题型:阅读理解 题类:模拟题 难易度:普通
江苏省泰州中学2019届高三英语第四次模拟考试(5月)试卷
Why don't quiet carriages work, and how might they be make to? Quiet carriages on trains are a nice idea: travelers voluntarily make their phones silent, turn stereos off and keep chatter to a minimum. However, in reality, there is usually at least one silly babbler (喋喋不休的人) to break the silence.
A couple of problems prevent peaceful trips. First, there is a sorting problem: some passengers end up in the quiet carriage by accident and are not aware of the rules. Second, there is a commitment problem: noise is sometimes made by travelers who choose the quiet carriage but find an important call hard to ignore.
The train operators are trying to find answers. Trains in Queensland Australia, are having permanent signs added to show exactly what is expected; a British operator has invested in some technology to prevent phone calls.
Microeconomics suggests another approach. Fining people for making a noise would surely dissuade (劝阻) the polluter and is a neat solution in theory, but it requires costly monitoring and enforcement. Another way would be to use prices to separate quiet and noisy passengers—in effect, creating a market for silence. A simple idea would be to sell access to the quiet carriage as an optional extra when the ticket is bought. Making the quiet coach both an active choice and a costly one would dissuade many of those who don't value a peaceful ride.
Charging may also solve the commitment problem. This is particularly tricky, as attitudes to noise can change during the journey. Some passengers would pay the quiet premium but still chatter away when some vital news arrives. Schemes that reward the silent—a rating system among fellow passengers, for example—could help. The idea is that losing your hard-won reputation offsets the short-term gain from using the phone. But such a system also fails the simplicity test.
A 2010 book by George Akerlof and Rachel Kranton argues that "norms"—feelings about how everyone should behave—also play a role in decision-making. Charging a price, even if just a token amount, means the quiet carriage becomes a service that fellow passengers have bought, not just a preference they have expressed. Perhaps different norms would come into play, encouraging calm. If not, a personal bubble is always an option: noise-canceling headphones start at around $50.
Journey |
40 pages Age Range: 4-8 years Publisher: Candlewick (6 Aug. 2013) Language: English Price: $ 10.72 |
Introduction | A girl can't get the attention of her busy family. She goes to her room feeling sad but discovers a red crayon and draws a magic door on her bedroom wall and through it escapes into a world where wonder, adventure, and danger abound (大量存在). On her journey, she finds people are trying to catch a bird. She rescues the bird with courage but finds herself caught and placed in a cage. The grateful bird helps her escape and together they fly to safety and back to the city where the girl lives. |
About the author | Born in Baltimore, Aaron Becker moved to California to attend Pomona College where he scored his first illustration (插图) job designing T-shirts. Then, he traveled to Kenya, Japan and Sweden backpacking around while looking for interesting things and feeding his imagination. He's now busying at work on his next book project. |
Reviews | By Barb Mechalke on November 23, 2019 This is a beautiful book and tells a story only with illustrations. |
By Elise Nuttall on August 11, 2017 It's a picture book, and it's so inventive and creative! I "read" it with my niece and she absolutely loved that book. She could understand the story without having to struggle as a new reader | |
By Colby J Cuppernull on September 11, 2013 I read this book with my three-and-a-half-year-old son last night. Tonight, when we read it again, it is slightly different. New words are used to give voice to the story told through the images. Every time we read this book, it will become new. |
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