Has anyone been prepared for the possibility that unexpected poor visibility 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 , 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 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 aBQ300 to aBQ400, so hehas 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 officials in the company." One passenger said she had missed an appointment for an interview in prefix = st1 /Paris. "I might have had a nice chance to work inParis," 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 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... 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
D
(Question)
Mr. Fitzpatrick has given much attention to his "Weight reduction" programs. Just last year, for example, when he was the main speaker at the company dinner, he said he put on twenty pounds instead of losing thirty he promised he would. The year before that, he joined a health club. He exercised every day and ate less food. At the end of three months, however, he began making excuses about why he couldn't go there more often. After the health club failed to work, he joined Weight Watchers but stopped going because he was the only man there. And he hated following any of the diet programs. Fitz's latest idea is to join a walking club to "walk off" the weight. Mr. Fitzpatrick was _ when spoke at the company dinner last year. A) lighter than the year before B) planning to go on a diet C) heavier than the year before D) with the Weight Watchers
(Answer)
C
Ques: The Cave of Lascaux It was Thursday, September 12,1940.Four French teens were out exploring in the woods off the northern slopes of the Pyrenees.Many years before, an old pine tree fell and left a large hole in the ground.The teenagers were curious and they started to explore the area and fell into one of the most important archeological finds of the twentieth century! There are over a hundred limestone caves in this region of France.Some were _ by humans thousands and thousands of years ago.Between 15,000 and 17,000 years ago, humans painted lively creatures such as cows, bulls, horses, and even cats on the walls of the caves. Why did they mark these walls? Was it to tell a story? Was it to record a famous battle? There are many mysteries and ancient secrets still waiting to be discovered in the cave of Lascaux.There were dots in many of the paintings.What do these dots mean? Were they meant to record time, a calendar? Deep in the cave, there is a drawing of a "birdman".What does this mean? Was it a place for sacred ceremonies? No one knows for sure. The actual cave of Lascaux was closed in 1963 due to the overabundance of tourists visiting the site.The carbon dioxide that people were breathing out was causing damage to the fragile cave paintings.Up till now the Lascaux cave is still closed for tourists.Only a specialist can visit the cave by a special order that must be made out almost a year in advance.Not more than six persons can enter the cave per day.Two days a week, the cave is completely closed.Due to the great interest of numerous tourists, in 1983 Lascaux IIwas opened for tourism.It is an exact replica of the cave of Lascaux. In the author's opinion, the cave paintings are _ . A) old B) beautiful C) easily damaged D) interesting
Ans: D
Scientists have tried to come up with biological explanations for the difference between boys and girls. However, none were believable enough to explain the general picture. As one scientist points out, "There are slight genetic differences between the sexes at birth which may affect the subjects boys and girls choose. But the difficulty is that by the time children reach school age, there are so many other effects that it is almost impossible to tell whether girls are worse at science and maths, or they've been brought up to think of these subjects as boys' 'territory' ". Statistics show that in mathematics, at least, girls are equal to boys. A recent report suggests that girls only stop studying mathematics because of social attitudes. One of the reports' authors says, "While it is socially unacceptable for people not to be able to read and write, it is sill acceptable for women to say that they are 'hopeless' at maths. Our research shows that, although girls get marks which are as good as the boys' , they have not been encouraged to do so." The explanation for the difference, which is very clear during the teenage years, goes as far back as early childhood experiences. From their first days in nursery school, girls are not encouraged to work on their own or to complete tasks, although boys are. For example, boys and not girls, are often asked to 'help' with repair work. This encouragement leads to a way of learning how to solve problems later on in life. A further report on maths teaching shows that teachers seem to give more attention to boys than to girls. Most teachers who took part in the study admitted that they expect their male students to do better at mathematics and science subjects than their females students. All of this tends to encourage boys to work harder in these subjects, gives them confidence and makes them believe that they can succeed. Interestingly, both boys and girls tend to regard such 'male' subjects like mathematics and science as difficult. Yet it has been suggested that girls... Which of the following is true according to the text? A) It seems socially acceptable for a girl not to be able to read and write. B) It is a social problem rather than a problem of brains that girls are poor at maths. C) Mathematics and science are no easy subjects to women. D) Male scientists have stronger ability in maths.
B