Directions:In this section, you will hear
a passage three times. When the passage is read for the first time, you should
listen carefully for its general idea. When the passage is read for the second
time, you are required to fill in the blanks numbered from 36 to 43 with the
exact words you have just heard. For blanks numbered 44 to 46 you are required
to fill in the missing information. For these blanks, you can either use the
exact words you have just heard or write down the main points in your own words.
Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, you should check what you
have written.
Paper airline tickets, once the industry (36)
, are on the fast track to be forgotten. If the
International Air Transport Association (IATA) has its way, airlines will
(37) only electronic tickets by the end of 2007, sending
paper tickets the way of rapidly (38) industry services such
as in-flight meals and free (39) . Travelers
who opt for electronic tickets check in for flights using a credit card or
government ID. The (40) to electronic ticketing, which could
save millions of dollars, has been underway for more than ten years.
The IATA, a (41) 1 trade group, said 96 percent of
tickets issued by US airlines are electronic, while globally 77 percent of
tickets are electronic. "The US Airlines can see the light at
the end of the (42) " said IATA (43)
Steve Lott. "They are definitely leading the world in terms of e-ticketing and
going electronic. " (44) Airlines that want
to maintain paper ticketing beyond 2007 may continue to do so, but supplies will
be costly, Lott said. (45) . On average, an
airline spends $10 to process a paper ticket compared with $1 to process an
electronic ticket. (46) , Lott said.