Transportation Decision Transportation decision consists of the following parts: 1.Selection of the mode is determined by the consideration of distance,cargo weights,linkage,timing and other requirements.Generally speaking,rail has high fixed cost and the relatively low variable cost.It can move heavy,large quantity of cargo in the long distance.But,rail is disadvantaged because of the longer transit time and less frequent service than motor. Motor carriers such as truck companies offer door-to-door service,that is,the cargo can be shipped from the shipper＇swarehouse to the consignee＇s.Trucking fixed cost is the lowest of any carrier,because the equipment is fairly cheap and the motor carriers do not have to invest in the roads on which they run their operations.However,their variable costs are very high.Its expenses include two major components:firstly,the pick-up and delivery costs;secondly,there are gas or fuel costs,labor expenses and toll roads fees to be paid to highway and toll road operators Therefore,motor transport is good for cargo with small quantity to be shipped within short distances. Water is the predominant choice of transportation as it has the capacity to take greatest quantity,travel longest distance with lowest cost.Transport by sea accounts for 80% of in-ternational trade.The major expenses for water are expenses associated with investment and maintenance of the ships and terminals.For example,a 100000-ton container ship costs US$ 200 million.Terminal associated costs include harbor fees and the cost for loading and unloading the goods. Transport by air has the highest cost but it is fast with the lowest ratio of loss and dam-age.If you need to deliver an urgent order,there is little choice but by air. 2.Transport service provider is selected for its experiences,equipment,services and prices.Competitive in the transport industry usually drives the prices down and motivates for better services.A company also chooses its transport service provider because of its long-standing business relationship with certain shipping companies. 3.The alternative routing and scheduling is specific for motor only because railway and water have strict route and timetable.Motor has special advantage in terms of flexibility.It has the ability to load goods at greater frequency,travel through different routes and making deliveries to different loca-tions.Questions:

For heavy and long distance cargo with low cost,which of the following is the pre-ferred mode for transportation?( )

A:Trucks. B:Water. C:Aircraft. D:Broken down in small bulks and deliver by air.

Azeri Hills Hold Secret of Long Life

    You can see for kilometers from the mountains where Allahverdi Ibadov herds his small flock of sheep amid a sea of yellow, red, and purple wildflowers. The view from Amburdere in southern Azerbaijantoward the Iranian border is spectacular, but Mr. Ibadov barely gives it a second glance.

    Why should he? He’s been coming here nearly every day for 100 years.

    According to his carefully preserved passport, Mr. Ibadov, whose birth was not registered until he was a toddler, is at least 105 years old. His wife, who died two years ago, was even older. They are among the dozens of people in this beautiful, isolated region who live extraordinarily long lives.

    Mr. Ibadov’s eldest son has just turned 70. He lost count long ago of how many grandchildren he has.¹ “I’m an old man now I look after the sheep, and I prepare the wood for winter. I still have something to do. “

    A lifetime of toil, it seems, takes very few people to an early grave in this region. Scientists admit there appears to be something in the Azeri mountains that gives local people a longer, healthier life than most.

    Miri Ismailov’s family in the tinyvillageofTatoniare convinced that they know what it is. Mr. Ismailov is 110, his great-great-grandson is four. They share one proud boast: Neither has been to a doctor. “There are hundreds of herbs on the mountain, and we use them all in our cooking and for medicines”; explained Mr. Ismailov’s daughter,Elmira. “We know exactly what they can do. We are our own doctors.，’

    There is one herb for high blood pressure，another for kidney stones，and a third for a hacking cough. They are carefully collected from the slopes surrounding the village. Experts from the Azerbaijan Academy of Science believe the herbs may be part of the answer. They have been studying longevity in this region for years. It began as a rare joint Soviet-American project in the 1980s，but these studies are not being funded any more.

    Azeri scientists have isolated a type of saffron unique to the southern mountains as one thing that seems to increase longevity. Another plant, made into a paste, dramatically increases the amount of milk that animals are able to produce. “Now we have to examine these plants clinically to find out which substances have this effect,” said Chingiz Gassimov, a scientist at the academy.

    The theory that local people have also developed a genetic predisposition to long life has been strengthened by the study of a group of Russian emigres whose ancestors were exiled to the Caucasus 200 years ago.² The Russians’ life span is much shorter than that of the indigenous mountain folk — though it is appreciably longer than that of their ancestors left behind in the Russian heartland.

    “Over the decades，I believe local conditions have begun to have a positive effect on the new arrivals” , Professor Gassimov said. “It’s been slowly transferred down the generations.”

    But Mr. Ismailov, gripping his stout wooden cane, has been around for too long to get overexcited. “There’s no secret,” he shrugged dismissively. “I look after the cattle and I eat well. Life goes on.”

