《考研英语阅读理解基础进阶 88 篇》【第二阶段】【第9周】.docxVIP

zls整理合集 资料合集 《考研英语阅读理解基础进阶 88 篇》【第二阶段】【第 9 周】 The bold pink and orange stripes of the decoration are shocking enough, but the really unsettling feature of the new trains on the Paris metro is the lack of a driver. Sit in front and you get a picture-window forward view as the train tears through a dark tunnel. This month, the first automatic trains went into service on line one, the capital’s busiest, running from La Défense to the Chateau de Vincennes. With trains guided remotely from a control room and protective platform-edge barriers, the new trains seem to operate entirely on their own. At a launch ceremony all the talk was of engineering and operational capacity. Paris already has driverless trains on line 14, the world’s first fully automatic underground line. But that was built from scratch. Never before has such an old line, this one dating to 1900, been re-equipped with reconfigured platforms and new electronics, for driverless trains. On a line that carries 725,000 passengers a day, and despite difficult talks with trade unions, all the work took place without a shutdown. The main aim is better service. By eliminating human error, driverless trains are “incomparably” safer, says Gérard Churchill, in charge of installing the automatic line. Since opening in 1998, line 14 has had no accidents. Trains can run closer together. Extra services can be laid on at the last minute during unexpectedly busy times. But could there be another unspoken benefit? Driverless trains cannot go on strike. “It was not an objective,” insists Mr Churchill. “But it is true that, during industrial unrest, automatic trains are much more reliable.” Strict labour laws, costly payroll charges and erratic strikes seem to make French firms especially keen on technology. Supermarkets, for instance, have enthusiastically adopted self- checkout. “All French hypermarkets have adopted this strategy over the past few years,” says Alexis Lecanuet at Accenture, a