1993/02（追試）
1993/02（追試）
A few years ago I was flying from China to my home in the United States. I was in a huge airplane with more than four hundred people. We were nearly eight miles up in the sky. They were showing a good cowboy movie.
The trip was smooth, and all the passengers around me were relaxed, except for the old man across the aisle. He was holding onto the arms of his seat so tightly that the blood had left his fingers. He was what is known as a “white-knuckle flier.” lie would not look out the window, and be was sweating so much that the stewardesses had to keep bringing him towels.
I thought it might help if I talked to him.
“Is this your first flight?” I asked.
“No. In my business I fly thousands of miles each year. I hate it, but it has to be done.”
He explained to me that he’d always been afraid of flying and could never relax in the air. Even on twelve-hour trips he never drank even one cup of coffee. He was unable to enjoy the movie, nor could he sleep at all.
“But,” I said, “surely you know how safe flying is. It is said that you are more likely to be hit by lightning than injured on a commercial airplane. You are safer right now than in your own bath at home.”
I could tell from the look on his face that he’d heard all that a thousand times before. It did not make him feel better. When dinner was served, he gave me his.
After I had eaten, I offered him one of my cigarettes. He didn’t want to smoke. I asked him to play cards with me, hoping that might take his mind off his fear. He agreed, but his mind was not on the game.
“Somehow,” he said, in a trembling voice. “I can’t believe were supposed to be doing this. It doesn’t seem natural.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“It scares me.” he said. “to think of the force it takes to keep us all up here. Imagine how much this machine weighs. Think of your own body weight and all the things you packed in your suitcase. Then multiply by four hundred for all the other people. And don’t forget the weight of the fuel. When these giant machines take off to cross the Pacific, they weigh twice as much as they do when they land. Doesn’t it ever worry you?”
As we finished the third or fourth round of our poker game, the captain announced that we were soon going to fly over Washington State, where a volcano, Mt. Saint Helens, had exploded a few hours earlier. It had shot ash and smoke high into the air. Our plane would have to fly hundreds of miles out of our way to get around it. If we flew through the cloud, the engines might get full of ash and stop.
The pilot told us to look out the windows on the left. We saw a huge black cloud not far off. It looked almost like a monster. Now everybody was nervous, including me.
But the old man was eagerly looking out the window. He seemed to have forgotten his worries. He was the calmest person on board now. It comforts me to see that volcano.” he said. I asked him why.
“Well.” he said, “when I travel on a plane, I think how unnatural our technology is and what a danger it is to nature. We change the weather with our gases and we make nuclear bombs. But the moment I saw that volcano, I realized that nature is still far more powerful. Imagine the power that shot that smoke all the way up here. Compared to that, the engines on this giant plane are nothing more than four birthday cake candles. We will never be able to change the basic structural forces of our planet. And I find that very comforting.”
- What is meant by a “white-knuckle flier”?
① It is a person who easily gets sick on an airplane.
② It is a person who is eager to take a trip on a white airplane.
③ It is a person who is extremely nervous on an airplane.
④ It is a person who travels on an airplane and has white fingers. - When the old man takes a trip on an airplane, what does he avoid doing?
① Drinking anything that might make him go to the toilet.
② Fastening his seatbelt because it limits his movement.
③ Talking with other passengers who might make him more nervous.
④ Watching the movie since he needs to sleep during the trip. - Did any of the author’s acts of kindness relieve the old mans fear?
① No. none of them did.
② Yes, his offer of a cigarette did
③ Yes, his suggestion to play poker did.
④ Yes, his talk on the safety of flying did. - What did the old man have on his mind when he was playing cards with the author?
① The cards he could play in the next round of the poker game.
② The danger of two airplanes hitting each other.
③ The uncertainty of the fuel lasting to their destination.
④ The unnaturalness of the heavy airplane flying in the air. - What change did the pilot have to make in the flight plan?
① He had to avoid the dark clouds of rain that spread in his way.
② He had to fly hundreds of miles more to show his passengers the volcano.
③ He had to fly off the regular course for the sake of safety.
④ He had to fly several miles higher than usual to avoid ash and smoke. - Why did the old man suddenly become calm and relaxed?
① He realized that human technology is unable to compete with natural forces.
② He remembered that his airplane was no more powerful than four birthday cake candles.
③ He understood (hat his airplane was not polluting nature as much as a volcano.
④ He was comforted by the view that the earth remains healthy as long as it has active volcanoes.