词汇：

herd /hɜ:d/ vt.放牧 

boast /bəʊst/ vt.以有……而自豪
longevity / lɑnˈdʒɛvɪti/  n.长寿

Caucasus /ˈkɔ:kəsəs/ n.高加索

Dismissively  轻蔑地
spectacular / spekˈtækjələadj. / adj.壮观的

hacking cough 干咳
saffron /ˈsæfr(ə)n/ n.藏红花

indigenous /ɪnˈdɪdʒinəs/ adj.本土的

注释：

1．He lost count long ago of how many grandchildren he has.他很久以前就数不清他有多少个孙辈孩子。lost count：弄不清楚，数不清
2．The theory that local people have also developed a genetic predisposition to long life has been strengthened by the study of a group of Russian emigres whose ancestors were exiled to the Caucasus 200 years ago.当地人已经具备长寿的遗传素质，一组关于俄罗斯移民的研究证实了这一理论。他们的祖先在两百年前被流放到高加索地区。genetic predisposition：遗传素质

Scientists think people’s genes might affect how long they live

A:Right B:Wrong C:Not mentioned

Optimists Really Do Live Longer, Say Scientists

    1. For the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer optimism was fundamentally wrong, banal and corrupting, while the father of psychoanalysis Sigmund Frend simply declared it to be neurotic.

    2. Experience shows that looking on the bright side of life does have advantages and recent scientific evidence points to the positive mindset as being beneficial to health¹. In other words optimists live longer.

    3. That was the conclusion reached by experts at the Mayo Clinic in the U. S. State of Minnesota who evaluated answers given by people to a set of questions in the 1960s. Of the 729 candidates, 200 had died and according to scientists, there were a disproportionate number of pessimists among them.

    4. Ten points more on the pessimism scale—that was the difference between “slightly pessimistic” and “averagely pessimistic” — were enough to boost a person’s chances of dying by 19 percent, according to the study by prominent psychologist Martin Seligman of the UniversityofPennsylvania.

    5. The study does not say why pessimists die but an older survey taken among children in San Francisco and Los Angeles makes it clear that personal attitude towards the world is a key factor in the longevity equation².

    6. The latest evidence to support the theory that optimists tend to cope better with illness of all kinds has been provided by Professor Ralf Schwarzer ofBerlin"s Free University who questioned 600 heart and lung patients. His conclusion: Optimists recover more swiftly from operations than their pessimistic counterparts; tend to be happier after treatment and return to work more swiftly.

    7. There have been suggestions that optimists do not stay healthier but rather turn into optimists later because they enjoy good health³.  Numerous surveys have taken into account a person"s state of health at the outset⁴ and the effect remains the same.

    8. Studies have shown that optimists do not blind themselves to reality either. They thus interpret it in a positive way. “Sublimating and denying things tend to alter reality but illusions are a way of seeing reality in the best light.⁵” said Californian psychology professor Shelley Taylor.

    9. German science journal “Bild der Wissenschaft”, which carries a major article on the topic in its current March issue, commented on “the right attitude” to having a tumor.

    10. It seems psychotherapy can go some way⁶ towards extending the life span and life quality of a sick person although a complete recovery using psychological technique alone is unlikely.

    11. Doctors like, however, to point to the example of U. S. cycling professional Lance Armstrong, who was seriously ill with cancer, but whose unshakable optimism helped him to take the top trophy twice at cycling"s premier Tour de France.

    12. The magazine also quoted a study by Sheldon Cohens of the Carnegie-Mellon-University inPittsburgh:420 volunteers were deliberately infected with strains of various common cold viruses. A day later checks were carried out to see who had caught a cold.

    13. The results showed that in the case of people who had satisfactory, long-term relations with friends neighbors or colleagues, the virus was less likely to trigger a cold. Of people with three or fewer firm relationships 62 percent became ill compared with only 35 percent of those who had six or more close human links.

 

词汇：

banal/ bəˈnɑ:l/adj. 平庸的，陈腐的 

mindset/ ˈmaɪndset/ n. 思想倾向

disproportionate/ dɪsprəˈpɔrʃənɪt/adj. 不成比例的 

sublimate/ "sʌblɪmeɪt/ vt. 升华，理想化

neurotic/ njʊəˈrɒtɪk/ adj. 神经过敏的

boost/ bu:st/ v. 提高，增加

trigger/ ˈtrɪgə(r)/ vt. 激起，引起 

prominent/ ˈprɒmɪnənt/ adj. 著名的，杰出的

 

注释：

1.Experience shows that looking on the bright side of life does have advantages and recent scientific evidence points to the positive mindset as being beneficial to health.经验表明，看到生活光明的一面确有好处，最近的科学证据也表明积极的思维方式有益健康。

