经济类文章精选：Clattering over a moonscape

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 to mind. It was, after all, Australia’s and one of the world’s most unusual train journeys. When the Indian Pacific passenger train finally ground to a halt at Watson, a siding on Australia’s transcontinental line, the children burst into a rendition of a Spanish Christmas song, "Feliz Navidad", as Father Christmas disembarked to distribute gifts.

　　Watson is a red desert moonscape on the Nullarbor Plain at the eastern end of the world’s longest stretch of straight rail track, 478km (297 miles). This is a mere⁵ one-tenth of the 4,352km, three-day journey the train was making between Sydney on Australia’s 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 Australia’s conquest of its vast distances. But by the 1990s, air travel and the neglect of Australia’s 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 (GSR), a British-owned private consortium, in 1997. GSR has now turned a first-year loss of A$20m ($15m) 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 year’s 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 Pacific’s tourist passengers for economic lifeblood.

　　The Ghan’s 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 Ghan’s 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 Australia’s 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(1)：本文选自Economist; 12/18/2004, p54-54, 2/5p；

　　注(2)：本文习题命题模仿对象2004年真题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 Australia’s conquest of its vast distance.

　　[C]It almost disappeared because of the air travel and the neglect of Australia’s 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

　　篇章剖析

　　本文介绍了澳大利亚一些通往内地的乘客列车由于某些原因几乎陷入关闭的境地，现在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寻常的一次火车旅行；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现在的境遇；第三段和第四段指出复兴这些铁路所采取的措施；第五段指出这些列车所面临的一些问题。

　　词汇注释

　　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；(车轮转动时)发出急促的敲击声

　　moonscape n. 月的表面(景色)；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. (=sidetrack)(铁路)旁轨, 岔道, 侧线

　　transcontinental adj. 横贯大陆的, 大陆那边的, <主加拿大>横穿大路的列车(或铁路)

　　rendition [ren5dIF(E)n] n.表演, 演唱, 翻译

　　Nullarbor [`nQlEbR:(r)] Plain 纳勒博平原[澳大利亚西南部](火箭制造基地和试验场)

　　Perth 珀斯(也译佩思)(澳大利亚西南一城市)

　　predecessor⁷ [5pri:dIsesE(r); (?@) 5predEsesEr] n.前辈, 前任, (被取代的)原有事物

　　provision [prE5vIV(E)n] n.供应, (一批)供应品，补给物；预备, 防备, 规定

　　outback [5aJtbAk] n.内地, (指澳大利亚等偏僻而人口稀少的地方)

　　neglect n. (常与of连用)疏忽；忽略；被忽略的状况；被忽略的事实

　　the Indian Pacific, the Ghan and the Overlander, The Great Southern Railway均为澳大利亚铁路线的名称，分别是“印度太平洋”、“甘”、“陆地旅行” 和“大南方铁路” 等线路。

　　distance n. 宽阔的区域，一片没有指定界限的空间

　　rolling stock n. 机车车辆(铁路或汽车运输公司的)车辆(总称)，全部车辆

　　whistle-stop n. (AmE.) (铁路沿线的)小镇；(竞选演说旅途中的)游说；短暂停留(露面或发表简短演说)

　　run n. 短期旅行或访问；为公共职位而进行的竞选

　　wind [waInd] down 松开(发条) 使放松下来；把(汽车玻璃)摇下；失去势头; 减速; 松劲，渐减能量、强度或范围上渐渐减少

　　lifeblood n.生命必须的血液, 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 Australia’s transcontinental line, the children burst into a rendition of a Spanish Christmas song, "Feliz Navidad", as Father Christmas disembarked to distribute gifts.

　　主体句式：the children burst into a rendition of a Spanish Christmas song …

　　结构分析：“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 Australia’s transcontinental line”是“Watson”的同位语；主句中词组“burst into”的意思是“ 突然出现”，“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，圣诞老人下车开始分发礼物，此时，这些孩子开始欢快地唱起了一首西班牙圣诞节歌曲——《白色圣诞节》。

　　2.GSR has now turned a first-year loss of A$20m ($15m) 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 ($15m) into a small operating profit…

　　结构分析：本句是一个简单句，关键是理解介词“by”之后所跟单词的含义。

　　句子译文：“大南方铁路”采取了一系列整顿措施，包括修复机车车辆、雇佣年轻、具备多种技能、未参加工会的乘务人员、向当地居民和旅游者重新进行市场宣传等。通过这些措施，它不仅初步扭转了亏损局面，填补了高达2千万澳元(1.5千万美元)的第一年亏损额，还获得少量营业利润。

　　题目分析

　　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 Australia’s 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适合，并不是针对所有乘客。

　　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些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 Australia’s conquest of its vast distances.”我们可看出这些火车都是开往偏远的内地社区的。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 Pacific’s tourist passengers for economic lifeblood.”告诉我们布罗肯希尔这个偏远地区的小镇现在正借“印第安号”旅行乘客的东风大力发展经济命脉。

　　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 Australia’s 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个土著居民的孩子似乎对此毫不介意。这毕竟是澳大利亚也是世界上最不寻常的一次火车旅行。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，圣诞老人下车开始分发礼物，此时，这些孩子开始欢快地唱起了一首西班牙圣诞节歌曲——《白色圣诞节》。

　　沃森火车站是纳勒博平原上一个荒凉的红色沙漠景点，位于世界上最长的直线铁路(478km 或297英里)东线的末端。这仅仅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，如曾经向与世隔绝的内地社区运送供应物资的“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, 航空旅行以及包括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视几乎扼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内地旅客列车线路——甘铁路——卖给了一家英国人拥有的私有财团——“大南方铁路(GSR)”。“大南方铁路”采取了一系列整顿措施，包括修复机车车辆、雇佣年轻、具备多种技能、未参加工会的乘务人员、向当地居民和旅游者重新进行市场宣传等。通过这些措施，它不仅初步扭转了亏损局面，填补了高达2千万澳元(1.5千万美元)的第一年亏损额，还获得少量营业利润。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节短期宣传访问，把圣诞礼物和音乐带给澳大利亚偏僻的内地。今年的圣诞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下降以来，这个小镇一直在苦苦挣扎寻找发展出路。现在，它正借“印第安号”旅行乘客的东风大力发展经济命脉。

　　甘线铁路是南北横贯大陆铁路线上的一条侧线，它的复兴更显得非同寻常，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，人们第一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。

　　复兴铁路仍有许多效率低下的情况需要克服。印第安大西洋铁路为唯一一条铁路线上的空间进行竞争。这条线路上的列车运载澳大利亚东部和西部沿海之间地区的80%货物。尽管这条线路的大部分路段笔直平坦, 但这条线路上对列车实行的限速则意味着这条线路并不适合于紧急公务在身的乘客。