填空题
As the world's urban population gets bigger, cities are struggling
to provide the basic services that their residents need. One of the most
pressing problems is public transport. Now let's look at the crisis facing the
city of London. {{U}}In no time in history has there been such a
mass migration of people from countryside to city as is happening now.{{/U}} By
the year 2030, it's estimated that more than two thirds of the world's
population will be living in cities, twice as many as today. This means that the
problems faced by cities today—overcrowding, poor housing, unemployment,
poverty, and lack of food and water will be twice as bad in the this century,
unless we find solutions soon. Another crucial issue facing
cities today is how to provide good transport links to service the commercial,
cultural and leisure needs of their inhabitants. Today, many of the world's
major cities are already struggling to cope with out-of-date transport
infrastructures. {{U}}How they will cope with the additional demands placed on
them has not yet been addressed.{{/U}} London is a good example
of the problems facing many major urban centres. It was the world's first mega
city and the first with a population of a million people. Its expansion was made
possible by the invention of the steam engine, which, among other things,
powered the world's first underground railway. Today, London
has one of the world's most extensive transport systems. But, because it was the
first city to build a railway network, much of the infrastructure—the trains and
buses, the tracks and tunnels—is now hopelessly out-of-date, and needs urgent
modernization. London's future success depends very much on
transport. The city lies at the heart of Britain's road and rail networks and
problems in London can rapidly affect other areas of the country. On an average
morning, over ground trains bring passengers to stations on the outskirts of the
city, and they then continue their journeys by underground, bus or
taxi. Over a million people travel into central London every
day from outside the city. They, and the people who live in London, want a
public transport system that is frequent, safe, reliable, affordable and
environmentally friendly. What they often get, however, falls far short of that
ideal. Commuters complain about delays, unreliability, cost and
pollution, while businesses worry about the problems their staff have getting to
work on time. Companies also face high costs for delivering goods and services
in a city where congestion means that cars today travel at the same speed as
horse-drawn carriages did in the last century. Yet car
ownership continues to grow. The proportion of London households that own a car
grew from just over 10 per cent in the early 1950s to over 60 per cent today. 20
per cent of house-holds now own two or more cars. As the city
has become increasingly congested and polluted, there has been a growing
realization that action is needed. However, precisely what should be done is
hotly debated. Some people have called for cleaner fuels and strict controls on
exhaust emissions. Others say more effort must be put into persuading people not
to use their cars, perhaps by charging people to drive into London. There does
seem to be agreement on one thing, though—that until London's public transport
system is improved, people will continue to use their cars.
This raises the all important questions of where the money is going to come
from. Until about 10 years ago, most public transport in Britain was owned and
paid for by the government. But in the last decade, most train and bus networks
have been privatized. The government says that the private
sector should take most, but not all, of the responsibility for public
transport. In London, the underground railway system known as the "Tube" is
likely to be where this policy is first put into practice. The government admits
that it cannot afford to modernize the Tube system alone. Instead, it wants to
form a partnership with private companies, so that they provide some of the
money. Questions: Mark
each statement as either true (T) or false (F) according to the
passage.
填空题
Sydney is the first city in the world to have a million people.
填空题
Transport is playing a crucial role in London's future success.
填空题
The government used to pay for most public transport.