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In recent years, railroads have been combining with each other, merging into super systems, causing heightened concerns about monopoly. As recently as 1995, the top four railroads accounted for under 70 percent of the total ten-miles moved by rails. Next year, after a series of mergers is completed, just four rail roads will control well over 90 percent of all the freight moved by major rail carriers. Supporters of the new super systems argue that these mergers will allow for substantial cost reductions and better coordinated service. Any threat of monopoly, they argue, is removed by fierce competition from trucks. But many shippers complain that for heavy bulk commodities traveling long distances, such as coal, chemicals, and grain, trucking is too costly and the railroads therefore have them by the throat. The vast consolidation within the rail industry means that most shippers are served by only one rail company. Railroads typically charge such "captive" shippers 20 to 30 percent more than they do when another railroad is competing for the business. Shippers who feel they are being overcharged have the right to appeal to the federal government"s Surface Transportation Board for rate relief, but the process is expensive, time consuming, and will work only in truly extreme cases. Railroads justify rate discrimination against captive shippers on the grounds that in the long nm it reduces everyone"s cost. If railroads charged all customers the same average rate, they argue, shippers who have the option of switching to trucks or other forms of transportation would do so, leaving remaining customers to shoulder the cost of keeping up the line. It% theory to which many economists subscribe, but in practice it often leaves railroads in the position of determining which companies will flourish and which will fail. "Do we really want railroads to be the arbiters of who wins and who loses in the marketplace" asks Martin Bercovici, a Washington lawyer who frequently represents shipper. Many captive shippers also worry they will soon be his with a round of huge rate increases. The railroad industry as a whole, despite its brightening fortuning fortunes, still does not earn enough to cover the cost of the capital it must invest to keep up with its surging traffic. Yet railroads continue to borrow billions to acquire one another, with Wall Street cheering them on. Consider the $10.2 billion bid by Norfolk Southern and CSX to acquire Conrail this year. Conrail"s net railway operating income in 1996 was just $427 million, less than half of the carrying costs of the transaction. Who"s going to pay for the rest of the bill Many captive shippers fear that they will, as Norfolk Southern and CSX increase their grip on the market. What is many captive shippers attitude towards the consolidation in the rail industry
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In recent years, railroads have been combining with each other, merging into super systems, causing heightened concerns about monopoly. As recently as 1995, the top four railroads accounted for under 70 percent of the total ten-miles moved by rails. Next year, after a series of mergers is completed, just four rail roads will control well over 90 percent of all the freight moved by major rail carriers. Supporters of the new super systems argue that these mergers will allow for substantial cost reductions and better coordinated service. Any threat of monopoly, they argue, is removed by fierce competition from trucks. But many shippers complain that for heavy bulk commodities traveling long distances, such as coal, chemicals, and grain, trucking is too costly and the railroads therefore have them by the throat. The vast consolidation within the rail industry means that most shippers are served by only one rail company. Railroads typically charge such "captive" shippers 20 to 30 percent more than they do when another railroad is competing for the business. Shippers who feel they are being overcharged have the right to appeal to the federal government"s Surface Transportation Board for rate relief, but the process is expensive, time consuming, and will work only in truly extreme cases. Railroads justify rate discrimination against captive shippers on the grounds that in the long nm it reduces everyone"s cost. If railroads charged all customers the same average rate, they argue, shippers who have the option of switching to trucks or other forms of transportation would do so, leaving remaining customers to shoulder the cost of keeping up the line. It% theory to which many economists subscribe, but in practice it often leaves railroads in the position of determining which companies will flourish and which will fail. "Do we really want railroads to be the arbiters of who wins and who loses in the marketplace" asks Martin Bercovici, a Washington lawyer who frequently represents shipper. Many captive shippers also worry they will soon be his with a round of huge rate increases. The railroad industry as a whole, despite its brightening fortuning fortunes, still does not earn enough to cover the cost of the capital it must invest to keep up with its surging traffic. Yet railroads continue to borrow billions to acquire one another, with Wall Street cheering them on. Consider the $10.2 billion bid by Norfolk Southern and CSX to acquire Conrail this year. Conrail"s net railway operating income in 1996 was just $427 million, less than half of the carrying costs of the transaction. Who"s going to pay for the rest of the bill Many captive shippers fear that they will, as Norfolk Southern and CSX increase their grip on the market. According to those who support mergers railway monopoly is unlikely because ______.
Children live in a world in which science has tremendous importance. During their lifetimes it will affect them more and more. In time, many of them will work at jobs that depend heavily on science—for example, concerning energy sources, pollution control, highway safety, wilderness conservation, and population growth, and population growth. As taxpayers they will pay for scientific research and exploration. And, as consumers, they will Be bombarded(受到轰击) by advertising, much of which is said to be based on science. Therefore, it is important that children, the citizens of the future, become functionally acquainted with science—with the process and spirit of science, as well as with its facts and principles. Fortunately, science has a natural appeal for youngsters. They can relate it to so many things that they encounter—flashlights, tools, echoes, and rainbows. Besides, science is an excellent medium for teaching far more than content. It can help pupils learn to think logically, to organize and analyse ideas. It can provide practice in communication skills and mathematics. In fact, there is no area of the curriculum to which science cannot contribute, whether it is geography, history, language arts, music, or art! Above all, good science teaching leads to what might be called a "scientific attitude". Those who possess it seek answers through ohserving, experimenting, and reasoning, rather than blindly accepting the pronouncements of others. They weigh evidence carefully and reach conclusions with caution. While respecting the opinions of others, they expect honesty, accuracy, and objectivity and are on guard against hasty judgments and sweeping generalizations. All children should be developing this approach to solving problems, but it cannot be expected to appear automatically with the mere acquisition of information. Continual practice, through guided participation, is needed. Pupils can learn logical thinking while______.
Edie: I think Professor Holt is smart and sha"s really a good teacher. Rosa: OK. I"ll try to get into her class. Edie: ______!
Lead deposits, which accumulated in soil and snow during the 1960"s and 70"s, were primarily the result of leaded gasoline emissions originating in the United States. In the twenty years that the Clean Air Act has mandated unleaded gas use in the United States, the lead accumulation worldwide has decreased significantly. A study published recently in the journal Nature shows that air-borne leaded gas emissions from the United States were the leading contributor to the high concentration of lead in the snow in Greenland. The new study is a result of the continued research led by Dr. Charles Boutron, an expert on the impact of heavy metals on the environment at the National Center for Scientific Research in France. A study by Dr. Boutron published in 1991 showed that lead levels in arctic(北极的) snow were declining. In his new study, Dr. Boutron found the ratios of the different forms of lead in the leaded gasoline used in the United States were different from the ratios of European, Asian and Canadian gasolines and thus enabled scientists to differentiate(区分) the lead sources. The dominant lead ratio found in Greenland snow matched that found in gasoline from the United States. In a study published in the journal Ambio, scientists found that lead levels in soil in the Northeasten United States had decreased markedly since the introduction of unleaded gasoline. Many scientists had believed that the lead would stay in soil and snow for a longer period. The authors of the Ambio study examined samples of the upper layers of soil taken from the same sites of30 forest floors in New England, New York and Pennsylvania in 1980 and in 1990. The forest environment processed and redistributed the lead faster than the scientists had expeeted. Scientists say both studies demonstrate that certain parts of the ecosystem(生态系统) respond rapidly to reductions in atmospheric pollution, but that these findings should not be used as a license to pollute. The study published in the journal Nature indicates that ______.
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