巴西子弹头列车招标

　　BRASILIA - The Brazilian government announced Monday it had again postponed¹ the bidding process for an ambitious bullet train project that links the country's two largest cities due to a lack of competition from potential bidders².

　　Transportation Minister Cesar Borges told a press conference the suspension of the bidding process for the Sao Paulo-Rio de Janeiro high-speed train project, which had been scheduled for August 16, would last at least a year.

　　Despite the postponement³, the government still plans to have the rail line fully⁴ operational by 2020, the minister said.

　　The government decided⁵ to delay the bidding process after it found only one consortium of French firms offered their proposal. Meanwhile, companies from Spain and Germany had asked for more time to analyze⁶ the project.

　　The massive project, deemed essential for improving transportation links between Rio and Sao Paulo, has repeatedly suffered setbacks as the government fails to garner⁷ enough interest from international bidders.

　　In its first attempt to open bidding for the project in 2010, the Brazilian government had to twice extend the deadline as potential bidders asked for more time to prepare their proposals. Another attempt in July 2011 ended with no companies offering bids.

　　Brazilian officials estimate the 510.8-km project needs a total investment of 33 billion reais ($14.5 billion). The high speed rail link is expected to transport 33 million passengers in its first year of operation and some 100 million by 2030.

1 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

2 bidders   

n.出价者，投标人( bidder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Bidders should proceed only if they intend on using a PayPal account to complete payment. Bidders的唯一形式，应继续只当他们在使用贝宝帐户，以完成付款打算。 来自互联网
• The other bidders for the contract complained that it had not been a fair contest. 其他竞标人抱怨说该合同的竞标不公平。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 postponement   

n.推迟

参考例句：

• He compounded with his creditors for a postponement of payment. 他与债权人达成协议延期付款。
• Rain caused the postponement of several race-meetings. 几次赛马大会因雨延期。

4 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 analyze   

vt.分析，解析 (=analyse)

参考例句：

• We should analyze the cause and effect of this event.我们应该分析这场事变的因果。
• The teacher tried to analyze the cause of our failure.老师设法分析我们失败的原因。

7 garner   

v.收藏；取得

参考例句：

• He has garnered extensive support for his proposals.他的提议得到了广泛的支持。
• Squirrels garner nuts for the winter.松鼠为过冬储存松果。