2、Qinghai-Tibet Railway

Qinghai-Tibet Railway was unfolded to the public on Mondy. From July1, the service will cost a minimum of 389 yuan (hard seat) and take about 48 hours from Beijing to Lhasa. A hard sleeper (bottom berth) ill cost 813 yuan, and a soft sleeper (bottom berth) 1,262 yuan. The fare for an air ticket is about 2,540 yuan. Trains will run to and from Lhasa in three directions: through Beijing, Chengdu/ Chongqing and Xining/ Lanzhou

MOSCOW is this year’s most expensive city for big consumers in the world, a study released by British human resources firm Mercer HR suggests. Seoul was in second place, followed by Tokyo－which topped the list in 2005, when the Russian capital was in fourth position－then Hong Kong and London. The findings were based on prices for 200 goods and services, especially housing, transport, food, clothing and entertainment. In the 144 cities surveyed, Beijing and Shanghai ranked 14th and 20th.

Cutting wages in monopoly industries(垄断行业)

CHINA’S State-owned monopoly industries may be forced to cut their employees’ wages as the government looks at reducing the country’s widening income gap, the Economic Observer said on Monday. The report said the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), working with other central government departments, worked out a plan. High salaries in electricity, telecommunications and other monopoly industries have met with strong criticism.

1．According to the news, a tourist can enter Tibet by taking a train from __________ cities with a sleeper train ticket which costs at least ___________.

       A．three; 389 yuan                                   B．five; 813 yuan

       C．five; 389 yuan                                     D．three; 1,262 yuan

2．Which of the following cities is the most expensive city in 2005?

       A．Moscow             B．Tokyo                 C．Scoul                  D．London

3．The word “gap” in the third news probably means ________________

       A．tax           B．space        C．blank        D．separation