英闻天下——160 Should Standing Train Tickets Be Sold at Half Price?

 　　This year, a blogger on Tencent Microblog, a Twitter-like service in China, wrote a post saying "Standing¹ train tickets should be sold at half price."

 

　　He said, "Standing tickets are mostly bought by migrant workers, who cannot get a seat due to their unfamiliarity² with computers. But with a standing ticket, they can't actually enjoy the standard service on train. It is therefore unreasonable³ to sell them at full price."

 

　　You know, the Spring Festival travel rush is considered as the largest annual migration⁴ in China. As the current travel capacity can't meet the demand of the passengers, the railway authorities have to issue standing tickets to ensure more people can get home. But the standing tickets are the same prices as seat tickets.

 

　　In the blogoshpere, I found that the majority of the public support the "half-price standing ticket" proposal. Let's take a listen.

 

　　"Currently railway tickets for different seats are priced differently. Why are only standing tickets sold for the same amount as seat tickets? What's more, the low-income group is the biggest victim of this unfair policy."

 

　　"Consumers have long been complaining about the standing ticket price. The explanation given by the Ministry⁵ of Railways is if it cuts the price, there will be more people swarming⁶ to the railways, thus posing dangers of overloading⁷ the trains. But that excuse isn't convincing. The ministry has full control over how many tickets to issue, and cutting the standing ticket price doesn't mean they have to provide unlimited⁸ tickets."

 

　　"Have you seen people paying half price for standing on buses or in subway? Have you seen people getting compensation for waiting in line for too long in banks or hospitals? These are all public service sectors⁹ like railways, so why should the railway ticket be singled out?"

1 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

2 unfamiliarity   

参考例句：

• And unfamiliarity with a new electoral system may also deter voters. 而对新的选举体系的不熟悉，也会妨碍一些选民投票。 来自互联网
• Her temporary shyness was due to her unfamiliarity with the environment. 她暂时的害羞是因为对环境不熟悉。 来自互联网

3 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。

4 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

6 swarming   

密集( swarm的现在分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去

参考例句：

• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。
• The beach is swarming with bathers. 海滩满是海水浴的人。

7 overloading   

过载，超载，过负载

参考例句：

• Enables multiple users to search the site without overloading the server. 使多个用户搜索网站，而无需超载的服务器上。
• The driver got stripped down again for overloading his trunk. 那位卡车司机因为超载又受到责备。

8 unlimited   

adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• There is no safety in unlimited technological hubris.在技术方面自以为是会很危险。

9 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》