Has anyone been prepared for the possibility that unexpected poor visibility (能见度) will stop the pilot from landing? If your pilot is forced to turn back only for his lack of passing a certain test, you will be certainly shocked. This very thing happened to the passengers on Flight BE1431 on Thursday. Just minutes before landing on Charles de Gaulle Airport (戴高乐机场), Paris, the pilot, a very experienced one, told his passengers, “Unfortunately I’m not qualified to land in Paris for the poor visibility. To do so a level II qualification（资格）is required, which I have not gained. We’ll have to fly back.” Then, you may guess how the passengers felt about their flight back to the starting airport.

    A spokeswoman said the pilot was really experienced with more than 30 years flying a number of different passenger aircraft types. “But he has recently transferred from flying a BQ300 to a BQ400, so he has to regain his qualification for landing in such conditions as the thick fog he experienced this time,” she said. “The pilot, therefore, quite correctly turned the aircraft back, a decision 100 percent accepted by the aviation (航空) officials in the company.”

One passenger said she had missed an appointment for an interview in Paris. “I might have had a nice chance to work in Paris,” she told the local newspaper. “The whole thing sounds hard to believe. If I had not been on the plane, I would take it as a funny story!”

The British Civil Aviation Authority described the incident as one that was “quite unusual but probably not unheard of,” because there are different classifications (等级) of aircraft with different qualifications for landing in different climatic conditions and when an aircraft is updated, the pilots have to get retrained, even though they have enough skills to do the job successfully.

Poor pilot, it’s not really his fault...    

49. According to the passage, it was _______ that mainly caused the aircraft to fly back.

     A. the unusual thick fog                               B. the pilot’s qualification

C. the air traffic controller                           D. the airline company

50. The spokeswoman thought _______.

   A. the pilot did a funny thing                        B. the pilot lacked the ability

   C. the pilot should not fly the new plane        D. the pilot did what he should

51. Without her own experience, the passenger would consider the incident to be quite _______.

   A. unsafe               B. normal              C. unbelievable      D. acceptable

52. Which of the following is true?

   A. It was the airline’s fault to require pilots to update qualification.、

   B. The announcement made by the pilot seemed quite interesting.

   C. Actually, the pilot had the ability of landing the plane safe.

   D. The weather above the Airport was within the pilot’s expectation.

Has anyone been prepared for the possibility that unexpected poor visibility （能见度） will stop the pilot from landing? If your pilot is forced to turn back only for his lack of passing a certain test, you will be certainly shocked. This very thing happened to the passengers on Flight BE1431 on Thursday. Just minutes before landing on Charles de Gaulle Airport （戴高乐机场）, Paris, the pilot, a very experienced one, told his passengers, “Unfortunately I’m not qualified to land in Paris for the poor visibility. To do so a level II qualification（资格）is required, which I have not gained. We’ll have to fly back.” Then, you may guess how the passengers felt about their flight back to the starting airport.

    A spokeswoman said the pilot was really experienced with more than 30 years flying a number of different passenger aircraft types. “But he has recently transferred from flying a BQ300 to a BQ400, so he has to regain his qualification for landing in such conditions as the thick fog he experienced this time,” she said. “The pilot, therefore, quite correctly turned the aircraft back, a decision 100 percent accepted by the aviation（航空）officials in the company.”

One passenger said she had missed an appointment for an interview in Paris. “I might have had a nice chance to work in Paris,” she told the local newspaper. “The whole thing sounds hard to believe. If I had not been on the plane, I would take it as a funny story!”

The British Civil Aviation Authority described the incident as one that was “quite unusual but probably not unheard of”, because there are different classifications（等级）of aircraft with different qualifications for landing in different climatic conditions and when an aircraft is updated, the pilots have to get retrained, even though they have enough skills to do the job successfully.

Poor pilot, it’s not really his fault...   

1．According to the passage, it was _____ that mainly caused the aircraft to fly back.

     A．the unusual thick fog                         B．the pilot’s qualification

  C．the air traffic controller                        D．the airline company

2．The spokeswoman thought _______.

     A．the pilot did a funny thing                    B．the pilot lacked the ability

     C．the pilot should not fly the new plane     D．the pilot did what he should

3．Without her own experience, the passenger would consider the incident to be quite _______.

     A．unsafe             B．normal             C．unbelievable             D．acceptable

4．Which of the following is true?

     A．It was the airline’s fault to require pilots to update qualification.

  B．The announcement made by the pilot seemed quite interesting.

     C．Actually, the pilot had the ability of landing the plane safe.

     D．The weather above the Airport was within the pilot’s expectation.

