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第四十一篇the operation of international airlines

1 international 国际airlines 航空公司have rediscovered重新发现 the business 商务traveler, 旅行者the man or woman who regularly定期地 jets 飞机from country to country as part of the job. this does not necessarily必定地 mean that airlines ever abandoned放弃 their business travelers. instead, 相反companies公司 like lufthansa 德国汉莎航空公司and swissair瑞士航空公司 would right argue 证明that they have always catered 投合best for the executive行政的class passengers.商务人士阶层but many airlines could be accused 谴责of concentrating too heavily 过于集中in the recent past过去 on attracting passengers by volume,运载量 often at the expense 损失of the regular traveler. too often, they have seemed geared 使---适合for quantity数量 rather than quality.质量

2 operating 经营a major airline is essentially本质上 a matter of finding the right mix 混合of passengers. 旅客the airlines need to fill up 装满the back end 后端of their 宽体的 jets 飞机with low fare票价 passengers, without forgetting that the front end前段 should be filled with装满people who pay substantially大幅度地 more for their tickets.

3 it is no coincidence 巧合that the two major airline bankruptcies破产 were among the companies specializing专门化 in cheap flights. but low fares票价 require需要 consistently一贯地 full aircraft满员飞机 to make flights economically 经济上地viable,可行的 and in the recent recession衰退 the volume运载量 of traffic has not grown. equally同样地 the large number of airlines jostling 争抢for the available passengers has created a huge excess过剩 of capacity.容量 the net result结果 of excess capacity 容量过剩and cut-throat 你死我活的competition竞争 driving down 压价fares 票价had been to push退向 some airlines into collapse 坍塌and leave many others hovering on徘徊the brink边缘

4 against this grim残忍的 background,背景 it is no surprise奇怪 that airlines are turning increasingly 逐渐地towards the business商务 travelers to improve their rates of return,返程 they have invested投资耗费 much time and effort 努力to establish建立 exactly what the executive 商务人士demands for sitting apart from远离 the tourists.

5 high on the list of priorities 优先is punctuality; 守时an executive's time is money. in-flight 飞行中service服务 is another area where the airlines are jostling 争抢for the executive's attention.注意力 the free drinks and headsets耳机 and better food are all part of the lure.诱惑

6 another development has been the accent 强调of seating arrangements.安排 regular travelers have become well versed精通的 in the debate讨论 about seat pitch座位的倾斜--the amount of room 空间between each passenger. and first-class passengers are now offered提供 sleeperette 可卧位的seats, which, for long journeys, make it possible to snatch夺得 a proper night's sleep. sleeperettes 可卧室的have proved so popular 流行的that they will soon become universal普通性 in the front end of most aircraft.飞机

7 the airlines are also trying to improve things on the ground. executive商务人员 lounges休息室 are commonplace平凡 and intended to make the inevitable不可避免地 waiting between flights a little more bearable. 可忍受的luggage 行李handling处理 is being improved. regrettably, 遗憾地there is little the airlines can do to speed up提升 the boring immigration 入境and customs 海关process, 过程which manages to upset 心烦的and frustrate沮丧 passengers of all classes in every continent.洲

8 although it is the airlines' intention意图 to attract 吸引executive passengers商务游客 from their rivals, 对手the airlines themselves would nonetheless但是 like to change one bad habit of this kind of traveler--the expensive 昂贵的habit of booking 预定a flight and then failing to turn up.出现 the practice惯例 is particularly特别地 widespread 广泛的in europe, where businessmen frequently经常地 book return journeys home one on several 几个flights.

1. according to the passage, in operating airlines it is essential to

a) keep in mind the need of the executives only.

b) satisfy the need of the low fare passengers at the expense of the executives.

c) try to attract as many passengers as possible by reducing fares.

d) cater to the need of passengers sitting at both ends of the jets.

解析：

2. the following are all mentioned as reasons why the airlines are having a hard time except that

a) the tourist industry is experiencing an all-time low.

b) there is no increase in the number of passengers.

c) there are more seats on the planes than needed.

d) the competition between airlines is strong.

解析：3 it is no coincidence 巧合that the two major airline bankruptcies破产 were among the companies specializing专门化 in cheap flights. but low fares票价 require需要 consistently一贯地 full aircraft满员飞机 to make flights economically 经济上地viable,可行的 and in the recent recession衰退 the volume运载量 of traffic has not grown. equally同样地 the large number of airlines jostling 争抢for the available passengers has created a huge excess过剩 of capacity.容量 the net result结果 of excess capacity 容量过剩and cut-throat 你死我活的competition竞争 driving down 压价fares 票价had been to push退向 some airlines into collapse 坍塌and leave many others hovering on徘徊the brink边缘

3. the improvements the airlines attempt at include all the following except

a) making their seats more comfortable.

b) providing better food during flights.

c) showing more movies during the long flights.

d) offering sleeperettes to first-class passengers.

解析：5 high on the list of priorities 优先is punctuality; 守时an executive's time is money. in-flight 飞行中service服务 is another area where the airlines are jostling 争抢for the executive's attention.注意力 the free drinks and headsets耳机 and better food are all part of the lure.诱惑

4. there is not much the airlines can do when it comes to

a) making sure the departures are not delayed.

b) the efficient handling of luggage.

c) speeding up customs procedure.

d) the improvement of the condition of waiting lounges.

解析：7 the airlines are also trying to improve things on the ground. executive商务人员 lounges休息室 are commonplace平凡 and intended to make the inevitable不可避免地 waiting between flights a little more bearable. 可忍受的luggage 行李handling处理 is being improved. regrettably, 遗憾地there is little the airlines can do to speed up提升 the boring immigration 入境and customs 海关process, 过程which manages to upset 心烦的and frustrate沮丧 passengers of all classes in every continent.洲

5. which of the following is a bad habit of the executive passengers that frustrates the airlines?

a) they do not book their seats in advance.

b) they do not sit on the seats they are supposed to take.

c) they do not travel on the flight they have booked.

d) they do not pay in advance for the seats they book.

解析：8 although it is the airlines' intention意图 to attract 吸引executive passengers商务游客 from their rivals, 对手the airlines themselves would nonetheless但是 like to change one bad habit of this kind of traveler--the expensive 昂贵的habit of booking 预定a flight and then failing to turn up.出现 the practice惯例 is particularly特别地 widespread 广泛的in europe, where businessmen frequently经常地 book return journeys home one on several 几个flights.