The new high speed railway line between Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur self-governing region, and Lanzhou, capital of Gansu province, has cut train travel time by half to less than 12 hours.
The dramatic improvement will benefit many families planning reunions for Spring Festival.
"For the first time, I feel home is not that far away after all," said Liang shaofu as he boarded a high speed train in Urumqi with six members of his family.
The 35 year old left Lanzhou to set up a dry fruit business in Xinjiang eight years ago, and he has now settled in Urumqi.
The 1,776 km line, which passes through Qinghai province and is the country's first high speed railway built in a high altitude region, came into service on Dec 26.
"We normally drive home for Spring Festival to avoid the difficulties of buying seven train tickets for the whole family during the peak season," Liang said. "Driving can be very tiring and dangerous sometimes, so one year we even decided not to go back to Lanzhou simply to avoid the trip.
More than 600,000 passengers traveled on the line during its first month, and the Urumqi Railway Bureau said the introduction of high speed services will ease transport pressure during the Spring Festival peak season.
The existing usual railway line could no longer support Xinjiang's development. All passenger trains will gradually shift to the new link, leaving the old one to be used for goods. As a result, Xinjiang's annual goods ability could reach 200 million metric tons from the current 70 million.
The line passes through areas that experience high winds, and it also crosses parts of the deserted Qinghai Tibet Plateau and the bone dry sands of the Gobi Desert.
The project could help China to promote its high speed railway technology abroad, said Ma Xizhang, director of the Lanzhou Xinjiang railway project's management department in Xinjiang.
1. How long did it take to go from Urumqi to Lanzhou by the usual train before?
A. about 12 hours. B. About 6 hours.
C. About 18 hours. D. About 24 hours.
2.What’s the main advantage of the new high speed railway?
A. It takes more time to go to Urumqi to Lanzhou.
B. It will be more convenient for people all over the country to Xinjiang.
C. All the people in Lanzhou can return home on festivals.
D. It helps to improve Xinjiang’s development.
3.From the passage we can learn _______.
A. Xinjiang’s annual goods ability can increase nearly four times
B. the new railway technology may help more railway lines to be built abroad
C. the high speed railway lines can’t be built across the bone dry sands
D. the old railway lines can only carry goods now
4.Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. The new high speed railway line is good for all people to go home.
B. The new high speed railway line benefits businessmen to carry goods.
C. Taking the new train is safer than driving home from Urumqi to Lanzhou.
D. Businessmen seldom went home for Spring Festival before.
not be the wisest person on this planet. but I will tell you a little to happiness: Help others and live life. It is that simple. Just help a friend study for a test, or at a nursing home . I learned this after a long, hard search.
I was feeling really because my friend had died. Then I started a six week work at a nursing home all day every Saturday for free. My routine was to the meal and clean up. After that, I wait for the head nurse to tell me what to do.
One day I was told to go to Room 117 to make sure the patient was all right. In the room I found a boy of eight in his bed watching a movie. I was to see a child in this seemingly forgotten nursing home for the aged. He was so small and weak that you had to look closely to find him. He motioned for me to sit down. I grabbed his medical chart from which later I found out he had a terminal illness.
We started to talk, and I found out that his family visited, and all he did every day was watch TV. I wanted to cry for him, and for my lost friend. As we talked, he had a smile on his face, and I asked him why.
"The entire two hours I've been here you've never lost that smile. this horrible disease, how do you still to stay happy?"
He thought for a while, and then said that too many people are dead even before they stop .They walk around feeling that God has cursed (诅咒) them and that they have to live for.
The boy said that he would not be like that. He wakes every morning to see another sunrise. He keeps his window open so that he can the flowers and feelthe heat of the sun. He also said that he has hope.
"Too many people haven't seen much of is around here," he said," Life is full of hope and we need to live life it is gone. "
I don’t know what happened to him. I assume he , but his lesson lives on. I now wake up and live each day to the . The key to life is not money or fame, but the lessons we learn from it.
1.A. might B. could C. must D. would
2.A. secret B. response C. access D. answer
3.A. volunteer B. stay C. call D. employ
4.A. up B. off C. down D. out
5.A. cook B. prepare C. serve D. make
6.A. should B. could C. might D. would
7.A. laying B. seated C. sit D. lain
8.A. pleased B. surprised C. delighted D. interested
9.A. asked B. looked C. meant D. offered
10.A. usually B. regularly C. rarely D. occasionally
11.A. To B. As C. For D. With
12.A. hope B. try C. succeed D. manage
13.A. breathing B. working C. thinking D. loving
14.A. something B. anything C. nothing D. everything
15.A. thankful B. delightful C. wonderful D. careful
16.A. feel B. smell C. taste D. look
17.A. that B. which C. what D. who
18.A. before B. after C. as D. while
19.A. broke away B. passed away C. took away D. gave away
20.A. biggest B. deepest C. widest D. fullest
—Why do you want to leave your hometown?
—I a job in the city.
A. have been offered B. offered
C. was offered D. had been offered
Mom often tells me “ ____ with challenges, you have no choice but to accept them.”
A. Face B. Facing C. Faced D. To face
Guess what! I haven't used this pen for ages and it ______.
A. was still writing B. is still writing
C. is still written D. still writes
With the monthly test approaching, Paul is busy preparing for it, only_____ playing basketball to relax a bit.
A. occasionally B. seldom
C. rarely D. frequently
