Despite its astronomical costs, it actually has saved more. Today, over 350,000 annual 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 30 Years 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 ¥500 billion ($4.8 billion 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.

3. The underlined phrase in Paragraph 2 probably means "________".

A. opposed to traditional belief s B. despite some major barriers

C. based on impractical fantasies D. in spite of poor planning

4. According to Okada, what benefit does a shinkansen bring to people living far from urban centers?

A. Saving more travelling time. B. Creating massive employment.

C. Enjoying a more colorful life. D. Accumulating vast wealth.

5. What is the main purpose of the One-Day Travel Initiative?

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.

　　The American Bystander

On a humid subway ride into work a few days ago, a woman on the other end of my car had a seizure (病情突然发作). All of a sudden, I heard her let out a painful sigh as she collapsed. For several minutes, the train continued down the track, and everyone in the car just stared at the woman. Finally, at the next stop a man informed the operator of what had happened and called