The world's first subway was built in London in 1863. at the time, the government was looking for a
way to reduce traffic problems in the city of London. The poor areas of the city were so crowded with
people that it was almost impossible for hore carriages to get around. The city officials were interested
in trying to make it possible for workers to live outside of Londin and travel easily to work each day. If
people had a cheap and convenient way that they could depend on to get to and from work, they would
settle down outside of the city. This would help ease the pressure of too many people living in the poor
parts in London. From these problems, the idea of the london underground, the first subway system, was
born.
     The plans for building the underground met with several problems and delays, but the first track was
finally opened in January 1863. a steam train pulled the cars along the first underground track which was
six kilometers long. About 30,000 people got on the subway the first day. Riders were treated to
comfortable seats and pleasant decorations inside each of the cars. However, the smoke from the engin
soon filled the air in the tunnels with ash and black powder, as well as chemical gases. Fans had to be put
in the tunnels later to keep the air clean enough for people to breathe. Even with its problems, riding the
underground did become popular. It carried nine million riders in its first year.
     Modern subways have come a long way since the early days of the London Underground. Today there are 94 large underground rapid transit systems around the world. The busiest of these subway systems is
the Tokyo Metro which opened in 1927. This efficient subway has two billion riders per year, and "
pushers" work on the platforms during busy traffic hours to help push riders onto trains. At times, subway
cars have been packed with up to 300 people! Shopping malls built in high traffic stations where riders
move from one train to another have also helped the popularity of subways in Tokyo. Stations like the
famous Ginza Sugo Eki Ginza Consolidated Station include underground department stores,
suprermarkets, restaurants, and specialty shops. Shoppers never have to go above ground!
1. What is the best title for this passage? (within 10 words)
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2. What does "Shoppers never have to go above ground!"(in Para 3) mean? (within 10 words)
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3. Which sentence can be replaced by the following one:
"Although there were such prolems, people loved to take subways."
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4. What problems led the British government to build the London Underground? (within 10 words)
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5. Translate the underlined sentence into Chinese.
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