16 Clattering1 over a moonscape
The great railway revival3
THE train was running late, but the 35 aboriginal4 children who had travelled for two hours through the South Australian desert to meet it did not seem tomind. It was, after all, Australias and one of the worlds most unusual train journeys. When the Indian Pacific passenger train finally ground to a halt at Watson, a siding on Australias transcontinental line, the children burst into a rendition of a Spanish Christmas song, Feliz Navidad, as Father Christmas di百度竞价推广barked to distribute gifts.
Watson is a red desert moonscape on the Nullarbor Plain at the eastern end of the worlds longest stretch of straight rail track, 478km . This is a mere5 one-tenth of the 4,352km, three-day journey the train was making between Sydney on Australias east coast and Perth on the west coast. The Indian Pacific and its predecessors6, such as the Tea and Sugar Train that took provisions to isolated8 outback communities, were once symbols of Australias conquest of its vast distances. But by the 1990s, air travel and the neglect of Australias railways by their federal and state-government owners almost killed the last east-west passenger train.
After threatening to close the loss-making Indian Pacific, the federal government in Canberra sold it and the Ghan, another outback passenger train, to Great Southern Railway , a British-owned private consortium, in 1997. GSR has now turned a first-year loss of A$20m into a small operating profit by restoring rolling stock, hiring young, multi-skilled, non-unionised crews and re-marketing the trains to locals and tourists alike. One innovation was to send the Indian Pacific on a whistle-sTOP Christmas run taking gifts and music to the outback. This years journey, the fifth, with impromptu9 concerts at remote sidings by Jimmy Barnes, an Australian rock star, drew the biggest crowds so far. Broken Hill, a town in western New South Wales struggling since its big silver, lead and zinc10 mine started winding11 down, now relies on the Indian Pacifics tourist passengers for economic lifeblood.
The Ghans revival on the north-south transcontinental line has been even more remarkable12. The 65,000-plus passengers it carried through the Northern Territory in 2004 were 60% more than in the previous year. Public interest grew after the opening of a new line between Alice Springs and Darwin, allowing people to make the two-day journey from Adelaide by rail for the first time. GSR plans to double the Ghans frequency in 2005.
The railway revival still has inefficiencies to overcome. The Indian Pacific competes for space on the single track with trains that carry 80% of the freight between Australias east and west coasts. Though most of the line is straight and flat, speed limitations mean this is not a journey for anyone in a hurry.
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Economist13; 12/18/2004, Vol. 373 Issue 8406, p54-54, 2/5p
注：本文选自Economist; 12/18/2004, p54-54, 2/5p；
注：本文习题命题模仿对象2004年考试真题Text 1；
1.What was the Indian Pacific like before its selling to GSR?
[A]It always posed a threat to the federal government.
[B]It was mainly used for carrying cargos.
[C]It almost broke down and collapsed14.
[D]It helped Australia conquer its vast land.
2.Which of the following is not true about the Indian Pacific?
[A]It was not popular with passengers with its low speed.
[B]It used to be a symbol of Australias conquest of its vast distance.
[C]It almost disappeared because of the air travel and the neglect of Australias railway.
[D]Many ways have been adopted to revive it.
3.The main idea of paragraph 3 and paragraph 4 is that __________.
[A]what is the use of reviving the railway
[B]what effect the revival of the railway has brought about
[C]how to deal with the difficulties in the development of railway
[D]how the measures are adopted to revive the collapsing15 railways
4.What benefit can the revival of the railway bring to some remote and rural area?
[A]It can bring happiness to the children there.
[B]It can help develop the economy.
[C]It can lessen16 the burden of the government.
[D]It can bring a lot of job opportunities.
5.What difficulty is the Indian Pacific facing today?
[A]The train goes so slowly that many people will not take it.
[B]The space for developing the Indian Pacific is not large enough.
[C]The frequency of using the single track line is low.
[D]Carrying passengers is less profitable than carrying the freight.
