Two similar-sounding English words caused trouble for a man who wanted to fly from Los Angeles to Oakland. California. His problems began at the airport in Los Angeles. He thought he heard his flight
announced, so he walked to the gate, showed his ticket, and got on the plane. After flying for twenty
minutes, the man began to worry. Oakland was north of Los Angeles, but the plane seemed to be heading west and when he looked out his window all he could see was ocean. "Is this plane going to Oakland?"
he asked the flight attendant (服务员). The flight attendant was shocked. "No," she said. "We're going to Auckland -- Auckland, New Zealand."
English is not the only language with similar-sounding words. Other languages, too, have words that
can cause mistakes, especially for foreigners.
Auckland and Oakland. When similar-sounding words cause a mistake, probably the best thing to do
is just laugh and learn from it. Of course, sometimes it's hard to laugh. The man who traveled to Auckland
instead of Oakland didn't feel like laughing. But even that mistake turned out all right in the end. The airline (航空公司) paid for the man's hotel room and meals in New Zealand and for his flight back to California. "Oh well," the man later said, "I always wanted to see New Zealand."
1. The main topic of this passage is ______.
A. mistakes made by people in airports
B. troubles experienced by foreigners in a new country
C. difficulties had by people when taking a plane
D. problems caused by words that sound alike
2. The man realized something was wrong when ______.
A. he landed in Oakland, California
B. he saw that the flight attendant was shocked
C. he noticed the direction of the plane
D. he walked up to the gate
3. The sentence " Oh well, I always wanted to see New Zealand." reflects ______.
A. the man's sense of humor
B. the man's frustration
C. the man's disappointment
D. the man's despair
4. According to the passage one proper way to deal with a mistake caused by similar-sounding words
is ______
A. to have a sharp ear
B. to learn a good pronunciation
C. to speak clearly and slowly
D. to laugh and learn from it
