如有錯誤請指正，感謝~

Britain’s elusive high-speed rail?dream

Despite the delays and?spiralling?costs ,the UK still needs HS2

重點詞匯：

Elusive:adj.難以實現(xiàn)的

Example：Success will become even more elusive

Elude:vt逃避，躲避

High-speed rail: 高速鐵路

High-speed train 高速列車?bullet train 高速列車，子彈列車

Despite : prep. In spite of something | despite the fact that

Example : She went to Spain despite the fact the doctor had told her to rest.

Despite yourself : if you do something despite yourself ,you do it although you did not intend to

Spiralling : adj.急劇上漲的 spiral: vi.急劇上漲?high speed 2

段落大意： 面對不斷延誤的工期和急劇上漲的開支，英國仍然需要修建HS2.

Countries such as France ,Germany or Spain with shiny?and extensive high-speed rail networks may look with bafflement?across the Channel?to the agonies?in Britain over building anything similar.The originally solid?case?for the HS2 line,meant to whisk?passengers from London to Manchester and Leeds via Birmingham ,has become ever more?precarious as the price tag has?soared?.After being repeatedly and hacked back ,the project is in danger of?death by?a thousand cuts.

重點詞匯：

Shiny : adj. 閃亮的

Bafflement : n.困惑不解 baffle v.使困惑 baffled : a.困惑不解的

The Channel = the English Channel 英吉利海峽

Agony : n.極大的痛苦， agonise over sth 對某事非常焦慮 agonised adj.十分痛苦的

Solid : adj.可靠的 solid evidence

Case : n.理由，論據(jù)

Be meant to do sth 旨在做某事

Whisk : v.迅速帶走

Delivery riders whisk everything from coffee to congee to customers in under 30 minutes

Precarious : adj.不穩(wěn)的

Price tag : n.標(biāo)價，費(fèi)用

Soar :v. 急劇增加

Hack ： v.砍

Death by a thousand cuts = gradual decline or failure as the result of many minor mishaps?

段落大意：HS2的修建過程及其痛苦：造價上漲，反復(fù)延誤，多次被砍，項目面臨慢性死亡的危機(jī)

Cost estimates spiralling from ￡30bn a decade ago to as much as ￡100bn have forced the government to look for savings. Much of the Y-shaped?line’s eastern?arm?to Leeds was?scrapped?in late 2021.A new ,two-year delay to another section may mean the line does not reach Manchester until the 2040s.Plans to bring HS2 to Euston in central London may now be completed only in 2041,with trains terminating till then several miles away in the west of the capital.Some MPs?suggest what remains of the project - at least beyond Birmingham , to where construction?is?well under way-should be?axed.Despite the costs and delays , that would be a mistake.

重點詞匯：

Save : n.省錢，節(jié)省

Y-shaped： ...形狀的 heard-shaped ： adj.心形的

Arm : n.臂狀物

Scrap : v.取消，放棄 scrape：v.刮除

Terminate : v.到達(dá)終點

MP = Member of Parliament 議員

Be under way 正在進(jìn)行

Axe : v. 砍掉，廢止

段落大意：HS2現(xiàn)狀：成本高漲迫使英國政府想辦法節(jié)省花銷，HS2 因此路線被砍，工程延期

提出觀點：雖然目前困難重重，但廢除HS2會是個錯誤。

The focus on speed in?marketing?HS2 has led it to be seen, wrongly, as a vanity project. In?capacity?terms ,it is?essential infrastructure?. Its origins lay in early-2000s forecasts of rail needs that projected?southern sections of the west coast London-Glasgow line would hit maximum capacity by the mid-2020s,and the east coast line to Edinburgh a few years later.Though the pandemic has altered travel patterns ,those forecasts are broadly?set?to be met.Widening existing lines is itself expensive and disruptive.It was decided to build new high-speed routes to spread?the load.

重點詞匯：

Market : v.營銷，推銷 marketing n.市場營銷

Vanity project : 面子工程

Capacity : n.容量

Infrastructure : n. 基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施??essential service 基本服務(wù)

Projected : v.預(yù)計

Be set to do sth 準(zhǔn)備好做某事

The talks are set to continue through the week

Disruptive : adj.有破壞的 disrupt v. 擾亂，使...中斷

Route : n. （交通工具的）線路

Spread : v.分?jǐn)?/p>

Why not pay monthly and spread the cost of your car insurance ?

Load : n.負(fù)荷，工作量

段落大意：論據(jù)1：從運(yùn)力角度來看，HS2是必要的基建項目，它可以在不影響現(xiàn)有線路的情況下分?jǐn)偪土髫?fù)荷，且更為經(jīng)濟(jì)。

難句解析：

Its origins lay in early-2000s forecasts of rail needs that projected southern sections of the west coast London-Glasgow line?would hit maximum capacity by the mid-2020s ,and the east coast line to Edinburgh(would hit maximum capacity)?a few years later.

