外语系2014-2015年春季学期第5,6周电台听力原文材料.docxVIP

外语系2014-2015年春季学期第5,6周电台听力原文材料 火车旅行最称心 On the right track Why do we always want to go faster? I am talking about travel. We want our cars, trains and planes to get us to places quicker. This century, theres been a rise in?high-speed?rail travel as people have seen the benefits of this form of?transport. I love train travel and have experienced theefficient?and fast trains that operate in France and Japan. The?acceleration?and top speed of these trains is impressive, the space and comfort on board makes it comfortable and the ability to see something out of the window means, according to me, it beats air travel any day. Spain recently joined?the railway revolution?with its AVE?ultra-modern?high-speed train that has a top speed of 310 kilometres per hour. Its service from Madrid to Barcelona took 20% of passengers away from Spains national airline. In Japan, a magnetic train is being developed that will run at 500 kilometres per hour. This has?shunted?rail travel in Britain onto the slow line. It has one high-speed line from London to France - HS1 - but now it is planning to?construct?a new line called HS2 which will connect London with the north of England. The UK governments transport secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, says This is essential to actually make sure that our great cities are connected and we get the right benefits for the United Kingdom. But not everyone agrees. The idea of fast train travel may appeal but not if its going to be built in your back yard. Its?controversial: people are arguing over the benefits and cost of having shorter journey times, less traffic on the roads and more?capacity?on the?rail network. John Kelleher, who is a farmer and lives on the proposed site of the new line says, theyre not taking into consideration the amount that HS2 will destroy on its construction and route through the countryside. Some people are worried the financial and environmental cost will be too high to save just half an hour on a journey. But other countries ha