For a commuter rushing to catch a train, a minute can mean the difference between dinner with the family and leftovers (剩饭) in the microwave. What most passengers don’t realize is that their minute is already there.
Every commuter train that departs from New York City — about 900 a day — leaves a minute later than scheduled. If the timetable says 8:14, the train will actually leave at 8:15. In other words, if you think you have only a minute to get that train — well, relax. You have two.
The courtesy (礼貌) minute, in place for decades and published only in private timetables for employees, is meant as a grace period(宽限期)for those who need the extra time to get off the platform and onto the train.
“If everyone knows they get an extra minute, they’re going to waste time doing unimportant things,” explained Marjorie Anders, a spokeswoman for the Metro-North Railroad. Told of this article, Ms. Anders laughed. “Don’t blow our cover!” she said.
Entirely hidden from the riding public, the secret minute is an odd departure from the railroad culture of down-to-the-second accuracy. The railroad industry helped invent the concept of standard time, and time zones were established in the United States in the 1880s, 35 years before they were written into law. And most commuters know their train by the precise minute it departs. The trains quickly make up the minute: at all other stops, the public timetable prevails. The phantom minute does not exist at commuter railroads in Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, or San Francisco. But in New York, the secret minute dates back decades.
“That’s been done forever, from my knowledge,” said Jack Swanberg, 70, an unofficial historian of Metro-North. “I was the trainmaster starting in 1970 and I’m sure it’s been the case since 1870 for all I know.”
1.The courtesy minute was hidden from the public to _____.
A. prevent the passengers’ idleness B. help invent the concept of standard time
C. show the railroad company’s consideration D. follow the ancient tradition of New York City
2. The underlined part “Don’t blow our cover” in Para. 4 probably means “_____”.
A. Don’t publish the timetable B. Don’t blame commuter trains
C. Don’t make it known by the public D. Don’t forget our chances of catching trains
3.What can we conclude from the passage?
A. The courtesy minute exists in many cities in the US.
B. One minute means a lot for most of the commuters.
C. The courtesy minute has been in place for about ten years.
D. Most railroad staff in New York have no idea of the courtesy minute.
4. The passage mainly talks about _____.
A. the railroads in the US B. the secret New York minute
C. the mistake of the railroad industry D. the history of New York commuter trains
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题
For a commuter rushing to catch a train, a minute can mean the difference between dinner with the family and leftovers (剩饭) in the microwave. What most passengers don’t realize is that their minute is already there.
Every commuter train that departs from New York City — about 900 a day — leaves a minute later than scheduled. If the timetable says 8:14, the train will actually leave at 8:15. In other words, if you think you have only a minute to get that train — well, relax. You have two.
The courtesy (礼貌) minute, in place for decades and published only in private timetables for employees, is meant as a grace period(宽限期)for those who need the extra time to get off the platform and onto the train.
“If everyone knows they get an extra minute, they’re going to waste time doing unimportant things,” explained Marjorie Anders, a spokeswoman for the Metro-North Railroad. Told of this article, Ms. Anders laughed. “Don’t blow our cover!” she said.
Entirely hidden from the riding public, the secret minute is an odd departure from the railroad culture of down-to-the-second accuracy. The railroad industry helped invent the concept of standard time, and time zones were established in the United States in the 1880s, 35 years before they were written into law. And most commuters know their train by the precise minute it departs. The trains quickly make up the minute: at all other stops, the public timetable prevails. The phantom minute does not exist at commuter railroads in Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, or San Francisco. But in New York, the secret minute dates back decades.
“That’s been done forever, from my knowledge,” said Jack Swanberg, 70, an unofficial historian of Metro-North. “I was the trainmaster starting in 1970 and I’m sure it’s been the case since 1870 for all I know.”
1.The courtesy minute was hidden from the public to _____.
A. prevent the passengers’ idleness B. help invent the concept of standard time
C. show the railroad company’s consideration D. follow the ancient tradition of New York City
2. The underlined part “Don’t blow our cover” in Para. 4 probably means “_____”.
A. Don’t publish the timetable B. Don’t blame commuter trains
C. Don’t make it known by the public D. Don’t forget our chances of catching trains
3.What can we conclude from the passage?
A. The courtesy minute exists in many cities in the US.
B. One minute means a lot for most of the commuters.
C. The courtesy minute has been in place for about ten years.
D. Most railroad staff in New York have no idea of the courtesy minute.
4. The passage mainly talks about _____.
A. the railroads in the US B. the secret New York minute
C. the mistake of the railroad industry D. the history of New York commuter trains
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
_______the early train,you'll have to get up early and rush in a taxi.
A.Catching | B.Caught | C.To catch | D.Catch |
高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
I _____ for the airport to catch the flight at 6 pm. Please send the file to me within ten minutes.