定語從句

Since commuter?and?freight trains?share the existing main lines,shifting?inter-city services to dedicated?tracks allows many more to run,at much higher speeds , while more local and goods trains can use the old lines . As HS2 will join the west coast line beyond the worst?bottlenecks?, faster and more frequent services can run through to northern England and Scotland.That makes less?carbon-intensive?rail travel a more?alluring alternative to flying.And shifting freight from roads to rail is crucial to meet net zero?targets ,but impossible without space on the railways.

重點詞匯：

Commuter : n.通勤者 someone who travels a long distance to work every day

Commute : n. especially AmE the journey to work every day

??commuter train 通勤火車 commute v.通勤

Freight train : 貨運(yùn)火車 freight n.貨運(yùn)/貨運(yùn)貨物

Inter-city : adj.城際的

Dedicate : adj.專用的 a dedicated high-speed rail link from the Channel Tunnel

Bottleneck : n.瓶頸路段，阻塞點

Carton-intensive : adj. 碳密集型 -intensive ...密集的 capital-intensive 資本密集型

Alluring : adj.非常吸引人的

Crucial : adj. Something that is crucial is extremely important because everything else on it

Net zero : 凈零排放

段落大意：論據(jù)2：HS2能優(yōu)化軌道使用方案，提高運(yùn)力，提升運(yùn)輸效率，也更加環(huán)保

HS2 should therefore be completed at least to Manchester.While the government wants to?tweak?the Euston terminus design to save money,any delay in opening it should be kept to a minimum .The north-east arm to Leeds had a less compelling?logic but alternatives,such as a leg through Nottingham to York ,could make sense. Ministers should remember cost-benefit studies can underestimate the additional activity a well-designed project will generate.Within eight months of opening last year-though delayed and?over-budget?- the cross-London Elizabeth Line was carrying 3mn passengers a week,50 per cent more than expected , with little sign it was “cannibalising”?Tube?journeys.

重點詞匯：

Tweak : v.調(diào)整，稍稍改進(jìn)

Terminus :n.終點站?????????terminal : n.航站樓 terminate v.終止，停止

Compelling : adj.令人信服的

Cost-benefit : adj.成本效益的 cost-benefit n.成本效益

Over-budget : adj.超出預(yù)算的 over-過于...的，超過...的 over-anxious adj.過分焦慮的

Cannibalise : v.（同類型產(chǎn)品）搶走，奪走其它產(chǎn)品的銷量

We believe the two perfumes appeal to different buyers and won’t cannibalise one another’s sales.

The Tube :倫敦地鐵

段落大意：提出建議：1.HS2至少應(yīng)該修道曼徹斯特；2.尤斯頓站的工期延誤應(yīng)盡可能減少3.利茲線可以用諾丁漢-約克線替代。

難句解析：

Within eight months of opening last year-though delayed and over-budget--the cross-London Elizabeth Line was carrying 3mn passengers a week,50 per cent more than expected ,with little sign it was “canniblising “?Tube journeys.

Project managers and the government must continue to look for savings .But these should come through redesign or re-engineering?, not lopping?off further bites of HS2 and undermining its?rationale?,or from postponements?that reduce immediate outlays but push up the total end cost.

重點詞匯：

Re-engineering : n.改建

Lop off 削減，砍掉

Rationale : n.理由，依據(jù)

The rationale for using this teaching method is to encourage student confidence.

Postpone : v.to change an event, action etc to a later time or date | postpone sth until | postpone doing sth - postponement

Outlay : n.費(fèi)用，開支

段落大意：項目經(jīng)理和政府應(yīng)該繼續(xù)想辦法節(jié)省支出，但必須是從設(shè)計角度來想辦法。

Lessons must be learnt,too,from the ballooning?expenses and interminable?planning and political approval processes.Though Britain is much more densely populated , engineers note?big rail projects are managed very differently in France,seemingly without compromising?quality or safety.The UK still needs HS2,and has no quick Plan B.But the project’s handling to date?is really no way to run a railway.

重點詞匯：

Balloon : v.激增

Interminable : adj.無休止的

Note ： v.指出

Compromise ： v.（由于妥協(xié)）損害 compromise safety 商業(yè)壓力會損害安全

Plan B : 備選方案 Plan A 首選方案

Handling ： n.對付，處理

To date = up to now 目前為止

段落大意：英國也應(yīng)從不斷增長的成本，無休止的規(guī)劃和漫長的審批過程中吸取教訓(xùn)