Poor weather. Technical difficulties. These are some of the typical causes of ca

Poor weather. Technical difficulties. These are someof the typical causes of cancelled trains and planes. But sometimes, the excusecan be a lot more trivial.

Just recently, passengers waiting for a train toPeterborough heard the following announcement, “For reasons beyond our control,we regret to inform passengers that the 13:46 Train to Peterborough has beencancelled. The next train will be arriving on Platform in approximately 36minutes.”

Oh, well, another delayed train, thought mostpassengers. But a couple of them decided to enquire further. Incredibly, theywere informed that the real reason for the non-arrival of the train was thatthe driver refused to do his job because his seat was wet.

“A wet seat? That’s got to be a joke,” said onepassenger angrily. “I wouldn’t normally complain if the train is just a bitdelayed, but this was unbelievable, ” he added. “What really made me angry isthat this driver refused to get in the train,” said another passenger. “Heprobably went off for a cup of tea after that!” she added.

A spokesperson for the rail company apologized for theincident, but said the driver couldn’t sit on the damp seat, and wouldn’t beable to drive the train standing up. The spokesperson went on to explain thatthe seat had become wet after water entered through an open window when thetrain was being cleaned in a “train wash”

In another transport-related incident, a flight fromChicago to Frankfurt made an emergency landing in Canada after the pilotspilled his coffee. Apparently, the spilt liquid caused the plane’s radio tosend out “transponder code 7500”, which is used to inform ground control thatthere’s been a hi-jacking (劫机). After landing inToronto, the 255 passengers crew members were put up in a hotel for the night,then flown on to Frankfurt the following afternoon. “What a disgusting trip!”said one tired passenger after the painful experience had ended.

So, does your job have the potential to cause suchdisorder?

1.Why did the driver of the train refused to do hisjob?

A. His seat wasdamp.             B.His pay was low

C. The weather wasterrible                D.His coffee was spilled

2.The underlined word “trivial” in Paragraph 1 means“____”.

A. damp      B.unimportant     C. emergent     D. convincing

3.The flight made an emergency landing in Canadabecause “_______”.

A. the plane was hijacked

B. the plane engines went wrong

C. the pilot ran out of coffee

D. the plane’s radio sent out a wrong signal

4.Which of the following is the best title of thepassage?

A. Wet seat, Canceled Train!

B. Spilled Coffee, Emergency Landing!

C. Small Incident, Big Disruptions!

D. Innocent Driver, Angry Passengers!

试题答案

【答案】

1.A

2.B

3.D

4.C

【解析】

试题