A.am leaving B.have left C.was leaving D.had left
高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
Twenty minutes isn't even enough time to catch a lecture of The Big Bang Theory. Yet for many people, that’s the amount of face time they'll get with their doctors all year. 1. During the time, try to ask the confusing questions, which is the key to staying healthy in between checkups.
What happens if I don't take the medicine?
Many patients feel medicine should be taken when they're obviously sick, and skip it when they feel they have recovered. But some conditions take months or even years to be completely removed. In such case, even if you don't have symptoms, don't skip medicine. 2.
Does the medicine interact with my supplements (增补物)?
Many patients assume that supplements like vitamins or herbs are helpful and won't interact with their medicine. That's a dangerous assumption. There're many drug interactions with herbs and nutrients. 3.Patients on certain antidepressants (抗抑郁剂), for example, should not take herbs like St. John's wort (圣约翰麦汁).
What changes can I make to improve my condition?
Diet, exercise, sleep, and stress are all huge elements that impact health and are all completely under a patient's control. 4. But in almost every case, your health can be improved with changes to those four elements.
5.
Your treatment can be a journey, and you should know what kinds of signposts (路标) to look for-good and bad. Being aware of potential challenges, side effects, and failure rates can help you prepare for issues and important improvements: you and your doctor can come up with ways to deal with both.
A. And some can be deadly.
B. Why should I have to deal with the health issues?
C. In many cases, drugs and medicine may be necessary.
D. What kind of improvements and problems should I expect?
E. Instead, take it regularly so that it can have its intended effect.
F. In your next checkup, instead, be prepared for the twenty minutes.
G. That's why it makes sense to make full use of that precious period.
高三英语七选五中等难度题查看答案及解析
A bookseller in Chongqing has been leaving novels on trains and at stations to inspire more commuters(上下班往返的人)to read, after seeing British actress Emma Watson take part in a similar project in London.
Author and bookstore owner Jiang Lin, 29, randomly placed 40 works along the city’s light-rail system on Sunday. Whoever finds a book can read it in public or take it home, but they are encouraged to leave it again on public transportation once they have finished with it. Jiang said, “I considered the needs of commuters," he said. "I hope strangers can feel comforted by the books and feel connected with other readers."
All 40 books were chosen from Jiang’s store, Razor’s Edge Book Club, which he opened in the summer, and included fiction and nonfiction, with topics ranging from art and social sciences to philosophy and history Jiang’s Books on the Chongqing Light Rail project follows the same model as Books on the Underground, which was started in 2012 and sees “book fairies” leave works on London Tube trains and at stations. Readers are encouraged to share their views on the books. It was revealed on Nov. 1 that Watson, who is best-known for the Harry Potter movie series, is a book fairy.
“After I read the news about her leaving books on the London Tube, I was so inspired that I immediately decided to do something over the weekend,” Jiang said. However, his decision was so spontaneous that he had no time to make the stickers that are usually placed on each book to identify them as part of the project . Instead, he put a note on the fly page to introduce the concept.
To his surprise, one of his friends was among those who found his books and posted a picture on WeChat Moments, a social media function on the instant-messaging app. Jiang said more than 20 people have since come onboard and are now working on a more detailed than to spread the love of reading. Although increasing numbers of people read on digital devices, books have not totally gone out of fashion. Jiang mentioned that they needed the support from Chonqing Light Rail Co. to ensure the books to stay there and also hoped the project could be welcomed across the country.
1.Jiang Lin left books on trains or at stations in order to ______.
A. raise money for poor readers B. open a new bookstore
C. help sell more books D. advocate reading books
2.Jiang got inspired to start the project by _________.
A. Harry Porter B. Wechat moments
C. Emma Watson D. Razor’s Edge Book Club
3.The underlined word “spontaneous” is closest in meaning to __________.
A. unplanned B. unwise
C. firm D. thoughtful
4.Jiang’s attitude towards the future of the project can be best described as___________.
A. positive B. doubtful
C. reserved D. worried
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
176. I _______ to catch the early train, but I didn't get up in time. I have to stay here for another two days.
A.intended | B.insured | C.inspected | D.Inspired |
高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
It was ________ impossible for her to catch the 9 o’clock train. I know she got up at 9:15.
A. quite B. very C. too D. much
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Don't be late for the 9:00 meeting because I am_________ and have to catch the 11:00 train.
A.on a limited budget B.in high spirits
C.on a tight schedule D.in deep doubt
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
The trains leave every 15 minutes; if you miss ____ , you don’t have to wait long for another.
A. it B. this C. one D. some
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
When we _______the railway station, the train _______for 5 minutes.
A.got to, had been away | B.reached, had left |
C.arrived, has been away | D.arrived at, has left |
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析