2.a key factor in the longevity equation：长寿方程式上的一个关键因素。

3.There have been suggestions that optimists do not stay healthier but rather turn into optimists later because they enjoy good health.有意见认为，乐观者并不会变得更健康，而是由于拥有健康他们后来才变成了乐观者。

4.at the outset：当初，起先

5.“Sublimating and denying things tend to alter reality but illusions are a way of seeing reality in the best light.…：美化事物和否定事物都有助于改变现实，而幻觉却是看到现实最光明一面的方法……

6.go some way：有一定帮助。这个词组是仿照“go a long way”的用法，其意为“大有帮助，大有作用”。

A. to avoid unpleasant things in life

B. in looking on the bright side of life

C. less likely to catch cold

D. how one looks on life

E. to be unhappy all the time

F. more likely to get cancer

How long one can live partly depends on ______________.

A:A B:B C:C D:D E:E F:F

TV Shows and Long Bus Trips

    Long bus rides are like television shows ¹ .They have a beginning, a middle, and an end一with commercials ²  thrown in every three or four minutes. The commercials are unavoidable. They happen whether you want them or not. Every couple of minutes a billboard glides by outside the bus window. ³"Buy Super Clean Toothpaste." "Drink Good"n Wet Root Beer." "Fill up with Pacific Gas."Only if you sleep, which is equal to turning the television set off, are you spared the unending cry of"You Need It! Buy It Now!" ⁴

    The beginning of the ride is comfortable and somewhat exciting, even if you"ve traveled that way before. Usually some things have changed一new houses, new buildings, sometimes even a new road. The bus driver has a style of driving and it"s fun to try to figure it out ⁵ the first hour or so. If the driver is particularly reckless or daring, the ride can be as thrilling as a suspense story. ⁶ Will the driver pass the truck in time? Will the driver move into the right or the left-hand lane? After a while, of course, the excitement dies down. Sleeping for a while helps pass the middle hours of the ride. Food always makes bus rides mcre interesting. But you"ve got to be carful of what kind of food you eat. Too much salty food can make you very thirsty between stops.

    The end of the ride is somewhat like the beginning ⁷. You know it will soon be over and there"s a kind of expectation and excitement in that. The seat, of course, has become harder as the hours have passed. By now you"ve sat with your legs crossed, with your hands in your lap, with your hands on the arm rests一even with your hands crossed behind your head. The end comes just at the right time. There are just no more ways to sit.

 

词汇：

ride /raid/n．旅行，乘坐

unavoidable /,ʌnə"vɔdəbl/adj．不可避免的

billboard /"bilbɔ: d/n．露天广告牌；招贴板，告示牌

gas /gæs/n．＜美＞汽油，gasoline一词的缩略形式；气体；煤气；可燃气

spare /speə/vt．使……免于伤害，饶恕，宽容；节省，节约，吝惜；为……抽出时间、金钱等

style /stail/n．行为方式，作风；风格，文风，文体；时尚，流行式样

reckless /reklis/adj．不顾危险的，鲁莽的，轻率的

daring /"deəriŋ/adj．大胆的；勇敢的

thrilling /"θriliŋ/adj．令人激动的；使人毛骨惊然的

suspense / səs"pens/n．悬念；悬而不决

expectation /,ekspek"teiʃən/n．期待，盼望；预料，估计

lap/læp/n．（衣服的）下摆，裙兜，衣兜；（人坐着时的）大腿部

 

注释：

1. Long bus rides are like television shows. like在此句中是介词，意思是“像，如；跟……一样”。例如：He is like an athlete．他像个运动员。

2.commercials：商业广告，特别指电台、电视台播出的商业广告。

3.Every couple of minutes a billboard glides by outside the bus window．每隔几分钟就会有一块广告牌从车窗外闪过。

4.Only if you sleep, which is equal to turning the television set off, are you spared the unending cry of "You Need It! Buy It Now!”只有当你睡着的时候，就和关掉电视一样，才会免受那些没完没了的“你需要它，现在就来买吧！”的干扰。

5.figure it out：计算出；解决

6. …the ride can be as thrilling as a suspense story. ……乘车就像读悬念故事一样令人兴奋。此句中的as... as结构是比较结构的一种，常称之为同级比较，表示与……一样。在as与as之间的形容词或副词必须是原级。

7. The end of the ride is somewhat like the beginning．旅程的最后倒有点儿像刚开始。此句中的somewhat是副词，意思是“一点儿，有几分”。

According to the passage, what do the passengers usually see when they are on a long bus trip?

