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 ton-miles moved by rails. Next year, after a series of mergers is completed, just four railroads will control well over 90 percent of all the freight moved by major rail carriers.

        近年来，铁路公司相互联合，组成了超大型集团，引起人们对垄断行为的极大关注。就在1995年，四家大型铁路公司占有整个铁路运输业务的70％不到。到明年，一系列兼并活动完成之后，四家铁路公司将控制主要铁路公司货物运输业务的90％以上。

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.

支持组建超大型铁路集团的人认为，兼并将带来成本的大幅降低，服务项目的更好协调。他们认为，在公路运输的激烈竞争面前，垄断的威胁已经不复存在。但许多客户却抱怨说，对于依赖长途运输的大宗商品来说，如煤炭、化学制品和粮食，由于公路运输花费太大，这样铁路公司就会“掐住了他们的脖子”。

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.

铁路运输业内的大规模联合意味着现在只有一家铁路公司在为大多数客户服务。通常，铁路公司对这些“被控”客户的收费要比有另一铁路公司竞争业务时多20％～30％。如果客户感到他们被多收费，他们有权上诉到联邦政府的“陆路运输局”以争取价格下调。但这个过程耗财、耗时，并且只有在真正极端特殊的情况下才有作用。

Railroads justify rate discrimination against captive shippers on the grounds that in the long run 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’s a 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.

铁路公司认为它对受牵制的托运商实行差别费率是合理的，因为从长远来看，这样做会降低所有人的成本。他们认为，如果铁路公司向所有客户收取同样的普通价格的话，那么，可以使用公路运输或其他交通工具的客户将会转移，使剩下的客户来承担铁路正常运作的开销。这种理论得到了多数经济学家的认同，但在实际操作中，它使铁路公司获得了一个决定谁败谁荣的权利。“我们是否真的想让铁路公司成为在市场上决定谁败谁荣的裁决者呢？”Martin Bercovici问道。他是一位常常代表铁路客户的华盛顿律师。

Many captive shippers also worry they will soon be hit with a round of huge rate increases. The railroad industry as a whole, despite its brightening 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.

       许多“被控”客户还担心他们很快将遭遇一轮新的大幅涨价。虽然铁路行业整体经济情况不错，但它的收入仍然不足以支付其资本成本，以满足其不断增长的运输需要。然而铁路公司仍然继续贷款数十亿美元来进行相互兼并，而华尔街也鼓励它们这样做。请想一想今年Norfolk Southern公司和CSX公司为兼并Conrail公司所花的102亿美元吧。Conrail公司1996年铁路运营纯收入为4.27亿美元，这还不足这宗交易运作成本的一半。谁来支付其余的费用？许多“被控”客户担心他们会，因为Norfolk Southern和CSX公司将增加对市场的控制。

51.  According to those who support mergers, railway monopoly is unlikely because ________.

[A] cost reduction is based on competition

[B] services call for cross-trade coordination

[C] outside competitors will continue to exist

[D] shippers will have the railway by the throat

根据那些支持合并的人们的观点，铁路垄断不可能发生，因为________。

[A] 成本的降低以竞争为基础

[B] 服务业需要跨行业的协调

[C] 外部竞争者将会继续存在

[D] 托运人将控制铁路运输

52.  What is many captive shippers’ attitude towards the consolidation in the rail industry?

[A] Indifferent.                                   [B] Supportive.

[C] Indignant.                                     [D] Apprehensive.

许多受制托运人对铁路业合并的态度是怎样的？

[A] 漠不关心                                        [B] 支持的

[C] 愤怒的                                          [D] 担忧的

53.  It can be inferred from Paragraph 3 that ________.

[A] shippers will be charged less without a rival railroad

[B] there will soon be only one railroad company nationwide

[C] overcharged shippers are unlikely to appeal for rate relief

[D] a government board ensures fair play in railway business

从第三段中可以推断出________。

[A] 如果没有竞争对手，对托运人收费将会减少

[B] 全国很快将会只有一家铁路公司

[C] 那些交了过高费用的托运人不太可能上诉要求减少收费

[D] 政府部门保证在铁路竞争中实行公平竞争

54.  The word “arbiters” (Line 7, Paragraph 4) most probably refers to those ________.

[A] who work as coordinators                            [B] who function as judges

[C] who supervise transactions（B）                     [D] who determine the price

“arbiters”（第四段第七行）这个词的意思可能指那些________。

[A] 做协调工作的人                                      [B] 起评判作用的人

[C] 监督交易的人                                        [D] 决定价格的人

55.  According to the text, the cost increase in the rail industry is mainly caused by ________.

[A] the continuing acquisition                          [B] the growing traffic

[C] the cheering Wall Street                            [D] the shrinking market

根据本文，铁路业成本的增加主要是由于________。

[A] 持续的购置                                          [B] 日益繁忙的交通

[C] 令人振奋的华尔街                                    [D] 缩小的市场