Brian arrived at San Francisco airport two hours before the flight to Paris. He was wearing three shirts, a jacket, two pairs of socks, a pair of shorts, and two pairs of jeans. He was carrying one small backpack, which was very full, but he didn’t have any other luggage. Brian needed to meet a man named Tony before he checked in for his flight. He found Tony near the Air France counter. Tony gave him a round trip ticket and a small package.
"Give this package to Jean Paul at the airport in Paris. He will have a sign with your name on it. I think you can find him easily," Tony said," You don’t have any luggage, right"
"Only this backpack," Brian answered. "You said I could bring one carry on bag. "
"That’s right. One carry on bag is fine. Have a good trip. "
"Thanks. "
Is Brian a criminal Not at all. He is an air courier. And he paid only $110 for the round trip ticket to Paris. Air couriers get cheap airline tickets because they take important packages and papers to foreign countries. Businesses sometimes need to get packages and papers to people in foreign countries by the next day. Often, the only way they can do this is to use an air courier company. It is not cheap for a business to send a package with an air courier, but it is quick.
Every year about 80,000 people worldwide travel as air couriers. The number of tickets for courier travel is growing by about 10 percent a year. However, air courier travel isn’t for everyone. But if you have very little money, can be flexible about your travel plans, and don’t mind wearing the same clothes for a week, it can be a great way to take a vacation!

An air courier is a person who （）.

A:manages a business company in foreign countries B:organizes international flights for tourists C:travels around the world with cheap tickets D:delivers papers and packages to foreign countries

Brian arrived at San Francisco airport two hours before the flight to Paris. He was wearing three shirts, a jacket, two pairs of socks, a pair of shorts, and two pairs of jeans. He was carrying one small backpack, which was very full, but he didn’t have any other luggage. Brian needed to meet a man named Tony before he checked in for his flight. He found Tony near the Air France counter. Tony gave him a round trip ticket and a small package.
"Give this package to Jean Paul at the airport in Paris. He will have a sign with your name on it. I think you can find him easily," Tony said," You don’t have any luggage, right"
"Only this backpack," Brian answered. "You said I could bring one carry on bag. "
"That’s right. One carry on bag is fine. Have a good trip. "
"Thanks. "
is Brian a criminal Not at all. He is an air courier. And he paid only $ 110 for the round trip ticket to Paris. Air couriers get cheap airline tickets because they take important packages and papers to foreign countries. Businesses sometimes need to get packages and papers to people in foreign countries by the next day. Often, the only way they can do this is to use an air courier company. It is not cheap for a business to send a package with an air courier, but it is quick.
Every year about 80,000 people worldwide travel as air couriers. The number of tickets for courier travel is growing by about 10 percent a year. However, air courier travel isn’t for everyone. But if you have very little money, can be flexible about your travel plans, and don’t mind wearing the same clothes for a week, it can be a great way to take a vacation!

An air courier is a person who （）.

A:manages a business company in foreign countries B:organizes international flights for tourists C:travels around the world with cheap tickets D:delivers papers and packages to foreign countries

Text 4
During the 1990s boom Dell Computer’s customers got hooked on speed. Most were willing to pay a premium to have their computers shipped by overnight air express. But today, the equation has flipped. Customers prize cost savings over speed. "Now, most of our computers (in the U.S. ) are shipped on the ground--and we can still reach just about everyone within two days," says Fred Montoya, Dell’s vice-president for worldwide logistics.
Express air shipping isn’t in a death spiral. But recession-spooked consumers and manufacturers are less willing to pay for overnight delivery, which is three to five times more expensive than ground shipping. Even when they pay, satisfaction is not guaranteed. After September 11th, security scrutiny of air freight can result in long delays-which means roads may actually be faster. That’s another reason why the number of packages shipped by air domestically fell 7.6% in 2001. And even with the recovery under way, air-express volume is forecast to rebound by just 3% this year. "There’s a mass migration from air to trucks," says Jerry Levy, marketing director for air shipper Bax Global Inc.
The industry’s giants are ready to roll with the change. In the past several years, Fe-dEx and UPS have rebuilt their ground networks as a series of regional hubs able to deliver most packages overnight within a 700-mile radius. "Now, we can move a package in the most expedient way-ground or air or a combination of both," says Tom Weidemeyer, UPS’ chief operating officer and president of its airline unit. New technologies--including bar coding, satellite tracking, online billing and status--are easing the transition. Even impatient customers are willing to do without overnight delivery "if they know when (a shipment) will arrive," notes Brian Clancy, a principal at industry consultant Merge-Global Inc.
The grounding of so much freight is solidifying the lead of UPS and FedEx. "We’re able to keep business in the family that we might have lost," says William Margaritis, FedEx’s corporate vice-president for worldwide communications. His company has invested $ 700 million in a new ground-delivery network while deferring the delivery of 123 aircraft. And strict new security requirements have forced the passenger airlines to stop carrying packages for the U. S. Postal Service, notes Richard Lung, director of revenue management at United Airlines Inc. ’s cargo unit. And small shippers, whether air or truck, lack the capital to build hybrid networks. "We got caught with our pants down," says Levy of Bax Global, which added a ground-delivery unit in 2000. Slow and steady really does win the race.

