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  3. In every major city in America, commuters are spending more and more time in their cars fighting traffic. The Texas Transportati

In every major city in America, commuters are spending more and more time in their cars fighting traffic. The Texas Transportati

admin2012-10-23  41
问题     In every major city in America, commuters are spending more and more time in their cars fighting traffic. The Texas Transportation Institute recently reported that the average commuter spends an extra 46 hours--more than a full workweek--each year caught in traffic.
    A major source of the congestion is freight trucks. One large truck takes up the space of almost four cars, and the average truck is becoming longer, with more use of double-and triple-trailers. Increases in truck volume, obviously, add to commuting problems, and according to the U. S. Department of Transportation, freight volume is expected to increase by two-thirds over the next 20 years.
    One proposed solution--building new roads--is expensive and politically contentious. But there’s another way: greater use of freight rail.
    One freight train can carry the cargo of 500 trucks, and one intermodal train can carry nearly 300 truck trailers. Trucking companies and railroads already are forming intermodal partnerships that combine the best of both kinds of transportation.
    In an urban area like New York, shifting 25% of freight from trucks to freight trains by the year 2025 would reduce drivers’ commuting time by 52.9 hours. In addition, such a shift would save $734 per household in annual congestion costs.
    Shifting freight from road to rail also helps the environment. Freight rail is more fuel-efficient per ton-mile than trucks. And it reduces drivers’ fuel consumption by decreasing the time they spend idling in traffic. By 2025, commuters in New York could save 254 gallons of fuel with a 25% shift of freight from truck to rail.
    Air pollution levels also would improve with an increase in the use of freight rail. For instance, that same 25% shift to rail by 2025 would decrease air pollutants New York by as much as 79,500 tons.
    To carry out these changes, the freight rail industry will need more capacity, but that depends on return on investments. Because railroads are not meeting their cost of capital, government policymakers may want to consider investment incentives to help meet the growing demand for freight rail. This would enable freight railroads to provide convenient, on-time, quality service to shippers and boost their share of freight transport.
    It is hard to imagine a less costly or more effective strategy for reducing traffic congestion.
In the last 2nd paragraph, the basic problem with the freight rail industry is that ______ .
选项 A、it only has a very low capacity
B、the price of its service is too low
C、its services are not very convenient
D、it is not a profitable enough business
答案D
解析 铁路运输业投资规模很大，但投资回报率不高，无法实现投资成本，由此导致产能不足，即缺乏投资者介入，因而政府方面考虑采取一些投资激励措施以引导更多资金流入这一行业。因而“不是十分有利可图”是铁路货运业的基本症结所在。
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