It has been ten years since Diana，Princess of Wales，was killed in a car crash with Dodi Al Fayed in Paris，yet she remains an iconic(图标)figure in the UK，whose image continues to appear on magazine covers and newspaper headlines．

    Diana’s death triggered an outpouring of national grief and a decade of conspiracy(阴谋) theories, linking her death to the British security forces and even the royal family．

    And she remains a media phenomenon with thousands of articles and stories appearing about her in the British press each year．

    Interest in the princess is rising again as her sons，Princes William and Harry，prepare to mark the tenth anniversary of her death with a memorial service at Guard’s Chapel(小礼堂)in London’s Wellington Barracks on Friday．

    The princes are to give readings at the service， which will be attended by 500 guests，including more than 30 royals headed by the Queen，and celebrities such as Sir Elton John and UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown．

    One person who won’t be attending is Camilla，Duchess of Cornwall，who Princess Diana famously described as “the third person”in her marriage to Prince Charles．Camilla，who married Prince Charles in 2005，said she feared her presence at the service“could divert(转移)attention from the purpose of the occasion．

    As well as the memorial service，Diana is being remembered with a photographic exhibition documenting her 1ife at the National Portrait Gallery in London．

Even ten years on it seems Britain is unwilling to let go of “the people’s princess”，and that her enduring(不朽的) legacy(影响)is to maintain the fascination(魅力) of the British people，and indeed the world．

56．Which of the following may be the title of the passage?

  A．An Accident Happened Ten Years Ago

B．Diana’s Anniversary

  C．A Famous Woman's Death

D．A Noteworthy Incident in London

57．Which is true according to the passage?

    A．Diana faded from people’s memory as time went by．

    B．The queen of the UK won’t attend the memorial service.

    C．Pictures of Diana often appear on the front of magazines in spite of her death.

    D．Princess Diana had a very happy marriage with Prince Charles．

58．The underlined word triggered in the second paragraph probably means   

A．set off    B．put down    C．consisted of  D．resulted from

59．The passage implies that          ．

A．Princess Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris ten years ago

B．people love and respect Princess Diana although she is not alive

C．Princess Diana's sons are too young to attend the memorial service

D．the British people love Camilla better than Princess Diana

60．This article most probably appears in a??????????_________

  A．newspaper   B． novel     C．sports magazine D．textbook

America has been experiencing the longest economic increase in its history. Incomes have risen, unemployment has fallen, and cities such as New York are bursting with new office buildings.

But just a short walk from Manhattan’s skyscrapers, George Brown sits on the side-walk, cooking a lunch of rice and bits of fish over a can of cooking fuel.

Brown is homeless——one of the 2.3 million people in the US who end up on the street.

During the day, Brown collects aluminum cans and sells them for five cents a piece. At night, he sleeps on the street.

“I have been on the street about eight or nine years, something like that,” said the 62-year-old former construction worker.

Brown admits he had problems with alcohol and has smoked cocaine. But he said he still wants a more stable housing arrangement. He could afford it just with the money he earns by collecting cans and small pieces of metal, if only truly low-income housing were available.

However, he sees no hope of finding affordable housing in New York.

With the strong economy and unemployment down, beautiful housing is being built to meet demand.

A US report shows rents in New York City rose more than 27 per cent, from ＄549 to ＄700 a month.

One of the side effects of the strong economy is that rents have been going up.

The majority of people who experience homelessness really just need some affordable housing help.

But few housing companies are building for the poor. Many small apartments in the city now rent for ＄1,500 a month or more.

Brown, the homeless New Yorker, said he has a daughter who lives in the city but he rarely sees her. She is angry about his drinking and won’t allow it in her house.

Smiling, he said he also has seven grandchildren whom he’d like to see more often. “All I’ve got to do is clean up my act,” he said.

What kind of life does George Brown lead?

A. Stable.         B. Dangerous.      C. Hard.        D. Comfortable.

It can be inferred from this passage that     .

A. America is short of housing companies

B. the poor can’t benefit from the increasing economy

C. poor people in America will become rich

D. housing companies will build more houses for the poor

The underlined part “clean up my act” in the last paragraph means “    ”.

A. remove my cans                B kick my bad habits   

C. make a lot of money             D. see my grandchildren

Which part of a newspaper is the passage possibly taken from?

A. Society.         B. Science.         C. Arts.         D. Business.

America has been experiencing the longest economic increase in its history. Incomes have risen, unemployment has fallen, and cities such as New York are bursting with new office buildings.
But just a short walk from Manhattan’s skyscrapers, George Brown sits on the side-walk, cooking a lunch of rice and bits of fish over a can of cooking fuel.
Brown is homeless——one of the 2.3 million people in the US who end up on the street.
During the day, Brown collects aluminum cans and sells them for five cents a piece. At night, he sleeps on the street.
“I have been on the street about eight or nine years, something like that,” said the 62-year-old former construction worker.
Brown admits he had problems with alcohol and has smoked cocaine. But he said he still wants a more stable housing arrangement. He could afford it just with the money he earns by collecting cans and small pieces of metal, if only truly low-income housing were available.
However, he sees no hope of finding affordable housing in New York.
With the strong economy and unemployment down, beautiful housing is being built to meet demand.
A US report shows rents in New York City rose more than 27 per cent, from ＄549 to ＄700 a month.
One of the side effects of the strong economy is that rents have been going up.
The majority of people who experience homelessness really just need some affordable housing help.
But few housing companies are building for the poor. Many small apartments in the city now rent for ＄1,500 a month or more.
Brown, the homeless New Yorker, said he has a daughter who lives in the city but he rarely sees her. She is angry about his drinking and won’t allow it in her house.
Smiling, he said he also has seven grandchildren whom he’d like to see more often. “All I’ve got to do is clean up my act,” he said.
【小题1】What kind of life does George Brown lead?