新视野大学英语读写教程听力 第三册 te-unit07-b

[-1:11.00]The British were too worried about invasion.
[-1:12.00]13  The Chunnel will transport about 7 million passengers a year,
[-1:13.00]Among them will be those who would have flown between London and Paris.
[-1:14.00]If you take the Chunnel,
[-1:15.00]it's about the some time as flying: three hours.
[-1:16.00]It now takes more than six hours by rail and boat.
[-1:17.00]Trains are more punctual,
[-1:18.00]as they're not delayed by bad weather.
[-1:19.00]Fares have not been set,
[-1:20.00]but they're expected to be about the same as boat and airline service.
[-1:21.00]14  Experts say airlines will be big losers.
[-1:22.00]London-Paris is by far the busiest international airline route in the world.
[-1:23.00]More than 3 million people fly between the cities yearly,
[-1:24.00]compared to 2.2 million between London and New York.
[-1:25.00]Rail freight will begin quietly sometime in June.
[-1:26.00]Eventually, the equivalent of 700,000 trucks a year
[-1:27.00]will be transported through the Chunnel.
[-1:28.00]15  One thing that is left to the British to pray is to eliminate violence.
[-1:29.00]16  In March,
[-1:30.00]an unexploded bomb was found on therailroad tracks between London and the Chunnel.
[-1:31.00]One newspaper reported that Chunnel delays
[-1:32.00]have been the result of faulty alarms,
[-1:33.00]and only "partially successful" escape procedures.
[-1:34.00]Another newspaper reported a major security failure last year.
[-1:35.00]The company that operates the Chunnel issued press releases
[-1:36.00] accusing the reports of being inaccurate.
[-1:37.00]But they have provided no details about the state of securiy.
[-1:38.00]17  The key to escape is the smaller tunnel
[-1:39.00]that runs between the two train tunnels.
[-1:40.00]Doors connect the train tunnels to the smaller tunnel every quarter mile
[-1:41.00]and provide escape routes.
[-1:42.00]Each train has two engines, in case one fails.
[-1:43.00]A $3.6 million police station will have the most up-to-date equipment
[-1:44.00]and 99 police officers.
[-1:45.00]18  Engineers say a disaster is unlikely in the Chunnel
[-1:46.00]because it wouldn't be flooded by a bomb.
[-1:47.00]The tunnel is too far beneath the sea floor.
[-1:48.00]But that doesn't satisfy some
[-1:49.00]who still believe it is likely to be attacked
[-1:50.00]and should never have been built.
[-1:51.00]One pessimistic visitor shrugged and said,
[-1:52.00]"I reckon it's just a matter of time
[-1:53.00]before someone has a try, isn't it?"