As used in the text, "hybrid networks" are best related to（）

A:a new net of ground connections. B:security scrutiny on packages. C:a combination of air and ground. D:mass transport on special vehicles.

Text 4
During the 1990s boom Dell Computer’s customers got hooked on speed. Most were willing to pay a premium to have their computers shipped by overnight air express. But today, the equation has flipped. Customers prize cost savings over speed. "Now, most of our computers [in the U. S. ] are shipped on the ground —— and we can still reach just about everyone within two days," says Fred Montoya, Dell’s vice president for worldwide logistics.
Express air shipping isn’t in a death spiral. But recession-spooked consumers and manufacturers are less willing to pay for overnight delivery, which is three to five times more expensive than ground shipping. Even when they pay, satisfaction is not guaranteed. After September 11, security scrutiny of air freight can result in long delays——which means roads may actually be faster. That’s another reason why the number of packages shipped by air domestically fell 7.6% in 2001. And even with the recovery under way, air express volume is forecast to rebound by just 3% this year. "There’s a mass migration from air to trucks," says Jerry Levy, marketing director for air shipper Bax Global Inc.
The industry’s giants are ready to roll with the change. In the past several years, Fe-dEx and UPS have rebuilt their ground networks as a series of regional hubs able to deliver most packages overnight within a 700 mile radius. "Now, we can move a package in the most expedient way ground or air or a combination of both," says Tom Weidemeyer, UPS’ chief operating officer and president of its airline unit. New technologies——including bar coding, satellite tracking, online billing and status——are easing the transition. Even impatient customers are willing to do without overnight delivery "if they know when [a shipment] will arrive," notes Brian Clancy, a principal at industry consultant Merge-Global Inc.
The grounding of so much freight is solidifying the lead of UPS and FedEx. "We’re able to keep business in the family that we might have lost," says William Margaritis, FedEx’s corporate vice-president for worldwide communications. His company has invested $ 700 million in a new ground-delivery network while deferring the delivery of 123 aircraft. And strict new security requirements have forced the passenger airlines to stop carrying packages for the U. S. Postal Service, notes Richard Lung, director of revenue management at United Airlines Inc. ’s cargo unit. And small shippers, whether air or truck, lack the capital to build hybrid networks. "We got caught with our pants down," says Levy of Bax Global, which added a ground-delivery unit in 2000. Slow and steady really does win the race.

As used in the text, "hybrid networks" are best related to（）

A:a new net of ground connections. B:security scrutiny on packages. C:a combination of air and ground. D:mass transport on special vehicles.