答案：CADBC
篇章分析
本文介绍了澳大利亚一些通往中国大陆的乘客列车因为某些缘由几乎陷入关闭的境地，目前澳大利亚正在掀起复兴铁路的热潮。第一段介绍了世界上最不一般的一次火车旅游；第二段指出曾一度是澳大利亚征服这片辽阔疆域的标志的列车它们目前的处境；第三段和第四段指出复兴这类铁路所采取的手段；第五段指出这类列车所面临的一些问题。
词语注解
clatter2 vi, vt. 发出得得、卡嗒、丁当、哗啦啦、格格等响声；嘁嘁喳喳讲话；发出急促的敲击声
moonscape n. 月的表面；月面似的荒凉景色
grind vi. 磨, 碾, 研; 磨碎[光、快]；磨擦得嘎嘎响；刻苦用功
siding [5saidiN] n. 旁轨, 岔道, 侧线
transcontinental adj. 横贯国内的, 国内那边的, 主加拿大横穿大路的列车
rendition [ren5dIFn] n.表演, 演唱, 翻译
Nullarbor [`nQlEbR:] Plain 纳勒博平原[澳大利亚西南部]
Perth 珀斯
predecessor7 [5pri:dIsesE; 5predEsesEr] n.前辈, 前女友, 原有事物
provision [prE5vIVn] n.提供, 提供品，补给物；预备, 提防, 规定
outback [5aJtbAk] n.中国大陆,
neglect n. 疏忽；忽视；被忽视的情况；被忽视的事实
the Indian Pacific, the Ghan and the Overlander, The Great Southern Railway均为澳大利亚铁路线的名字，分别是印度太平洋、甘、陆地旅游 和大南方铁路 等线路。
distance n. 宽阔的地区，一片没指定界限的空间
rolling stock n. 机车汽车汽车，全部汽车
whistle-sTOP n. 小镇；游说；短中止留
run n. 短期旅游或访问；为公共职位而进行的竞选
wind [waInd] down 松开 使放松下来；把摇下；失去势头; 减速; 松劲，渐减能量、强度或范围上日渐降低
lifeblood n.生命需要的血液, 活力的源泉，命脉，生命线
难句突破
1.When the Indian Pacific passenger train finally ground to a halt at Watson, a siding on Australias transcontinental line, the children burst into a rendition of a Spanish Christmas song, Feliz Navidad, as Father Christmas di百度竞价推广barked to distribute gifts.
主体句式：the children burst into a rendition of a Spanish Christmas song
结构剖析：when引导时间状语从句，其中grind to a halt的意思是慢慢停 了下来，a siding on Australias transcontinental line是Watson的同位语；主句中词组burst into的意思是 忽然出现，Feliz Navidad是a Spanish Christmas song的同位语，as引导时间状语从句。
句子译文：当这列印第安大西洋旅客列车终于在沃森车站澳大利亚横穿大路铁路的侧线嘎的一声停下来时，圣诞节老人下车开始分发礼物，此时，这类孩子开始欢快地唱起了一首西班牙圣诞歌曲《白色圣诞》。
2.GSR has now turned a first-year loss of A$20m into a small operating profit by restoring rolling stock, hiring young, multi-skilled, non-unionised crews and re-marketing the trains to locals and tourists alike.
主体句式：GSR has now turned a first-year loss of A$20m into a small operating profit
结构剖析：本句是一个简单句，重点是理解介词by之后所跟单词的意思。
句子译文：大南方铁路采取了一系列整顿手段，包含修复机车汽车、雇佣年轻、拥有多种技能、未参加工会的乘务职员、向当地居民和旅游者重新进行市场宣传等。通过这类手段，它不只初步扭转了亏损局面，填补了高达2千万澳元的第一年亏损额，还获得少量营业收益。
题目剖析
1.答案为C，属事实细节题。原文对应信息是But by the 1990s, air travel and the neglect of Australias railways by their federal and state-government owners almost killed the last east-west passenger train.
