Cars of tomorrow

Since 2008, when General Motors’ then boss delivered a keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show, Las Vegas 【小题1】 (offer) a glimpse of car making’s digital future. This year nearly 200 automotive firms signed up 【小题2】 the online event, which got cracking on January 5th. GM’s current chief, Mary Barra, addressed a speech that day. 【小题3】 other big carmakers, GM did not show up in person. But GM’s virtual show signaled how rapidly cars are evolving from oil—filled lumps of metal into devices stuffed with silicon.

Ms. Barra talked about GM’s transformation from automaker to platform innovator, celebrated its advances in commercial electric vehicles and autonomous driving, and 【小题4】 (release) a battery-powered version of the Chevrolet Silverado pickup. Rival firms raced to appear even more innovative. BMW demonstrated a system that changes a car’s paint colour at the press of a button. Mercedes-Benz went so far as 【小题5】 (claim) that its Vision eqxx concept, with interior materials fashioned from bamboo, cactus and mushroom, and a battery—powered range of 1,000km, was “reinventing the car”. Not 【小题6】 (overtake), consumer-electronics giants showed off their automotive stuff. Sony, a Japanese one, surprised many attendees 【小题7】 it announced a possible raid into car-making.

Other announcements were 【小题8】 (fancy) but more telling when it comes to the digitization of car-making. Mobil eye, the self-driving arm of Intel, which supplies chips to many big car firms, announced expanded deals with Ford, Geely and Volkswagen. Qualcomm, another chip-maker, inked new 【小题9】 with Volvo, Honda and Renault.

The courtship between carmakers and chip firms will only intensify. The worldwide chip shortage that knocked nearly 8m units off global car output is thankfully easing and annualized global car production could return to pre-pandemic levels by the second half of 2022, according to an investment bank. Still, car bosses are desperate to avoid a repeat. Many look enviously at Tesla, 【小题10】 own intimate rapport with semiconductor suppliers celebrated its full-year output for 2021 to a total of 930,000 vehicles.

China has built a high-speed passenger rail network in recent years and will continue to enlarge 【小题1】 (rapid). By the end of 2017, China's railway mileage 【小题2】 (reach) 127, 000 kilometers, and 25,000 km of it are high-speed rail, 【小题3】 makes China's high-speed system the world's 【小题4】 (large) high-speed network.

China’s high-speed trains are similar to those of France's TGV, Germany’s ICE and Japan's Shinkansen. The fast trains with 【小题5】 top speed of 250 - 350km/h are called CRH, China Railway High-speed.

If you want to travel around China, the high-speed trains will be your ideal vehicle since they are clean, comfortable and modern. Unlike the traditional trains in China, no smoking 【小题6】 (allow) on high-speed trains, not even between carriages.

To meet the 【小题7】 (require) of different passengers, the high-speed railway operators have divided CRH tickets into three types. They are business, first class and second class. There's never a mad crowd with many people 【小题8】 (sit) in the aisles as well as in seats.

The ticket prices for China's high-speed trains are reasonable 【小题9】, on most routes, the frequency of departure is very high, so it's quite convenient for people 【小题10】 (buy) tickets.

China has built a high-speed passenger rail network in recent 【小题1】 (year) and will continue to expand it. By the end of 2018, China's railway mileage (里程)【小题2】 (reach) 131,000 kilometers, of 【小题3】 29,000 kilometers were high-speed rail. This accounted for 2/3 of the world's total high-speed rail tracks, making China's high-speed rail system the world's 【小题4】 (large) high-speed rail network.

China's high-speed trains are similar 【小题5】 those of France's TGV, German's ICE and Japan's Shinkansen. The fast trains with a top speed of 250-350 km/h 【小题6】 (call) CRH, China Railway High-speed.

If you want to travel around China, the high-speed trains will be your ideal choice since they are clean, comfortable 【小题7】 modern. Unlike on the conventional trains in China, nobody is allowed 【小题8】 (smoke) on high-speed trains, not even between carriages.

The seats are as good as those on the plane or even better. Most high-speed rail tickets have corresponding (对应的) seats, and only 【小题9】 small number of standing tickets are sometimes sold on limited trains. There's never a crowd of people sitting in the aisles. The ticket prices for China high-speed trains are reasonable and, on most routes, the frequency of departure is very high, so people can buy tickets【小题10】(convenient).