A ferry carrying more than 900 people sank in the southern Philippines on Sunday. Most of the passengers have been rescued, but some people are still missing and at least nine have died.
The Philippine Coast Guard says it received a call for help from Superferry 9 early Sunday morning local time, when the ship started listing(倾斜) to its starboard side. The captain ordered passengers and crew to abandon ship about an hour later. The ship sank around 10 am local time, off Siocon Bay in Zamboanga del Norte province. The ship left General Santos City in the southern island of Mindanao Saturday morning heading for Iloilo City in the central Philippines. It was carrying 847 passengers and 117 crew members.
The Philippine Coast Guard said passing ships and the Philippine Navy rescued more than 800 people. Philippines Navy spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Edgard Arevalo said, "Most of them when rescued from the water were having difficulty breathing and most of them were weak. There was an immediate need for doctors and nurses to attend to their needs, as well as for drinking water."
Coast guard officials said it is still not clear what caused the ferry to list and said an investigation will be done as soon as rescue operations are over. The weather in the area was reported as being clear at that time, although a storm was attacking the northern Philippines.
Many Filipinos rely on ferries to travel between islands in the Philippines, but accidents are common especially during the rainy season. Last year, some 800 people died when a ferry sank
1. What does the underlined word “abandon” in paragraph 2 mean ?
A. Watch B. Leave C. Protect D. Keep
2. Which of the following statements about the accident is TRUE ?
A. It took the ferry an hour to sink.
B. The ship was going to General Santos City when it sank.
C. Most passengers got immediate nursing care after they were rescued
D. So far, only a few passengers have found dead in the accident.
3. We can infer from the passage that_____
A. the reason why the ferry sank will be found out soon.
B. ferries are important in many people’s lives in the Philippines
C. people in the Philippines seldom take a ferry during the rainy season
D. a worse accident has never happened on the seas in the Philippines before
