Is pricing a plane ticket based on the passenger's weight fair? If you're taking an international flight on Samoa Air today, your fare will be based on your weight, along with that of your luggage. The cost is 93 cents to $1.06 for each kilogram.
The average American woman weighs 75.5 kilograms, far from the ideal weight for her average height. Her ticket on Samoa Air, at the $1 a kilogram rate, would cost $75.50. But let's be honest here. Since the average American woman is overweight, the ticket will cost her more.
Samoa Air Chief Executive Chris Langton said, “Planes are run by weight and not by seat. The plane can only carry a certain amount of weight and that weight needs to be paid.”He believes other airlines should adopt the policy.
It’ s not a new idea. I remember a newspaper columnist years ago who put forth the idea that the heavier among us should pay more for their seats on planes, trains and buses. Who hasn’ t been squeezed into a middle seat between two plus-sized folks on a flight? It’ s happened to me; one time my married seatmates had purposefully chosen their seats to have more space until a sold-out flight put me between them. Not one of my better flying experiences.
What if such a policy is adopted by some airlines in the United States? Could such pricing provide a much-needed motivation for Americans to reduce body weight? I hope so. But, as we know, more than one-third of us are obese and another third are overweight. The high probability is that the heavy customers will not suddenly lose weight or stop flying, but will instead choose a different airline, simply moving the supposed problem elsewhere.
There's no doubt that the heavier will suffer more discrimination (歧视). Discrimination against the overweight in the United States has increased by 66 percent over the last decade —“and is comparable to rates of racial discrimination, especially among women,”wrote Yale University researcher Rebecca M. Puhl. Your weight can affect your salary, your chances for employment, how others view you and even, now, your air fares.
“If the policy succeeds it may encourage the spread of body discrimination across different industries and the wider culture,” said one British editorial writer. He holds that it is companies' duty to provide equipment that meet the needs of their customers.
And we'll see how effective it is as a business model.
1. In Paragraph 3, Chris Langton _____.
A. explained the reasons for the ticket policy
B. showed the difficulties of the ticket policy
C. expressed his doubt about the ticket policy
D. discussed the advantages of the ticket policy
2.If some American airlines adopt the ticket policy_____.
A. they will possibly lose a lot of customers
B. there will be less overweight people
C. people will use other forms of transportation
D. the problem of overweight planes will be partly solved
3. The author mentions Puhl's study to show_____.
A. women are less likely to suffer discrimination
B. racial discrimination is getting worse nowadays
C. the ticket policy will have little influence on the obese
D. the ticket policy will make body discrimination more serious
4.Which best describes the British editorial writer's attitude to Samoa Air's policy?
A. Optimistic. B. Defensive.
C. Disapproving. D. Casual.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题
Is pricing a plane ticket based on the passenger's weight fair? If you're taking an international flight on Samoa Air today, your fare will be based on your weight, along with that of your luggage. The cost is 93 cents to $1.06 for each kilogram.
The average American woman weighs 75.5 kilograms, far from the ideal weight for her average height. Her ticket on Samoa Air, at the $1 a kilogram rate, would cost $75.50. But let's be honest here. Since the average American woman is overweight, the ticket will cost her more.
Samoa Air Chief Executive Chris Langton said, “Planes are run by weight and not by seat. The plane can only carry a certain amount of weight and that weight needs to be paid.”He believes other airlines should adopt the policy.
It’ s not a new idea. I remember a newspaper columnist years ago who put forth the idea that the heavier among us should pay more for their seats on planes, trains and buses. Who hasn’ t been squeezed into a middle seat between two plus-sized folks on a flight? It’ s happened to me; one time my married seatmates had purposefully chosen their seats to have more space until a sold-out flight put me between them. Not one of my better flying experiences.
What if such a policy is adopted by some airlines in the United States? Could such pricing provide a much-needed motivation for Americans to reduce body weight? I hope so. But, as we know, more than one-third of us are obese and another third are overweight. The high probability is that the heavy customers will not suddenly lose weight or stop flying, but will instead choose a different airline, simply moving the supposed problem elsewhere.
There's no doubt that the heavier will suffer more discrimination (歧视). Discrimination against the overweight in the United States has increased by 66 percent over the last decade —“and is comparable to rates of racial discrimination, especially among women,”wrote Yale University researcher Rebecca M. Puhl. Your weight can affect your salary, your chances for employment, how others view you and even, now, your air fares.
