阅读理解。
Imagine, one day, getting out of bed in Beijing and being at your office in Shanghai in only a couple of
hours, and then, after a full day of work, going back home to Beijing and having dinner there.
Sounds unusual，doesn't it? But it's not that unrealistic，with the development of China's highspeed
railway system.And that's not all.China has an even greater highspeed railway plan-to connect the country with Southeast Asia, and eventually Eastern Europe.
China is negotiating to extend its own highspeed railway network to up to 17 countries in 10 to 15
years, eventually reaching London and Singapore.
China has proposed three such projects.The first would possibly connect Kunming with Singapore
via Vietnam and Malaysia.Another could start in Urumqi and go through Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and possibly to Germany.The third would start in the northeast and go north through Russia and then into Western Europe.
If China's plan for the highspeed railway goes forward, people could zip over from London to Beijing in under two days.
The new system would still follow China's highspeed railway standard.And the trains would be able to
go 346 kilometers an hour, almost as fast as some airplanes.
China's bullet train (高速客车), the one connecting Wuhan to Guangzhou, already has the world's
fastest average speed.It covers 1,069 kilometers in about three hours.
Of course, there are some technical challenges to overcome.There are so many issues that need to be
settled, such as safety, rail gauge (轨距), maintenance of railway tracks.So，it's important to pay attention to every detail.
But the key issue is really money.China is already spending hundreds of billions of yuan on domestic
railway expansion.
China prefers that the other countries pay in natural resources rather than with capital investment.
Resources from those countries could stream into China to sustain development.
It'll be a winwin project.For other countries, the railway network will definitely create more
opportunities for business, tourism and so on, not to mention the better communication among those
countries.
For China，such a project would not only connect it with the rest of Asia and bring some muchneeded resources, but would also help develop China's far west.We foresee that in the coming decades, millions of people will migrate to the western regions, where the land is empty and resources unused.With highspeed
trains, people will set up factories and business centers in the west once and for all.And they'll trade with
Central Asian and Eastern European countries.
1．China's new highspeed railway plan will be a winwin project because________.
A．China will get muchneeded resources and develop its western regions
B．China and the countries involved will benefit from the project in various ways
C．China will develop
its railway system and communication with other countries
D．the foreign countries involved will develop their railway transportation, business and tourism
2．According to the passage, the greatest challenge to the new highspeed railway plan is________.
A．technical issues
B．safety of the system
C．financial problems
D．maintenance of railway tracks
3．Which of the following words best describes the author's attitude towards China's highspeed railway
plan?
A．Critical.
B．Reserved.
C．Doubtful.
D．Positive.
4．Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?
A．New Railway Standards
B．Big Railway Dreams
C．Highspeed Bullet Trains
D．International Railway Network
