Rail passengers are being forced to pay thousands of pounds more in fares as a result of poor advice from the national telephone help line 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 train line. Come 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.”  

 

72. 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  

73. 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. spend £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  

74. The phrase at random in paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to “_________”.  

A. casually                  B. purposefully              C. exactly                     D. inevitably  

75. The passage is mainly concerned with the phenomenon that __________.  

A. rail passengers can get cheaper tickets if they book earlier  

B. rail passengers are ill-treated by station staff  

C. booking clerks and the telephone helpline offer reliable information  

D. train passengers get bad advice on fares  

  

The case for college has been accepted without question for more than a generation. All high school graduates ought to go, because college will help them earn more money, become “better” people, and learn to be more responsible citizens than those who don’t go.  

But college has never been able to work its magic for everyone. And now that close to half our high school graduates are attending, those who don’t fit the pattern are becoming more and more, and more obvious. College graduates are selling shoes and driving taxis; college students get in the way of each other’s experiments and write false letters of recommendation(推荐)in the competition for admission to graduate school. Others find no interest in their studies, and drop out―often encouraged by college administrators(教导主任).  

Some observers say the fault is with the young people themselves―they are spoiled and they are expecting too much. But that is a condemnation(谴责)of the students as a whole, and does not explain all campus unhappiness. Others blame the state of the world, and they are partly right. We’ve been told that young people have to go to college because our economy cannot take in an army of untrained eighteen-year-olds. But disappointed graduates are learning that it can no longer take in an army of trained twenty-two-year-olds, either.  

Some adventuresome educators and campus watchers have openly begun to suggest that college may not be the best, the proper, the only place for every young person after the completion of high school. We may have been looking at all those surveys (调查) upside down, it seems, and thinking of the rosy glow of our own remembered college experiences. Perhaps college does not make people intelligent, ambitious, happy, liberal, or quick to learn things―maybe it is just the other way round, and intelligent, ambitious, happy, liberal, quick-learning people are only the ones who have been attracted to college in the first place. And perhaps all those successful college graduates would have been successful whether they had gone to college or not. This is heresy(异端邪说)to those of us who have been brought up to believe that if a little schooling is good, more has to be much better. But opposite evidence is beginning to mount up.  

 

68.According to the passage, the author believes that______.  

A. people used to question the value of college education  

B. people used to have full confidence in higher education  

C. all high school graduates went to college  

D. very few high school graduates chose to go to college  

69.In the 2nd paragraph, "those who don't fit the pattern" refers to______.  

A. high school graduates who aren't suitable for college education  

B. college graduates who are selling shoes and driving taxis  

C. college students who aren't any better for their higher education  

D. high school graduates who failed to be admitted to college  

70.According to the passage the problems of college education partly arise from the fact that______.  

A. society cannot provide enough jobs for properly trained college graduates  

B. high school graduates do not fit the pattern of college education  

C. too many students have to earn their own living  

D. college administrators encourage students to drop out  

71.In this passage the author argues that______.  

A. more and more evidence shows college education may not be the best thing for high school graduates  

B. college education is not enough if one wants to be successful  

C. college education benefits only the intelligent, ambitious, and quick-learning people  

         D. intelligent people may learn quicker if they don't go to college

MAP ARTIST PROGRAM  

Map Artist is the perfect tool for creating customized (定制的) maps to include in research projects and reports. Map Artist offers endless possibilities. It has a huge collection of map styles to choose from, and they can be customized to suit your special needs. In this program, we will assume you have been asked to create a map for a social studies report.  

  

Step 1. When you open Map Artist, a world map will be displayed. Type “USA” in the dialogue box. Click GO. A map of USA will be displayed.  

  

Step 2. Click on the drop-down menu next to the outline map of the state. Click on the type of map you need for your report.  

? OUTLINE shows only the outline shape of the state with no highways or population centers indicated.  

? TOPOGRAPHIC indicates elevations(海拔)as well as the location of major cities.  

? SHADED RELIEF shows only natural landforms (mountains, valleys, rivers) and national parks.  

? POLITICAL shows major cities, interstates, and major highways.  

? HISTORICAL recalls the oldest maps on record.  

For the purposes of this program, select OUTLINE. A map showing an outline of USA will be displayed.  

