindustryismainlycausedby[A]thecontinuingacquisition.[B]thegrowingtraffic.[C]thecheeringWallStreet.[D]theshrinkingmarket.名师解析31.Accordingtothosewhosupportmergers,railwaymonopolyisunlikelybecause在那些支持铁路公司合并的人看来，垄断之所以不可能发生，是因为[A]costreductionisbasedoncompetition.成本的降低源于竞争。[B]servicescallforcross-tradecoordination.服务需要跨行业协调。[C]outsidecompetitorswillcontinuetoexist.外部竞争者将继续存在。[D]shipperswillhavetherailwaybythethroat.托运商将掐住铁路公司的咽喉。【答案】C【考点】事实细节题。【分析】题目问的是支持并购的人为什么认为铁路行业内不会形成垄断。根据题干关键词“支持者，合并，不可能”可以定位到第二段。支持者认为“Anythreatofmonopoly,theyargue,isremovedbyfiercecompetitionfromtrucks.”意思是“因为要和卡车竞争，所以不存在垄断的可能”。所以[C]最符合文章的意思。[A]不对，文章说支持者认为合并能降低成本，而不是竞争降低成本。[B]不对是因为文中只是说可以更好协调服务，而不是跨行业。[D]把主语和宾语弄反了，而且也不是支持者的观点，所以也是错误的。32.Whatismanycaptiveshippers’attitudetowardstheconsolidationintherailindustry?许多受控制的托运商对铁路行业合并的态度是[A]Indifferent.冷淡的。[B]Supportive.支持的。[C]Indignant.义愤的。[D]Apprehensive.担心的。【答案】D【考点】态度题。【分析】本题问的不是作者的态度，而是货主的态度，要求考生根据文中所提供的线索做判断。通过题干关键词“shipper，attitude”来定位，如：“Butmanyshipperscomplainthat...”(第二段)，“Manycaptiveshipperalsoworry...”(第五段)，“Manycaptiveshippersfearthat...”(第五段)，我们可以判断出货主的态度是“忧虑的”，对未来的状况“忧心忡忡”。所以[D]是正确的。33.Itcanbeinferredfromparagraph3that从第三段中我们可以推断出[A]shipperswillbechargedlesswithoutarivalrailroad.如果没有其他铁路公司的竞争，托运商被收取的费用将会少一些。[B]therewillsoonbeonlyonerailroadcompanynationwide.很快全国就会只剩下一家铁路公司。[C]overchargedshippersareunlikelytoappealforraterelief.被多收费的托运商不大可能会申诉减免费用。[D]agovernmentboardensuresfairplayinrailwaybusiness.政府部门保证铁路行业的公平竞争。【答案】C【考点】推断题。【分析】[A]正好与原文意思相反。从第三段第二句中，我们得知“铁路公司合并后，铁路公司向货主们收取的费用比以前有竞争的时候高20％至30％”，所以费用不是少一些，而是多一些。[B]缺乏依据，因为文中说绝大多数托运商将由一家公司服务，但是这不意味着只剩下一家公司，所以也是不对的。[C]是正确的，因为文章里说到，“货主们如果认为铁路公司收费过高，可以向联邦政府的机构申请降低费率。但是因为申诉的过程耗时费钱，而且只有在极端的情况下才会这么做”。由此，我们可以推断出他们不大可能提出申诉。[D]说“政府能保证铁路行业内的公平竞争”，这种说法缺乏依据。文中提及“水陆运输委员会”可以调节运输费率，但是这和公平竞争还是不同的。34.Theword“arbiters”(Line7,Paragraph4)mostprobablyreferstothose单词“arbi