A:Buses on the road B:Films on television C:Advertisements on billboards D:Gas stations

long centric

长期（Long run）

For the past two years in Silicon Valley, the centre of America’s technology industry, conference-goers have entertained themselves playing a guessing game: how many times will a speaker mention the phrase "long tail" It is usually a high number, thanks to the influence of the long-tail theory, which was first developed by Chris Anderson, the editor of Wired magazine, in an article in 2004. Though technologists and bloggers chuckle at how every business presentation now has to have its long-tail section, most are envious of Mr. Anderson, whose brainwave quickly became the most fashionable business idea around.
Whether a blockbuster film, a bestselling novel, or a chart-topping rap song, popular culture idolises the hit. Companies devote themselves to creating them because the cost of distribution and the limits of shelf space in physical shops mean that profitability depends on a high volume of sales. But around the beginning of this century a group of internet companies realised that with endless shelves and a national or even international audience online they could offer a huge range of products—and make money at the same time.
The niche, the obscure and the specialist, Mr. Anderson argues, will gain ground at the expense of the hit. As evidence, he points to a drop in the number of companies that traditionally calculate their revenue/sales ratio according to the 80/20 rule—where the top fifth of products contribute four-fifths of revenues. Ecast, a San Francisco digital jukebox company, found that 98% of its 10000 albums sold at least one track every three months. Expressed in the language of statistics, the experiences of Ecast and other companies such as Aragon, an online bookseller, suggest that products down in the long tail of a statistical distribution, added together, can be highly profitable. The internet helps people find their way to relatively obscure material with recommendations and reviews by other people, (and for those willing to have their artistic tastes predicted by a piece of software) computer programs which analyse past selections.
Long-tail enthusiasts argue that the whole of culture will benefit, not just commercial enterprises. Television, film and music are such bewitching media in their own right that many people are quite happy to watch and listen to what the mainstream provides. But if individuals have the opportunity to pick better, more ideally suited entertainment from a far wider selection, they will take it, according to the theory of the long tail. Some analysts reckon that entire populations might become happier and wiser once they have access to thousands of documentaries, independent films and subgenres of every kind of music, instead of being subjected to what Mr. Anderson calls the tyranny of lowest-common-denominator fare. That might be taking things a bit far. But the long tail is certainly one of the internet’s better gifts to humanity.

In the first paragraph the author mentioned the conference-goers’ guessing game, he wants to show（）

A:it is usually a high number that speakers mentioned the phrase "long tail" B:the enormous influence of the long-tail theory C:conference-goers liked to entertain themselves playing the game D:Chris Anderson was the first who developed "long tail"

For the past two years in Silicon Valley, the centre of America’s technology industry, conference-goers have entertained themselves playing a guessing game: how many times will a speaker mention the phrase "long tail" It is usually a high number, thanks to the influence of the long-tail theory, which was first developed by Chris Anderson, the editor of Wired magazine, in an article in 2004. Though technologists and bloggers chuckle at how every business presentation now has to have its long-tail section, most are envious of Mr. Anderson, whose brainwave quickly became the most fashionable business idea around.
Whether a blockbuster film, a bestselling novel, or a chart-topping rap song, popular culture idolises the hit. Companies devote themselves to creating them because the cost of distribution and the limits of shelf space in physical shops mean that profitability depends on a high volume of sales. But around the beginning of this century a group of internet companies realised that with endless shelves and a national or even international audience online they could offer a huge range of products—and make money at the same time.
The niche, the obscure and the specialist, Mr. Anderson argues, will gain ground at the expense of the hit. As evidence, he points to a drop in the number of companies that traditionally calculate their revenue/sales ratio according to the 80/20 rule—where the top fifth of products contribute four-fifths of revenues. Ecast, a San Francisco digital jukebox company, found that 98% of its 10000 albums sold at least one track every three months. Expressed in the language of statistics, the experiences of Ecast and other companies such as Aragon, an online bookseller, suggest that products down in the long tail of a statistical distribution, added together, can be highly profitable. The internet helps people find their way to relatively obscure material with recommendations and reviews by other people, (and for those willing to have their artistic tastes predicted by a piece of software) computer programs which analyse past selections.
Long-tail enthusiasts argue that the whole of culture will benefit, not just commercial enterprises. Television, film and music are such bewitching media in their own right that many people are quite happy to watch and listen to what the mainstream provides. But if individuals have the opportunity to pick better, more ideally suited entertainment from a far wider selection, they will take it, according to the theory of the long tail. Some analysts reckon that entire populations might become happier and wiser once they have access to thousands of documentaries, independent films and subgenres of every kind of music, instead of being subjected to what Mr. Anderson calls the tyranny of lowest-common-denominator fare. That might be taking things a bit far. But the long tail is certainly one of the internet’s better gifts to humanity.

What’s the main idea of this passage（）

A:Chris Anderson and his "Long-tail" B:Prevalence of "Long-tail" C:What is Long-tail D:Long-tail and Internet

"Based on this passage, one Long ton equals______Metric tons

A:016 B:984 C:995 D:005 1metric ton = 1023 short tons = 9842 long ton"