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There are many reasons for the sorry state of commercial aviation in America. But I come to you as a technology columnist to tell you that technology, too, has failed you. People in Silicon Valley pride themselves on their capacity to upend entrenched industries. Uber defeated taxi cartels. Airbnb made getting a room cheaper and more accessible. Streaming services are undoing the cable business. Yet the airline industry has not just stubbornly resisted innovation to improve customer service—in many ways, technology has only fueled the industry’s race to the bottom.
“The airline industry has been on a steady downward trajectory when it comes to customer service for nearly 40 years.” said Henry H. Harteveldt. He noted that American carriers were improving on some metrics—on-time service is up, baggage loss is down and prices keep getting better. And what keeps deteriorating are comfort and quality of service for low-end passengers, he added.
Airlines keep tacking on separate fees for amenities we used to consider part of the flight. And customers keep going along with it. “Consumers have shown that they’re willing to put up with an awful lot, including lack of amenities, mediocre or worse customer service and more to save money,” Harteveldt said. “And the airline industry has evolved to meet that desire for cheap fares.” Part of the problem is how we buy tickets today. The whole system is mercilessly transactional. Customer service—that is, how the airline treats you—isn’t often part of the transaction. As a result, airlines have little incentive to reform themselves.
Can technology improve how airlines work? Some people have ideas for how that may happen. One of them is obvious and sensible: customer reviews. Last year Trip Advisor began rating airlines. Its new rankings, released this week, show that overall, airlines get an average rating of 3.7 out of 5 from customers. That is small potatoes, though. A bigger disruption would come from altering how we pay for airfares. In the same way that Netflix changed the DVD business by charging a monthly fee, some consultants argue that a membership fee could radically improve flying. Your only techno鄄 logical hope for better service is your smartphone camera and the viral push of social networks.
The elite from Silicon Valley may feel so proud of the following things EXCEPT that________.
全文总体分析
文章分为四段，主要讲述航空业在客户服务质量方面处于持续下滑的原因和改善这一问题的方法。第一段作者指出美国商业航空公司的糟糕状况有很多原因，技术也是一个诱因。第二段表明航空业在客户服务方面处于持续下滑的轨道。第三段说明航空公司没有改革动力的原因。第四段提出改进航空公司运作方式的方法，即客户评论。
试题详解
【试题类型】细节题
【题干信息】Silicon Valley, EXCEPT
根据题干关键词定位到文章第一段第三句 People in Silicon Valley pride them- selves on their capacity to upend entrenched industries，该句后作者依次列出具体的行业颠覆 现象。 A 项是文中 Airbnb made getting a room cheaper 的复现，B 项 是文中 Uber defeated taxi cartels 现象的同义转换。 D 项“获取信息更加快速”是文中 Streaming services are un- doing the cable business（流媒体服务正在取代有线电视业务）的具体说明。 C 项“航空业的 服务质量提高到更高水平”与文中 Yet the airline industry has not just stubbornly resisted in- novation to improve customer service（而航空业不仅坚决抵制改善客户服务的创新）意思相 悖，故本题选 C。
According to Henry H. Harteveldt, what has been improved in American airline industry is________.
【试题类型】细节题
【题干信息】Henry H. Harteveldt, improve
根据题干关键词定位到文章第二段第二句He noted that American carriers were improving on some metrics—on-time service is up, baggage loss is down and prices keep get- ting better，该句意为“他指出，美国航空公司在某些方面有所改进———准点率提高，行李遗 失率降低，价格持续降低”，故 A 项“票价有所改善”正确。B 项与该段第一句“近 40 年来，航 空业在客户服务方面处于持续下滑的轨道”相悖。 C 项与该段最后一句“不断恶化的是低端 乘客的舒适程度和获得的服务质量”意思相悖。 D 项“安检”在文中未提及，故本题选 A。
Which is NOT the reason why the aircraft industries do not have the motivation to reform themselves?