  

Step 3. Click CUSTOMIZE on the menu bar down the left side of the screen.  

CUSTOMIZE allows you to place custom data on  

the map you have selected.  

1.Click on the button next to the appropriate symbol. For practice, chick on the shovel(铲子), which symbolizes archaeology(考古).  

2.Next to the word TEXT, type “The Presidio”, which is an archaeological site near San Francisco.  

3.Now use your mouse to click on the spot on the map where you would like this data to be placed.  

4.You can add as many sites as you wish.  

  

Step 4. Click SAVE if you would like to save the map to a file. Later, after opening the saved document, click on the map with your right mouse button and select COPY. And then PASTE it at the location where you want the map to appear.  

 

64.If your report is about Plants and Animals in New York, you may click on           map.  

       A.HISTORICAL                                     B.SHADED RELIEF  

       C.TOPOGRAPHIC                                 D.POLITICAL  

65.Which function is required to place a specific location on a CUSTOMIZE map?  

A.Clicking on GO.                                  B.Cutting and pasting.  

C.Opening the file.                                  D.Clicking on the map.  

66.The main purpose of Map artist Program is to            .  

A.introduce the different types of maps  

B.show that Map Artist is an easy tool to use  

C.discuss how to improve students’ social studies reports  

D.guide students to use Map artist to create a custom map  

67.Which of the following orders is true according to the Map Artist Program?  

                                                              A

Order 1  

Specify text location  

Choose map location  

Choose symbol  

Add map text  

Choose map type  

Save

 

Order 2  

Choose map location  

Choose map type  

Add map text  

Choose symbol  

Specify text location  

Save

B

 

Order 3  

Choose map type  

Add map text  

Specify text location  

Choose map location  

Choose symbol  

Save

C

Order 4  

Choose map location  

Choose map type  

Choose symbol  

Add map text  

Specify text location  

Save

D

 

My grandfather worked as a carpenter. On this particular day, he was building some crates(木箱)for the clothes his church was sending to an orphanage(孤儿院)in Brazil. On his way home, he found his glasses were gone. When he mentally replayed his earlier actions, he realized what happened. The glasses had slipped out of his pocket and fallen into one of the crates. His new glasses were heading for Brazil!  

The Great Depression was at its height, and Grandpa had six children. He had spent twenty dollars for those glasses that very morning.  

“It’s not fair,” he thought as he walked home angrily. “I’ve been very faithful in giving my time and money to my work, and now this.”  

Several months later, the director of the orphanage came to the United States. He wanted to visit all the churches that supported him, so he came to my grandfather’s small church in Chicago.  

He began by thanking the people for their kindness in supporting the orphanage. “But most of all, he said,” I must thank you for the glasses you sent last year. You see, some people had just come to the orphanage, destroying everything, including my glasses. I was desperate. Even if I had the money, there was simply no way of replacing those glasses. Along with not being able to see well, I experienced headaches every day, so my coworkers and I were very worried about this. Then your crates arrived. When I removed the covers, I found a pair of glasses lying on top.”  

He paused long enough to let his words sink in. Then, he continued: “When I tried on the glasses, it was as though they had been made just for me! I want to thank you for being a part of that!”  

The people listened, happy for the miraculous glasses. But they thought it was strange because there were no glasses on their list of items to be sent overseas.  

Sitting quietly in the back, with tears streaming down his face, my grandfather, an ordinary carpenter realized his glasses had found a good place to go.  

 

56.We know from the text that           .  

A.the author’s grandfather got his glasses back from the director of the orphanage  

B.the author’s grandfather found that his glasses were at home at last  

C.the author’s grandfather’s burden of supporting his family was very heavy  

D.the author’s grandfather worked as a carpenter in a school in Chicago  

57.From the text we can infer that the author’s grandfather was very         after hearing what the director of the orphanage had said.  

A.surprised                    B.disappointed         C.pitiful                  D.proud  

58.The underlined word “miraculous” (Paragraph 7) can be replaced by          .  

A.practical                     B.wonderful            C.necessary            D.important  

59.What would be the best title for the text?  

A.The Perfect Mistake     B.An Ordinary Carpenter  

C.A Careless Old Man     D.A Pair of Glasses  

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