Text 4
During the 1990s boom Dell Computer’s customers got hooked on speed. Most were willing to pay a premium to have their computers shipped by overnight air express. But today, the equation has flipped. Customers prize cost savings over speed. "Now, most of our computers (in the U.S. ) are shipped on the ground--and we can still reach just about everyone within two days," says Fred Montoya, Dell’s vice-president for worldwide logistics.
Express air shipping isn’t in a death spiral. But recession-spooked consumers and manufacturers are less willing to pay for overnight delivery, which is three to five times more expensive than ground shipping. Even when they pay, satisfaction is not guaranteed. After September 11th, security scrutiny of air freight can result in long delays-which means roads may actually be faster. That’s another reason why the number of packages shipped by air domestically fell 7.6% in 2001. And even with the recovery under way, air-express volume is forecast to rebound by just 3% this year. "There’s a mass migration from air to trucks," says Jerry Levy, marketing director for air shipper Bax Global Inc.
The industry’s giants are ready to roll with the change. In the past several years, Fe-dEx and UPS have rebuilt their ground networks as a series of regional hubs able to deliver most packages overnight within a 700-mile radius. "Now, we can move a package in the most expedient way-ground or air or a combination of both," says Tom Weidemeyer, UPS’ chief operating officer and president of its airline unit. New technologies--including bar coding, satellite tracking, online billing and status--are easing the transition. Even impatient customers are willing to do without overnight delivery "if they know when (a shipment) will arrive," notes Brian Clancy, a principal at industry consultant Merge-Global Inc.
The grounding of so much freight is solidifying the lead of UPS and FedEx. "We’re able to keep business in the family that we might have lost," says William Margaritis, FedEx’s corporate vice-president for worldwide communications. His company has invested $ 700 million in a new ground-delivery network while deferring the delivery of 123 aircraft. And strict new security requirements have forced the passenger airlines to stop carrying packages for the U. S. Postal Service, notes Richard Lung, director of revenue management at United Airlines Inc. ’s cargo unit. And small shippers, whether air or truck, lack the capital to build hybrid networks. "We got caught with our pants down," says Levy of Bax Global, which added a ground-delivery unit in 2000. Slow and steady really does win the race.

As used in the text, "hybrid networks" are best related to（）

A:a new net of ground connections. B:security scrutiny on packages. C:a combination of air and ground. D:mass transport on special vehicles.

Brian arrived at San Francisco airport two hours before the flight to Paris. He was wearing three shirts, a jacket, two pairs of socks, a pair of shorts, and two pairs of jeans. He was carrying one small backpack, which was very full, but he didn’t have any other luggage. Brian needed to meet a man named Tony before he checked in for his flight. He found Tony near the Air France counter. Tony gave him a round trip ticket and a small package.
"Give this package to Jean Paul at the airport in Paris. He will have a sign with your name on it. I think you can find him easily," Tony said," You don’t have any luggage, right"
"Only this backpack," Brian answered. "You said I could bring one carry on bag. "
"That’s right. One carry on bag is fine. Have a good trip. "
"Thanks. "
is Brian a criminal Not at all. He is an air courier. And he paid only $ 110 for the round trip ticket to Paris. Air couriers get cheap airline tickets because they take important packages and papers to foreign countries. Businesses sometimes need to get packages and papers to people in foreign countries by the next day. Often, the only way they can do this is to use an air courier company. It is not cheap for a business to send a package with an air courier, but it is quick.
Every year about 80,000 people worldwide travel as air couriers. The number of tickets for courier travel is growing by about 10 percent a year. However, air courier travel isn’t for everyone. But if you have very little money, can be flexible about your travel plans, and don’t mind wearing the same clothes for a week, it can be a great way to take a vacation!
An air courier is a person who ______.

A:manages a business company in foreign countries B:organizes international flights for tourists C:travels around the world with cheap tickets D:delivers papers and packages to foreign countries

B Brian arrived at the San Francisco airport two hours before the flight to Paris.He was wearing three shirts，a jacket，two pairs of socks，a pair of shorts，and two pairs of jeans.He was carrying one small backpack，which was very full，but he didnt have any other luggage.Brian needed to meet a man named Tony before he checked in for his flight.He found Tony near the Air France counter.Tony gave him a roundtrip ticket and a small package. “Give this package to Jean Paul at the airport in Paris.He will have a sign with your name on it. I think you can find him easily，”Tony said.“You dont have any luggage，right” “Only this backpack.”Brian answered.“You said I could bring one carryon bag.” “Thats right.One carryon bag is fine.Have a good trip.” Is Brian a criminalNot at all.He is an air courier.And he paid only $110 for the roundtrip ticket to Paris. Air couriers get cheap airline tickets because they take important packages and papers to foreign countries.Business sometimes needed to get packages and papers to people in foreign countries by the next day.Often，the only way they can do this is to use an aircourier company.It is not cheap for a business to send a package with an air courier，but it is quick. Every year about 80,000 people worldwide travel as air couriers.The number of tickets for couriers travel is growing by about 10 percent a year.However,air courier travel isnt for everyone. But if you have very little money，can be flexible about your travel plans，and dont mind wearing the same clothes for a week，it can be a great way to take a vacation. An air courier is a person who.

A:manages a business company in foreign countries B:organizes international flights for tourists C:travels around the world with cheap tickets D:delivers papers and packages to foreign countries