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10. ， it must be Tom who left the window open since he is always careless. Ⅲ.Reading Comprehension Passage 1 Railway Transportation in China In the past， it was not very comfortable to take a train in China.Today， things have changed since the Chinese government invested heavily in building and rebuilding railways， increasing the running speed of trains and expanding the transportation capacity of railway systems.Consequently， the operation of railway transportation has been greatly improved.Many slow lines have been changed to “leaving in the morning and arriving in the evening”， thus improving the travel service， raising efficiency and increasing the competitive edge of the trains. In China， passenger trains are divided into three classes — the hard-seat class， the hard-couch class and the soft-couch class.An adult passenger is allowed to carry 20 kilograms of luggage free of charge each time， a child 10 kilograms and a diplomat 112 35 kilograms.For weight in excess of these standards a fee will be chargeable for the luggage consignment.Over recent years， in an effort to further protect the safety of passengers， railway stations in some large Chinese cities have newly installed X-ray detection equipment at the entrance of stations to scan the luggage.Passengers entering the station have their luggage checked by the equipment under the guidance of security officers. Train tickets， particularly tickets for the couch classes， should normally be booked in advance.With the coming of the Internet age， train tickets can be booked through the Internet in large cities in China， and this no doubt is convenient for passengers.Foreign travelers wishing to take trains can book tickets through travel agencies or hotels. capacity ［k p siti］ n. 容量，能力 competitive ［k m petitiv］ adj. 競爭的;具有競爭力的 edge ［ed ］ n. 優勢 diplomat ［ dipl m t］ n. 外交官 consignment ［k n sainm nt］ n. 交貨， 運送 scan ［sk n］ v. 審視; 掃描 Task 1 Directions :Answer the following questions. 1. What has caused the changes in railway transportation? 2. What classes are there in Chinese passenger trains? 3. How much luggage is a passenger allowed to carry when taking a train? What will happen if the luggage is overweight? 4. Why is the X-ray detection equipment installed at the entrance of railway station? Unit 9 Transportation and Insurance 113 5. In what ways can train tickets be booked? Passage 2 American Insurance An insurance agent called me this morning.This particular agent wanted to discuss my automobile coverage， but the next agent to call might be interested in my life insurance program， my health insurance， or fire protection for my home and furniture.The American consumer often feels constantly disturbed by insurance agents.Many agents selling many different policies call us by phone and sometimes even come to our doors.These insurance agents are always friendly， well dressed， and eager to be of help. Yet few Americans really enjoy being visited by these eager， helpful men and women.We are not happy when they call us; we are on guard when they visit our homes.They are never really our friends; they are a necessary evil. Three reasons why we are unwilling to discuss insurance can be suggested.First of all， insurance is expensive.A young father who purchases a fairly small life insurance policy agrees to pay a sum of S ┆200 every year for 40 years — a total of S ┆8，000. Many college students pay S ┆800 to S ┆1，000 per year for car insurance. In effect， they pay as much for the insurance as they do for the car itself.Health insurance that pays for modern medical miracles often costs Americans as much as S ┆2，000 every year.Adequate insurance is expensive; it is a major item for most families. Insurance also reminds us that we live in an unsafe world.We are human and we must face the possibilities of illness， injury， death， and financial loss.Our rational minds recognize the many unfortunate events that can occur， but in our hearts we hope that we might be spared.Serious injury or death is not a pleasant subject to discuss or even consider.We are afraid; we would rather talk about football or the weather or what we had for lunch. Finally， insurance is a difficult， complex subject.No one understands it completely and only a few insurance professionals really feel comfortable in a discussion of automobile， life， and major medical coverages.We feel inadequate and try to hide our ignorance by avoiding discussions of insurance. Yet these three reasons for not discussing insurance provide three excellent reasons why we should learn more about it.Insurance is expensive.In a lifetime， 114 many of us spend as much on insurance as we do on the purchase of a home.If we are to spend our money intelligently， we need information about the products and services available.We don't depend entirely on salespeople when we buy a car， a house， or a suit of clothes.Neither should we depend entirely on the agent when we buy insurance.We need a basic knowledge of insurance coverages if we are to be intelligent consumers. The intelligent consumer looks at problems in the face.Although accident， illness， and death are not pleasant subjects， each of us knows we face these possibilities.It is better that we plan for these situations by finding means to deal with them than to just hope that they will somehow go away. Although insurance can be complex， its basic concepts are neither difficult nor impossible to learn.Quite the opposite.Insurance fundamentals can be understood by those willing to study them.Serious study provides knowledge.The study of insurance is an effective， proven method of dealing with the insurance ignorance faced by many American families. spare ［sp ］ v. 不傷害， 寬恕;使免遭，使免除 ignorance ［ i n r ns］ n. 無知， 不知;愚昧 fundamental ［ f nd mentl］ n. 基本原則， 基本原理 Task 2 Directions : Answer the following questions. 1. How do American insurance agents sell insurance? 2. What kind of people are insurance agents? 3. Do Americans like insurance agents? How do you know that? 4. Why are Americans unwilling to discuss insurance? 5. Should people learn more about insurance? If yes， what should we do? Unit 9 Transportation and Insurance 115 Passage 3 Transportation in China Transportation means in ancient China were very limited.People traveled mainly on foot.It took several months for a candidate who was to take the imperial examination to be an official to go on foot from home to the capital.People rode horses when traveling from town to town.For short-distance trips， man-carried sedan chairs and carriages or oxcarts were also used.Needless to say， all these means of transportation were slow. Now we have trains， planes， ships， buses and bikes in China.At present， the train is still the primary means of transportation for travelers， compared with planes and ships， who tour between cities.All towns and counties are easily reached through the new development of the highway system， with nearly 1.278 million km stretching across the country.Planes are the most convenient and fastest means of transportation， though they are also the most expensive. People nowadays seldom choose waterways to travel between cities， but they are still and always have been an important way of moving goods through the country.The Pearl River Delta is a prime river system for the movement of goods and people. Transportation in cities is by private car， autobus， taxi， bike and motorbike except when forbidden in some cities in order to protect the environment.Rickshaws can be still seen in some very old sections of the city.In highly-developed cities， there are subways and Magnetic Levitation （mag-levs）. sedan ［si d n］ n. 轎子 oxcart ［ kskɑ t］ n. 牛車 waterway ［ w t wei］ n. 水路 delta ［ delt ］ n. 三角州 autobus ［ t ub s］ n. 〈美〉公共汽車 rickshaw ［ rik ］ n. 黃包車， 人力車 Magnetic Levitation ［m ɡ netik levi tei n］ n. 磁懸浮列車 116 Task 3 Directions : Please complete the outline below （No.1 to No.5） with the information you get from the passage.You should write your answers briefly （in no more than three words）. Transportation System in China Transportation means in ancient China: On the whole: limited and 1 . People traveled mainly 2 ;