One area in which London still surpasses its rivals is the number of international visitors it receives: more than any other in

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问题    One area in which London still surpasses its rivals is the number of international visitors it receives: more than any other in the world in 2015. And while the city has long been an attractive destination for leisure and business travelers, it is currently undergoing an almost unprecedented hotel building boom. The number of hotel rooms has risen from 129, 000 in 2013 to 149, 000 today, and may reach as many as 180, 000 by 2018. Despite competition from room-sharing sites such as Airbnb, there is still no sign of over-capacity. Last year occupancy rates reached their highest in a decade and average daily rates were higher than ever before. Why?
   One big market for London’s hotels is international visitors. But it is one which is running out of steam. Total spending by overseas visitors is likely to be flat in 2015. Whereas the strong pound has convinced many tourists to divert to cheaper European cities, business travelers cannot avoid London so easily. So while tourist spending stagnated in 2015, business folk splashed out 7% more in Britain than the previous year. So there are still plenty more business people to fill London’s extra rooms, even if some tourists are staying away.
   Hoteliers are surprisingly tough given the violent attack from sharing-economy websites that allow people to rent out their spare rooms to travelers. Airbnb has forced down hotel revenues in some American cities by as much as 10%. By comparison, its impact has been reduced in London. Only 0.5% of Londoners advertise their properties on Airbnb, compared with 2.4% of Parisians. One reason is that there is a shortage of reasonably priced residential stock near London’s main tourist attractions, which are enclosed by offices and mansions. Secondly, the growth of Airbnb listings in London and other big European cities is slowing, meaning that Londoners’ spare rooms are unlikely to soak up much more demand.
   But the most convincing explanation is that London’s business travelers are avoiding locals’ spare rooms in favor of comfortable, anonymous hotels. Unlike budget-conscious holidaymakers, who are willing to book a room in a stranger’s home on Airbnb to save money, most business people travel on expense accounts. Their employers, citing a duty to ensure safety, remain wary of spare-room-booking sites, fearing the possibility of axe murderers or unreliable wiring or unsafe stairwells. As long as the City of London continues to flourish, the capital’s hotels will do fine.
The underlined expression in Paragraph Two probably means______.

选项 A、losing energy
B、gaining popularity
C、becoming profitable
D、declaring bankruptcy

答案A

解析 第二段的run out of steam的意义是lose energy or become exhausted(失去能量或逐渐耗尽)。
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