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Passage 1
In January 1989, the Community of European Railways presented their proposal for a high speed pan-European train network extending from Sweden to Sicily, and from Portugal to Poland by the year 2020. If their proposal becomes a reality, it will revolutionize train travel in Europe. Journeys between major cities will take half the time they take today. Brussels will be only one and a half hours from Paris. The quickest way to get from Paris to Frankfurt, from Barcelona to Madrid will be by train, not plane. When the network is complete, it will integrate three types of railway line: totally new high speed lines with trains operating at speeds of 300 kilometers per hour, upgraded lines which allow for speeds up to 200 to 225 kilometers per hour, and existing lines for local connections and distribution of freight. If businesspeople can choose between a three-hour train journey from city-center to city-center and a one-hour flight, they’ll choose the train, says an executive travel consultant. They won’t go by plane any more. If you calculate flight time, check-in and travel to-and-from the airport, you’ll find almost no difference. And if your plane arrives late due to bad weather or air traffic jams or strikes, then the train passengers will arrive at their destination first. Since France introduced the first 260-kilometer-per-hour high speed train service between Paris and Lyons in 1981, the trains have achieved higher and higher speeds. On many routes, airlines have lost up to 90% of their passengers to high speed trains. If people accept the Community of European Railways’ plan, the 21 century will be the new age of the train.
26. What is the proposal presented by the Community of European Railways?
27. What will happen when the proposal becomes a reality?
28. Why will business people prefer a three-hour train journey to a one-hour flight?
29. When did France introduce the first high speed train service?
Passage 2
Western doctors are beginning to understand what traditional healers have always known that the body and the mind are inseparable. Until recently, modern urban physicians heal the body, psychiatrist the mind, and priests the soul. However, the medical world is now paying more attention to holistic medicine which is an approach based on the belief that people state of mind can make them sick or speed their recovery from sickness. Several study show that the effectiveness of a certain drug often depends on the patient’s expectations of it. For example, in one recent study, psychiatrist and a major hospital tried to see how patients could be made calm. They divided them into two groups. One group was given a drug while the other group received a harmless substance instead of medicine without their knowledge. Surprisingly, more patients in the second group showed the desired effect than those in the first group. In study after study, there’s a positive reaction in almost one-third of the patients taking harmless substances. How was this possible? How can such a substance have an effect on the body? Evidence from a 1997 study at the University of California shows that several patients who received such substances were able to produce their own natural drug, that is, as they took the substance their brains released natural chemicals that act like a drug. Scientists theorized that the amount of these chemicals released by a person’s brain quite possibly indicates how much faith the person has in his or her doctor.
30. According to the speaker, what are western doctors beginning to understand?
31. What does the recent study at a major hospital seem to prove?
32. What evidence does the 1997 study at the University of California produce?
Passage 3
So we’ve already talked a bit about the growth of extreme sports like rock-climbing. As psychologists, we need to ask ourselves: Why is this person doing this? Why do people take these risks and put themselves in danger when they don’t have to? One common trait among risk-takers is that they enjoy strong feelings or sensations. We call this trait sensation-seeking. A sensation-seeker is someone who’s always looking for new sensations. What else do we know about sensation-seekers? Well, as I said, sensation-seekers like strong emotions. You can see this trait in many parts of a person’s life, not just in extreme sports. For example, many sensation-seekers enjoy hard rock music. They like the loud sound and strong emotion of the songs. Similarly, sensation-seekers enjoy frightening horror movies. They like the feeling of being scared and horrified while watching the movie. This feeling is even stronger for extreme sports where the person faces real danger. Sensation-seekers feel the danger is very exciting. In addition, sensation-seekers like new experiences that force them to push their personal limits. For them, repeating the same things everyday is boring. Many sensation-seekers choose jobs that involve risk, such as starting a new business or being an emergency room doctor. These jobs are different everyday, so they never know what will happen. That’s why many sensation-seekers also like extreme sports. When you do rock-climbing, you never know what will happen. The activity is always new and different.
33. According to the speaker, what is a common trait among risk-takers?
34. What do sensation-seekers find boring?
35. What is the speaker’s profession?
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