26. Only a reduction of 10 percent in the number of scheduled flights using Greentown's airport will allow the delays that are so common there to be avoided. Hevelia airstrip, 40 miles away, would, if upgraded and expanded, be an attractive alternative for fully 20 percent of the passengers using Greentown airport. Nevertheless, experts reject the claim that turning Hevelia into a full-service airport would end the chronic delays at Greentown.
Which of the following, if true, most helps to justify the experts' position?

A、 Turning Hevelia into a full-service airport would require not only substantial construction at the airport itself, but also the construction of new access highways.
B、 A second largely undeveloped airstrip close to Greentown airport would be a more attractive alternative than Hevelia for many passengers who now use Greentown.
C、 Hevelia airstrip lies in a relatively undeveloped area but would, if it became a full-service airport, be a magnet for commercial and residential development.
D、 If an airplane has to wait to land, the extra jet fuel required adds significantly to the airline's costs.
E、 Several airlines use Greentown as a regional hub, so that most flights landing at Greentown have many passengers who then take different flights to reach their final destinations.

【正确答案】 E

【答案解析】 Evaluation of a Plan
Situation To avoid the delays now common at Greentown's airport, the number of scheduled flights
there would need to be reduced by 10 percent. If the nearby Hevelia airstrip were expanded and
upgraded, it would be an attractive alternative for 20 percent of Greentown airport's passengers.
Still, experts do not believe that the delays at Greentown would end even if Hevelia were turned
into a full-service airport.
Reasoning Which statement most supports the experts' position? If the number of flights at Greentown's airport
did not drop by at least 10 percent, despite the fact that 20 percent of the passengers who currently
use Greentown's airport would find nearby Hevelia airstrip an attractive alternative, then the
delays would not be avoided. Airlines generally use certain airports as regional hubs—an airport
through which an airline routes most of its traffic—so, even if many passengers would be willing
to use Hevelia airstrip, the number of flights at Greentown may not decline significantly, or at all.
A The experts' position concerns what would happen to the flight delays at Greentown airport if the Hevelia airstrip were converted into a full-service airport. So the fact that there are great costs involved in making such a conversion—possibly making such a conversion unlikely—has no bearing on the effects such a conversion would have on flight delays at Greentown if the conversion were to be carried out.
B This statement indicates that the undeveloped airstrip near Greentown might be a better way to alleviate flight delays at Greentown, but it tells us nothing about the effects that converting the Hevelia airstrip to a full-service airport would have were it to be carried out.
C This in no way explains why converting the Hevelia airstrip into a full-service airport would not alleviate the problem with flight delays at Greentown.
D This provides a reason to think that reducing the number of flights at Greentown might make the airport more efficient. But that has no bearing on the effect that converting the Hevelia airstrip to a full-service airport might have on flight delays at Greentown.
E Correct. This statement provides support for the experts' position because it gives a reason for thinking that the number of scheduled flights at Greentown would not be reduced, even if Hevelia airstrip became an attractive alternative for some 20 percent of Greentown's passengers.
The correct answer is E.