15．Half a century ago，Japan built the world's first high-speed rail network-a network that remains the gold standard in train travel today．Currently the country is now helping Texas build its own bullet train，a potential game-changer for transportation in the state．
When it launched on October 1，1964，the world's first high-speed rail network was known as the"super-express of dreams．"The first line in Japan's now world-famous shinkansen network was built against all odds，in the face of fierce public opposition，technical difficulties and astronomical costs．
Half a century ago，the system was far humbler．In 1964，the first track was a 320-mile-long link between Tokyo and Osaka that reduced the trip from six-and-a-half hours （on conventional trains） to three hours and 10minutes，traveling at a maximum speed of 200miles per hour．For the first time，workers could get to meetings in one city during the day and be back home drinking a beer in the local pub that night．
Not only did the train expand mobility profoundly，but also businesses appeared around the major stops as a growing emphasis on productivity swept across Japan．Today，the shinkansen network has 1，487miles of track，with more set to open in the coming years．It seems that everything the shinkansen touches turns to city，and regions that are off the beaten track，so to speak，benefit greatly from the economic jumpstart brought by the train．New shinkansen lines are often proceeded by aggressive marketing campaigns promoting tourism in those areas，a strategy that seems to work．
Despite its astronomical costs，it actually has saved more．Today，over 350，000annual trips transport tens of millions of passengers all over Japan with efficiency-the average delay time is less than a minute．A research report titled 30Years of High-Speed Railways：Features and Economic and Social Effects of The Shinkansen by Hiroshi Okada，estimates that the economic impact from the shinkansen train network，based on the time saved from faster travel，is approximately¥500billion （$4.8billion USD） per year．Okada stresses that the cultural impact is also significant，a shinkansen offers people living far from urban centers"easy access to concerts，exhibitions，theaters，etc．，enabling them to lead fuller lives．"
Japan has a plan，known as the One-Day Travel Initiative．Its goal：regardless of where you are in Japan，it should only take you three hours to get to the nearest major regional city （Tokyo，Osaka，Nagoya，Sapporo or Fukuoka）．The planned impact of this hyper-mobility is to discourage the tide of migration toward urban centers，like Tokyo，and encourage decentralization．
58．The underlined phrase in Paragraph 2 probably means"B"．
A．opposed to traditional beliefs
B．despite some major barriers
C．based on impractical fantasies
D．in spite of poor planning
59．According to Okada，what benefit does a shinkansen bring to people living far from urban centers？C
A．Saving more travelling time．
B．Creating massive employment．
C．Enjoying a more colorful life．
D．Accumulating vast wealth．
60．What is the main purpose of the One-Day Travel Initiative？A
A．To promote even distribution of population．
B．To advocate urban lifestyle among migrants．
C．To satisfy the increasing needs of urban centers．
D．To include more citizens in urban centers．
分析 本文是一篇廣告布告類閱讀．文章主要講述了日本的super-express of dreams．雖然新干線面臨著很大的困難，但最后取得了成功．新干線可以使那些遠離城市中心的人享受到更加豐富的生活．而且后來的One-Day Travel Initiative計劃促進人口的均勻分布．
解答 58-60 BCA
58．B．詞義辨析題．根據"in the face of fierce public opposition，technical difficulties and astronomical costs"可知劃線部分的意思是戰勝一些主要困難．故選B．
59．C．細節理解題．根據"Okada stresses that the cultural impact is also significant，a shinkansen offers people living far from urban centers"easy access to concerts，exhibitions，theaters，etc．，enabling them to lead fuller lives．""可知新干線可以使那些遠離城市中心的人享受到更加豐富的生活．故選C．
60．A．推理判斷題．根據"The planned impact of this hyper-mobility is to discourage the tide of migration toward urban centers，like Tokyo，and encourage decentralization．"可知One-Day Travel Initiative的主要目的是為了促進人口的均勻分布．故選A．
點評 本文是一篇廣告布告類閱讀．文章主要講述了日本的super-express of dreams．此類題型主要考查學生的細節理解、詞義辨析以及推理判斷能力．細節理解題是針對文中某個細節、某句話或某部分具體內容設置問題，所以在做細節理解題時要結合原文和提干有針對性的找出相關語句進行仔細分析，再結合選項選出正確答案．在做詞義辨析題時要聯系上下文并結合選項準確猜測詞義．在做推理判斷題時不要以個人的主觀想象代替文章的事實，要聯系上下文根據文章事實進行合乎邏輯的推理判斷．