“If the policy succeeds it may encourage the spread of body discrimination across different industries and the wider culture,” said one British editorial writer. He holds that it is companies' duty to provide equipment that meet the needs of their customers.
And we'll see how effective it is as a business model.
1. In Paragraph 3, Chris Langton _____.
A. explained the reasons for the ticket policy
B. showed the difficulties of the ticket policy
C. expressed his doubt about the ticket policy
D. discussed the advantages of the ticket policy
2.If some American airlines adopt the ticket policy_____.
A. they will possibly lose a lot of customers
B. there will be less overweight people
C. people will use other forms of transportation
D. the problem of overweight planes will be partly solved
3. The author mentions Puhl's study to show_____.
A. women are less likely to suffer discrimination
B. racial discrimination is getting worse nowadays
C. the ticket policy will have little influence on the obese
D. the ticket policy will make body discrimination more serious
4.Which best describes the British editorial writer's attitude to Samoa Air's policy?
A. Optimistic. B. Defensive.
C. Disapproving. D. Casual.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
The bad weather is reported _______ the passenger plane crash in Iran on January 9.
A. to contribute to B. contributing to
C. contributed to D. to have contributed to
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
All passengers ____, please fasten your seat belts and remain seated ____the plane is landing．
A．on board; until B．abroad; since C．on the board; before D．aboard; when
高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
Juanito Estrella has been a housekeeping manager on the US-based large passenger ship Carnival Spirit for 18 months and feels he has found the suitable position in his career（职业）．He has always wanted to travel.“I guess I am a really restless spirit. I like traveling, so when the chance came, I jumped at it,”he says.
The chance came in the form of a newspaper advertisement for work on cruise ships（游船）．At the time Estrella was the housekeeping manager at a Melbourne hotel. He applied and, after two interviews，a medical check and police clearance，the job was his.
Estrella is responsible（负责的）for the cleanliness of the ship, making sure that 160 crew work properly. "I enjoy it because there is no other work--you wake up each day in a different place and a different culture. It's exciting when you go to the next country and you don't understand the language，”he says.
Estrella likes being busy and getting to know people from all over the world. The 1,000 crew come from 94 countries, and Estrella has learnt Spanish and a little Croatian.
But there is a downside. “You cannot get really drunk... because you have safety responsibilities to yourself and others，”he says. "You don't really think about home. You start to-think about home only when you get closer to your vacation and wonder what you'll be doing.”
Life on the ship is anything but cruising. Estrella and his fellows work at least 10 hours a day，seven days a week. He warns the job is not for everybody. “You have to love being busy and be prepared to work every day--and to give up drinking too much alcohol.”In his spare time，if the ship sails into a port, Estrella explores it, otherwise he works out in the crew's gym，goes on the internet or calls home.
1.What do we know about Estrella?
A. He is very fond of traveling.
B. He doesn't drink wine now.
C. He cannot speak a foreign language.
D. He used to be a housekeeping manager.
2.The underlined word "downside" in paragraph 5 probably means＿.
A. disappointment B. disadvantage C. failure D. loss
3.Which of the following is true?
A. Estrella doesn't often feel homesick because of his work.
B. The work on the ship is not suitable for a married person.
C. Estrella can find no other job except the one on the ship.
D. The people on the ship are from 94 countries.
4.In the last paragraph, the writer thinks that life on the ship is＿．
A. not a tiring journey at all B. just an interesting voyage
C. far from a voyage for pleasure D. more than a pleasant travel by sea
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
The pilot asked all the passengers on board to remain _________ as the plane was making a landing.
A. seat B. seating C. seated D. to be seating
高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
The pilot asked all the passengers on board to remain _________ as the plane was making a landing.
A. seat B. seating C. seated D. to be seating
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
My calculations were based on the ______ that house prices would remain steady.
A．theory B．regulation C．procedure D．assumption
高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
My calculations were based on the _________ that house prices would remain steady.
A．appreciation B．arrangement C．assumption D．ambition
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
With the plane ________，some passengers on board feel sick and want to throw up.
A．taken off B．taking off
C．to take off D．would take off
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
I have a tight budget for the trip, so I'm not going to fly _ the airlines lower ticket prices.
A. once B.if C. after D. unless
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析