“Yes, madam, your husband ran into some trouble,” he replied. “They were caught in a heavy storm.” .Storms often cause trouble. When I was a baby, Dad had to spend long weeks at sea as a fisherman. One day, I suddenly began to cry loudly. No matter how Mom comforted me, I just kept crying. Mom felt uneasy. A feeling told her that something bad would happen. Then a word hit her----“Mayday”. Mom called the Coast Guard, asking the man on duty about my Dad and his ship.
Father and his crew radioed for help when water started pouring in his ship. We flew out there about an hour ago and dropped them a pump. “Take it easy. He will be back soon.” “What if the pump doesn’t work?” Mom questioned. “You should do another fly-over.” The man tried to comfort Mom, “He must be all right now, Mrs Hemingway, or we would have heard a radio signal from him.” “You haven’t got a Mayday?” “No, but we will let you know if we hear the radio signal.” Mom hung up.
I remained crying. Mom called the Coast Guard again. Finally, they said they would send out a rescue plane.
At midnight the phone rang. It was the Coast Guard. They had found my father and all his crew floating in sea 15miles off Jamaica. Dad’s ship had sunk, but fortunately all were safe.
“The pump they dropped didn’t work fast enough,” Dad said. “I radioed a Mayday, but I couldn’t get through.”
Dad didn’t get through to the Coast Guard because of the storm, but he got through to us. Really, there is something that can’t be seen but exists, as is said but can’t be explained, between us, the families.
55. The underlined word “Mayday” in the first paragraph probably means “_________”.
A. a radio program B. the signal for help
C. the holiday in May D. a sign of feeling sick
56. Why did the man on duty say the author’s father would return soon?
A. The pump they dropped was of high quality.
B. The author’s father called him and told him so.
C. The plane waited until the pump worked.
D. He thought no news was good news.
57. We can infer from the text that _________.
A. the man on duty in the Coast Guard was careless
B. the plane failed to find the ship which was in danger
C. the author’s father was in charge of the ship
D. the pump saved the author’s father finally
58. What may be the explanation for the author’s (as a baby) crying?
A. He might feel hungry in the evening
B. He might see something terrible in the room.
C. He might be afraid when left alone in room
D. He might have a feeling of uneasiness.
