Section B

　　52--56 CDCBA

　　52.因果推断题。第二段开篇就描述了铁路合并支持者们认为合并有助于减少成本以及更好地合作服务，不用担心垄断，因为还有来自卡车等运输方式的强烈竞争，即“...these mergers will allow for substantial cost reductions and better coordinated service.Any threat of monopoly，they argue，is removed by fierce competition from trucks。因此。正确答案为C项。

　　53.态度揣摩题。关于captive shipper文中提及很多次，多次表达了他们对铁路合并的态度，如“i)many shippers complain that for heavy bulk commodities traveling long distances， trucking is too costly;ii)Shippers who feel that they are being overcharged...iii)Many captive shippers also worry they will soon be hit with a round of huge rate increases;iv)Many captive shippers fear that they will，as Norfolk Southern and CSX increase their grip on the market.”，总体而言，captive shippers是不满、抱怨、担忧和担心的态度，因此正确答案为D项。

　　54.推断题。由第三段“，..consolidation...means that most shippers are served by only one rail company...Shippers who feel that they are being overcharged have the right to appeal to the federal government...but the process is expensive，time consuming...”可见合并将会导致绝大部分shippers由一家rail company垄断(但不是所有的)，挨宰的人有权申诉但这一过程会耗费大量时间和金钱，所以他们一般不会诉诸法律，因此正确答案为C项。

　　55.词义推断题。由“arbiters”所在句Do we really want railroads to be the arbiters of who wins and who loses in the marketplace.可以猜测出arbiters的意思，因为他/她可以决定谁赢谁输，懂体育的人就很容易猜出大概是“裁判”的意思。

　　56.因果推断题。文章最后一段提到shippers担心会有新一轮rate增加，因为铁路运输尽管赚钱，但还不足以挽回所有合并成本以及投资成本来满足运输需求的大幅度增长。他们仍在不断借钱去合并，业务收入是运营成本的一半不到。这中间的赤字谁来买单呢? shippers。是什么原因导致rate增加呢?追根究底，还是合并惹的祸，故正确答案为A项。