【试题类型】细节题
【题干信息】NOT, aircraft industries, motivation, reform
根据题干关键词定位到文章第三段最后一句As a result, airlines have little incentive to reform themselves，题干关键词 motivation 是该句关键词 incentive 的同义替换。 A、C 两项在第三段均有所提及且它们是“导致航空业没动力进行改革”的原因。 D 项“服务 并不认为是整个无情交易系统的一部分”是该段倒数第二句 coustomer service—isn’t often part of the transaction 的复现。 B 项“行李遗失率降低”是航空公司有所改进的方面，并不是 “没动力进行改革”的原因，故本题选 B。
The sentence “That is small potatoes, though.” (Para. 4) most probably means customer review________.
【试题类型】含义题
【题干信息】small potatoes
根据题干关键词定位到文章最后一段第六句 That is small potatoes, though，根 据上下文信息可知，that 指代“为改善航空业服务质量所提出的解决方案———客户评论 ”， A、B 两项均是对该方案的否定，C 项所阐述的内容可在该段第三句 One of them is obvious and sensible: customer reviews 找到相关信息，但与题干意思不相关。 D 项“对改善服务有较 小的影响”与文中 small potatoes（小打小闹的解决方案）所表述的意思一致，故本题选 D。
According to the last paragraph, some consumers think that the way to thoroughly improve the quality of service is ________.
【试题类型】细节题
【题干信息】last paragraph, improve, the quality of service
根据题干关键词定位到文中最后一段倒数第二句 some consultants argue that a membership fee could radically improve flying。 该句意为“有些顾问认为，会员费可以从根本 上改善飞行体验”，其中 radically 是题干关键词 thoroughly 的同义替换，故正确。 A、B、D 三 项均是改善服务质量的方法，但却不能从根本上改善，故本题选 C。
全文重点词汇和短语
commercial a. 商业的；贸易的
aviation n. 航空；飞行术
columnist n. 专栏作家
accessible a. 易接近的
stubbornly ad. 倔强地，顽强地
trajectory n. 弹道，轨道
deteriorate v. 使恶化
mercilessly ad. 无情地，残忍地
radically ad. 根本地，彻底地
全文翻译
很多原因导致美国商业航空公司的糟糕状况。但是，作为技术专栏作家，我要对你说的是，技术也是一个诱因。硅谷的人们为自己颠覆根深蒂固的行业的能力感到自豪。优步击败了出租车垄断联盟。爱彼迎能让人们更方便地获得更便宜的客房。流媒体服务正在取代有线电视业务。而航空业不但坚决抵制改善客户服务的创新，技术还在很多方面推动着这个行业继续堕落。
“近40年来，航空业在客户服务方面处于持续下滑的轨道。”亨利.H.哈特韦尔兹说。他指出，美国航空公司在某些方面有所改进———准点率提高，行李遗失率降低，价格持续下降。同时他补充说，不断恶化的是低端乘客（即大多数人）的舒适程度和获得的服务质量。
航空公司不断为我们以往所认为的属于航班一部分的设施单独收费。客户们不断容忍此行为。哈特韦尔兹称，“消费者表明，为了省钱，他们愿意忍受很多事情，包括设施缺乏、中等或更差的客户服务等”，“航空业已经在为满足乘客追求‘便宜票价’的欲望而演变”。部分问题是如今我们怎样购买机票，整个系统是无情的交易。客户服务———也就是航空公司对待你的方式———通常不是交易的一部分。因此，航空公司几乎没有改革的动力。
技术能改进航空公司的运作方式吗？有些人对可能的实现方式有一些想法。其中一个方式是显而易见而合乎情理的：客户评论。去年，旅行点评网站TripAdvisor开始邀请用户点评航空公司。它本周发布的最新排名显示，总体而言，客户们给航空公司的平均评分为3.7分（总分5分），不过那只是小打小闹。更大的调整将来自改变我们支付机票费用的方式。与Netflix以收取月费的方式改变DVD行业一样，有些顾问认为，会员费可以从根本上改善飞行体验。你想获得更好服务的唯一技术希望，是你的智能手机摄像头和社交网络的疯狂转发。