题目内容
Rail passengers are being forced to pay thousands of pounds more in fares as a result of poor advice from the national telephone helpline and individual stations, a consumer organization reveals today. Research by Which? found that in some cases passengers are being charged almost double the cheapest price because of errors made by staff.
Which? asked 25 questions of both station staff and the National Rail Enquiries (NRES) helpline. Only half of the 50 questions were answered correctly. If customers had followed all the advice given, they would have been £1,263.60 worse off.
Bad advice was given for the cheapest fare for a single journey between London and Grantham. For a ticket bought on the day of travel, both NRES and a King’s Cross station clerk quoted GNER’s £44.50 fare, ignoring a Hull Trains service which leaves 10 minutes earlier and costs just £20.
Some of the most costly misinformation was given for journeys where season tickets should have been recommended. Passengers making a return journey between Swindon and Penzance twice in a week could buy a ticket from one company for £70 which would cover all the travel. But both NRES and station staff quoted £67 for each journey, making £134. However, the NRES website proved to be a much more reliable source of information.
Which? also checked “the earlier you book, the cheaper the ticket” claims by five companies and found this was not always the case. On some services, prices went up and down at random.
Ithiel Mogridge, 52, gave one example of poor advice: “Last Christmas I found my brother a ticket on the thetrainline.com to travel from Blackburn to Yate. While the direct route was £51, this one involved a change in Newport and cost just £21.I emailed the details to him and his partner. They went to Blackburn station, where the clerk insisted the fare was £51.”
Malcolm Coles, editor of which. co. uk, said: “Staff training needs to be improved. In the meantime, we’ve designed a checklist, available at which.co.uk/railadvice.”
1.According to the passage, “Which?” is a _____.
A.national telephone helpline B.department under the British Rail
C.consumer organization D.website under the National Rail Enquiries
2.When the author said that customers “would have been £1,263.60 worse off”, he was telling us that customers would have _____.
A.saved £1,263.60 if they had followed the advice
B.spent £1,263.60 more than the lowest price
C.used £1,263.60 for the survey of 25 questions
D.been cheated of £1,263.60 from the poor advice
3.The phrase at random in paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to “_____”.
A.casually B.purposefully C.exactly D.inevitably
4.The passage is mainly concerned with the phenomenon that _____.
A.train passengers get bad advice on fares
B.rail passengers are ill-treated by station staff
C.booking clerks and the telephone helpline offer reliable information
D.rail passengers can get cheaper tickets if they book earlier
CBAA
“You will never walk again.You will have to use a wheelchair.” I heard his 36 fall heavily on my ears, numbing my soul.If I had never felt hopeless before, I felt hopeless then.
The car accident has left me unconscious.When 37 , I found both legs in casts(石膏).While I had other serious injuries, my 38 were my first concern.Working as a special needs teacher and busy and active by nature, I couldn’t imagine being 39 in a wheelchair.
Lying in my bed, I wondered how I 40 give my ten-year-old son hope that mom would 41 .He’d been cheerful on every visit, but I saw 42 in his eyes. He needed the ray of hope that I would not be in a wheelchair forever.
Just maybe, I thought, I could use this experience to teach him what to do when misfortune 43 .
It didn’t take me long to become 44 with my limited movements and even with the pace the doctors were willing to go with me.I was determined to learn everything they showed me.
Every night in my private room, as soon as I knew I wouldn’t be 45 or discovered, I would move myself from the bed to the floor, 46 on to the bed rail(床栏杆) for dear life, and slowly putting my weight 47 my feet.After several weeks of such difficult 48 , my strength and confidence continued to 49 .
It came the time to share my accomplishments with the person most 50 to me.One night, when I heard my son greet the nurses at the station, I 51 myself up.As he opened the door, I took a few small steps. 52 , he could only watch as I turned and started back to bed.All of the pain, the fear, and the struggle 53 as I heard the words I had longed to hear, “Mommy, you can walk!”
I am now able to walk alone, sometimes using a stick.I am able to take public transportation to shop and visit friends.My life has been blessed with many 54 of which I am proud.But none has ever brought me the satisfaction and joy 55 by those four little words of my son.
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