首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Who’s to blame? The trail of responsibility goes beyond poor maintenance of British railways, say industry critics. Stingy gover
Who’s to blame? The trail of responsibility goes beyond poor maintenance of British railways, say industry critics. Stingy gover
admin
2011-04-16
82
问题
Who’s to blame? The trail of responsibility goes beyond poor maintenance of British railways, say industry critics. Stingy governments—both Labor and Tory—have cut down on investments in trains and rails. In the mid-1990s a Conservative government pushed through the sale of the entire subsidy-guzzling rail network. Operating franchises were parceled out among private companies and a separate firm, Railtrack, was awarded ownership of the tracks and stations. In the future, the theory ran back then, the private sector could pay for any improvements—with a little help from the state—and take the blame for any failings.
Today surveys show that travelers believe privatization is one of the reasons for the railways’s failures. They ask whether the pursuit of profits is compatible with guaranteeing safety. Worse, splitting the network between companies has made coordination nearly impossible. "The railway was torn apart at privatization and the structure that was put in place was. . . designed, if we are honest, to maximize the proceeds to the Treasury," said Railtrack boss Gerald Corbett before resigning last month in the wake of the Hatfield crash.
Generally, the contrasts with mainland Europe are stark. Over the past few decades the Germans, French and Italians have invested 50 percent more than the British in transportation infrastructure. As a result, a web of high-speed trains now crisscross the Continent, funded by governments willing to commit state funds to major capital projects. Spain is currently planning 1,000 miles of new high¬speed track. In France superfast trains already shuttle between all major cities, often on dedicated lines. And in Britain? When the Eurostar trains that link Paris, London and Brussels emerge from the Channel Tunnel onto British soil and join the crowded local network, they must slow down from 186 mph to a maximum of 100 mph—and they usually have to go even slower.
For once, the government is listening. After all, commuters are voters, too. In a pre-vote spending spree, the government has committed itself to huge investment in transportation, as well as education and the public health service. Over the next 10 years, the railways should get an extra £60 billion, partly through higher subsidies to the private companies. As Blair ackoowledged last month, "Britain has been underinvested in and investment is central to Britain’s future. " You don’t have to tell the 3 million passengers who use the railways every day. Last week trains to Darlington were an hour late—and crawling at Locomotion No. 1 speeds.
Travelers now believe that the root cause for failures of British railway is
选项
A、its structural design.
B、the pursuit of profit.
C、its inefficient network.
D、the lack of safety guarantees.
答案
B
解析
该题为细节题。文章第二段分析了英国铁路失败的原因。根据第二段第二句:“They ask whether the pursuit of profits is compatible with guaranteeing safety.”以及第二段最后一句“The railway was tom apart at privatization and the structure that was put in place was…designed,if we are honest,to maximize the proceeds to the Treasury…”可知,英国国家为了追求财政的扩大,而缩减了铁路上的补贴,为了金钱利益而忽略了铁路安全保障。所以乘客认为铁路失败的根本原因在于利益的追求。故选B。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/lHxd777K
本试题收录于:
公共英语四级笔试题库公共英语(PETS)分类
0
公共英语四级笔试
公共英语(PETS)
相关试题推荐
Duringtheearlyperiodoftheearth’shistory,theweatheronearthapparentlyfluctuatedbetweenbrightsunandshowers.Inr
Somepeopleliketosharearoomwithastranger,whileothersdislikeit.Writeanessaytoshowyouropinionaboutit.Youres
Britishuniversities,【C1】______undertheburdenofahugeincreaseinstudentnumbers,are【C2】______thatthetraditionof
Whichofthefollowingiswithinthecapacityoftheartificialnosebeingdeveloped?
In1971therewereabout3,700millionpeopleintheworld.Ifthepopulationwere【C1】______evenlyovertheearth’ssurfacet
Inthesecondhalfofthetwentiethcentury,manycountriesoftheSouthbegantosendstudentstotheindustrializedcountries
Accordingtogovernmentstatistics,menofallsocialclassesinBritainvisitpubsquiteoften,【21】______thekindofpubth
Accordingtogovernmentstatistics,menofallsocialclassesinBritainvisitpubsquiteoften,【21】______thekindofpubth
OnApril20,2000,inAccra,Ghana,theleadersofsixWestAfricancountriesdeclaredtheirintentiontoproceedtomonetaryun
Mr.Smith,apassengeronthetranscontinentaltrain,appearedbeforethejudge.Apoliceofficerclaimedhehadattemptedto【
随机试题
甲县造纸厂因超标排放的污染物先后造成8户养殖专业户所养育苗大面积死亡,损失12万元。甲县环保局根据《水污染防治法》的规定,对造纸厂作出如下处理决定:(1)赔偿受损害的8户养殖专业户经济损失8万元;(2)罚款2万元;(3)立即对污染严重的生产项目停产整顿。造
下列各百分等级区间对应的原始分数区间最小的是()
Manypeoplewronglybelievethatwhentheyreacholdage,theirfamilieswillplacetheminnursinghomes.Theywillbe【C1】_____
下列选项中,不属于辅助生育技术的是()
动物合成其组织蛋白质时,所有的20种氨基酸都是不可缺少的。其中一部分氨基酸在动物体内不能合成,或合成太慢,远不能满足动物需要,因而必须由饲料供给,被称为必需氨基酸。下列所列氨基酸中,哪个属于必需氨基酸
混悬液型注射剂的质量要求有
施工企业与建设单位签订施工合同,约定施工企业垫资20%,但没有约定垫资利息。后施工企业向人民法院提起诉讼,请求建设单位支付垫资利息。对施工企业的请求,人民法院予以支持的是()。
配送中心在运转过程中,要对其流程进行优化管理,在降低自身流程成本的同时也应降低()。
设有三个进程A、B、C,进程A和进程B各需要运行3ms的处理器时间,而进程C却要24ms的处理器时间,分别考虑当三个进程到达顺序为A,B,C时及C,B,A时,用先来先服务进行调度时各自的平均等待时间。
下列选项中,在情节严重的情况下,应认定为妨害公务罪的是()(2017年一专一第17、2017年一法专一第9题)
最新回复
(
0
)