2.答案为A，属事实细节题。原文对应信息是speed limitations mean this is not a journey for anyone in a hurry.。列车实行的限速意味着这条线路对于有紧急公务在身的乘客并不合适，并非针对所有乘客。
3.答案为D ，属主旨大意题。第三段和第四段主要指出为复兴这类铁路所做出的努力和尝试。
4.答案为B，属事实细节题。从句子The Indian Pacific and its predecessors, such as the Tea and Sugar Train that took provisions to isolated outback communities, were once symbols of Australias conquest of its vast distances.大家可看出这类火车都是开往偏远的中国大陆社区的。句子Broken Hill, a town in western New South Wales struggling since its big silver, lead and zinc mine started winding down, now relies on the Indian Pacifics tourist passengers for economic lifeblood.告诉大家布罗肯希尔这个偏远区域的小镇目前正借印第安号旅游乘客的东风大力进步经济命脉。
5.答案为C，属事实细节题。原文对应信息是：The Indian Pacific competes for space on the single track with trains that carry 80% of the freight between Australias east and west coasts.。
参考译文
卡嗒卡嗒越过荒凉之地
伟大的铁路复兴
火车在晚点运行, 但坐了二个小时火车穿越南澳大利亚沙漠的35个土著居民的孩子好像对此毫不在意。这毕竟是澳大利亚也是世界上最不一般的一次火车旅游。当这列印第安大西洋旅客列车终于在沃森车站澳大利亚横穿大路铁路的侧线嘎的一声停下来时，圣诞节老人下车开始分发礼物，此时，这类孩子开始欢快地唱起了一首西班牙圣诞歌曲《白色圣诞》。
沃森火车站是纳勒博平原上一个荒凉的红色沙漠景点，坐落于世界上最长的直线铁路东线的末端。这只是从澳大利亚东部海岸的悉尼到西部海岸珀斯长达4,352公里的三天旅程的十分之一。印第安大西洋和它以前的列车，如过去向与世隔绝的中国大陆社区运送提供物资的茶糖列车, 曾一度是澳大利亚征服这片辽阔疆域的标志，但在上个世纪90年代以前, 航空旅游与包含联邦政府和州政府在内的铁路所有者对澳大利亚铁路的忽略几乎抹杀了这条最后的横贯东西的旅客列车线路。
在堪培拉联邦政府扬言要关闭长期亏损的印第安大西洋铁路线之后，它于1997 年把印第安大西洋线路和另一条澳洲中国大陆旅客列车线路甘铁路卖给了一家英国人拥有些私有财团大南方铁路。大南方铁路采取了一系列整顿手段，包含修复机车汽车、雇佣年轻、拥有多种技能、未参加工会的乘务职员、向当地居民和旅游者重新进行市场宣传等。通过这类手段，它不只初步扭转了亏损局面，填补了高达2千万澳元的第一年亏损额，还获得少量营业收益。其中一项创举是安排印第安大西洋号列车沿着铁路线做圣诞短期宣传访问，把圣诞节礼物和音乐带给澳大利亚偏僻的中国大陆。今年的圣诞节之行是这一创举的第五次出行，它带给遥远铁路侧线各地居民的是澳大利亚摇滚明星吉米巴尼斯出演的即兴音乐会。这次宣传访问吸引了成千上万的观众，观众人数是迄今为止最多的。布罗肯希尔是新南威尔士西部的一个小镇。自从当地的大型银矿、铅矿和锌矿开采的势头开始降低以来，这个小镇一直在苦苦挣扎探寻进步出路。目前，它正借印第安号旅游乘客的东风大力进步经济命脉。
甘线铁路是南北横贯国内铁路线上的一条侧线，它的复兴更看上去非同一般，引人瞩目。2004年，它在北领地承载的旅客量达到65,000多人，比上一年增加60%。自从在丽斯斯普林斯和达尔文之间新建了一条铁路线后，大家首次可以从阿德莱德坐火车进行两日游，这使公众出游的兴趣大增。2005年，大南方铁路计划将乘坐甘线列车的乘客人次增加一倍。
复兴铁路仍有很多效率低下的状况需要克服。印第安大西洋铁路为唯一一条铁路线上的空间进行角逐。这条线路上的列车运载澳大利亚东部和西部沿海之间区域的80%货物。尽管这条线路的大多数路段笔直平坦, 但这条线路上对列车实行的限速则意味着这条线路并不合适于紧急公务在身的乘客。
