One of the greatest sea tragedy that has ever occurred was that of the steamship Titanic. It was the
first trip of the giant ship. There were more than two thousand people aboard on their way to the United
States from England. On the night of April 14, 1912, the sea was calm. The, weather was beautiful.
People were dancing in the spacious salon. Music, laughter and singing could be heard everywhere. The
thought of danger was far away. Suddenly, just before midnight, the sailor on guard cried, " An iceberg!"
Before the ship could change her course, the iceberg had torn a huge hole in the bottom of the ship.
Nothing could be done. The ship began to sink and the passengers tried to escape, but there weren't
enough lifeboats. Another ship was passing nearby. The Titanic fired rockets into the air in order to get
the, other ship's help. It could have saved most of the passengers, hut it did not even stop. More than
two-thirds of the passengers went down with the Titanic. It was one of the greatest sea disasters of all
time. The new ship went down the sea. More than fifteen hundred people lost their lives.
1. According to the text, which of the following statements is right?
A. The sea tragedy occurred in the nineteenth century.
B. All the passengers were killed in the sea accident except the captain.
C. The sea tragedy happened just because the thought of danger was far away.
D. The tragedy happened in such a hurry that the shipmen could do nothing to stop it.
2. Before the ship sank, .
A. the weather wasn't fine
B. the people were enjoying the beautiful night
C. the sailors were not on duty
D. there had been a big hole in the bottom of the ship
3. Which do you believe is the best opinion?
A. If the ship wasn't new, the tragedy would not have happened.
B. In case the other ship gave a hand in time, more passengers would have been rescued.
C. If there had been more lifeboats on the ship, the ship would not have sunk.
D. On condition that there were no icebergs, then there must have been fewer passengers who lost their
lives.
