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  3. In recent years, railroads have been combining with each other, merging into super systems, causing heightened concerns about mo

In recent years, railroads have been combining with each other, merging into super systems, causing heightened concerns about mo

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问题     In recent years, railroads have been combining with each other, merging into super 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 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 shipper.
    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.
It can be inferred from Paragraph 3 that
选项 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.
答案C
解析 推断题。A项正好与原文意思相反。从第三段第二句中，我们得知铁路公司兼并后，铁路公司向货主们收取的费用比以前高20％至30％，所以，应该是“Shippers will be charged morewithout a rival railroad．”。B项缺乏依据，所以也是不对的。C项是正确的，因为文章里说道：货主们若认为铁路公司收费不合理，可以向联邦政府的机构申请降低收费。但是，因为申诉的过程耗时费钱，所以极少人提出申诉。由此，我们可以推断出受到剥削的货主们不大可能提出申诉。D项说的是政府能保证铁路行业内的公平竞争。这种说法缺乏依据。事实上，由于货主们申诉的困难大，大多数情况下政府部门根本管不着。
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