A grand expense: Morocco

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A grand expense: Morocco

• Morocco 摩洛哥王国

1. Moroccans will soon discover whether their new Train à Grande Vitesse is also an éléphant blanc.

2. Today Morocco will inaugurate Africa’s first high-speed railway, a 350km line that hugs the coast from Tangier to Casablanca.

• inaugurate 开始；为…举行就职典礼；开幕
• hug 拥抱；抱紧；搂抱；有一段距离地挨着（某物）

3. It will halve travel times, connecting the cities in just over two hours.

• halve v. （使）减半；把…对半分

4. The $2bn line was built in partnership with France, which financed part of it.

5. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, will visit Morocco for the opening. About 38m passengers use Moroccan trains each year.

6. The state railway predicts that number could triple by 2030 and is adding a second track on the busy Casablanca-Marrakech route.

7. Critics say the prosperous coast is already well-connected.

• prosperous 繁荣的；成功的；兴旺的

8. They would rather see money spent in the interior, where roads are rutted and trains, where they exist, lumbering.

• rut 在…挖沟
• lumbering n. 伐木业 adj. 缓慢吃力的；步态笨拙的

9.It is unclear how many Moroccans will even be able to afford the TGV.

10. The government expects 6m passengers—but it has not revealed ticket prices.

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估计得由时间来证明这条line是不是真的有价值，给人们带来更多好处，感觉也会给政府带来好处，哈哈。

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