New York, 10 November—5:27pm,yesterday. Biggest power failure in the city's
history.
Thousands of people got stuck in lifts. Martin Saltzman spent three hours between the 21st and 22nd floors of the Empire State Building. “There were twelve of us. But no one panicked. We passed the time telling stories and playing word games. One man wanted to smoke but we didn't let him. Firemen finally got us out.”
“It was the best night we've ever had,”said Angela Carraro,who runs an Italian restaurant on 42nd Street.“We had lots of candles on the tables and the waiters were carrying candles on their trays. The place was full—and all night, in fact, for after we had closed, we let the people stay on and spend the night here.”
The zoos had their problems like everyone else. Keepers worked through the night. They used blankets to keep flying squirrels and small monkeys warm. While zoos had problems keeping warm, supermarkets had problems keeping cool.“All of our ice cream and frozen foods melted,” said the manager of a store in downtown Manhattan.“They were worth $50,000.”
The big electric clock in the lobby(大厅)of the WaldorfAstoria Hotel in downtown Manhattan started ticking(滴答) again at 5:25 this morning. It was almost
on time.
1.Throughout the period of darkness, Martin Saltzman and the eleven others were ________ .
A. nervous B. excited C. calm D. frightened
2.In what way was the night of November 9 the best night for Angela Carraro?
A. She had a taste of adventure.
B. Burning candles brightened the place.
C. Business was better than usual.
D. Many people stayed the night in her restaurant.
3.How long did the power failure last?
A. Nearly 12 hours. B. More than 12 hours.
C. Nearly 24 hours. D. More than 24 hours.
