中口0309聽力原文

Questions 15-18

【原文】

As we have learned in our previous lectures, our country generally has an excellent system of transportation. There are efficient airlines, railway systems as well as motorways all across the country, however, if you have been to an airport recently, you’ve probably noticed that it is becoming more and more crowded. Although airplanes provide the fastest way to travel hundreds or thousands of miles, I don’t think that our air industry can do a good job of transporting people between cities that only a short distance apart. A person who travels between London and Birmingham, or between London to Edinburgh the so called strip cities, may spend only relatively a short time in the air while spending several hours getting to and from the airport. This situation makes flying almost as time consuming as driving and of course far more expensive, moreover, planes use a lot of fuel in taking off and landing down. So they are simply not fuel efficient on short flights. In my opinion, high speed train may be an answer to that problem. By the end of last century, a proposal for such a train was put forwarded.

This new type of train is called maglev, meaning magnetic levitated train. Like conventional trains, it has got cars and tracks. But unlike conventional train, the maglev train will not ride on the tracks, but will make use of the magnetic repulsion to glide or float above the tracks. Since the train and tracks do not touch and rub against each other, a lot of maintenance work can be saved. These trains will be able to travel at a speed about 300 million per hour. Undoubtedly, at this speed, conventional trains will have trouble staying on the tracks. At present, the operation of maglev trains is still on the experimental stage, for example, in Germany and China. However, I’m sure this new form of transportation on the horizon will revolutionize transportation of the 21st century, the way airplane did in a 20th century.

15. Which of the following is the best definition for the so-called strip cities?

16. How does a maglev train operate?

17. According to the speaker, what is one advantage of maglev trains?

18. Which of the following is true about the maglev trains?