Passage 2

   On January 13, 1982, a severe storm hit Washington, D.C. The temperature fell to the mid-teens. Driving snow made it hard to see. Flights out of Washington’s National Airport were delayed while snowplows cleared the runways. Air Florida Flight 90, with its 79 passengers, was no exception. It was originally scheduled to depart at 2:15 P.M. Clearing the runways, however, took over an hour. At 3:37, the pilot was finally allowed to move the plane into position for takeoff, but 15 other planes were lined up ahead of it. Another 20 minutes went by before Flight 90 could roll out onto the runway.

   While Flight 90 was waiting for the runways to be plowed, the ice that had formed on its wings was removed. But new ice began to form immediately. As the pilot waited for the 15 other planes to take off, the ice grew heavier. Ice buildup on a plane’s wings is dangerous. It makes the plane heavier and disturbs the normal flow of air over the wings. Despite the fresh layer of ice, Flight 90 roared down the runway when its turn came at 3:59 P.M.

   As the jet took off, it trembled violently. Something was wrong. It was not gaining altitude as it should. One of the passengers, who was also a pilot, said, “We’re not going to make it.”

   Meanwhile, traffic on the Fourteenth Street Bridge over the Potomac River was heavy. It was rush hour, and the workers who lived outside the city were headed home. Suddenly the blue, green, and white form of an Air Florida 727 appeared out of the clouds. Flight 90 was going down, and it was heading straight for the crowded bridge. The motorists on the bridge could do nothing but watch in horror as the airplane fell from the sky and smashed across the road. Several cars were badly hit. Four motorists were killed before the plane plunged into the icy Potomac.

   Rescue workers arrived on the scene instantly. Their searchlights revealed a frightening sight. Many of the passengers could be seen still strapped in their seats at the bottom of the river. Only six passengers survived the accident. They clung to a piece of the tail section that was above water. One of the survivors was a balding man with a large mustache. He seemed to be more alert and less severely injured than any of the others.

   Speed was essential if the six people were to be saved. A person can survive only a few minutes in such cold water. The rescue was made difficult by the fact that there was only room barely enough for one helicopter to get between the Fourteenth Street Bridgeand another bridge nearby.

   A helicopter arrived and quickly lowered its lifeline and flotation ring(救生圈) to the balding man. He grabbed it, but instead of using it himself, he passed it on to one of the other passengers. As that person was lifted out of the freezing water, the balding man fought to keep his grip on the tail section. His body temperature was dropping, and his strength was going. When the rescue helicopter returned, the lifeline was again dropped to him. People on the bank watched in amazement as the man once again passed the lifeline on to someone else. For the second time, he gave up the chance so that another person could be saved.

   Ten minutes later, the three other passengers had been taken safely to the shore. Only the balding man was left in the river. But when the helicopter returned, he was gone. He had been in the icy water too long.

   For several days, the selfless man was known simply as “the man in the water.” No one knew who he was. But when the passenger list was compared with the description of the man, it was determined that he was Arland Williams, a 46-year-old bank examiner from Atlanta, Georgia.

   When Arland Williams boarded Flight 90, he was an ordinary person on an ordinary flight. There was nothing special about him. But at 4:01 P.M. on a stormy January day, when his plane crashed, Williams chose to risk his life to save the lives of others. The “man in the water” became a national hero.

56. What delayed Air Florida Flight 90 from taking off earlier?

A. The runways had to be cleared of snow.

B. The plane had to be refueled.

C. The plane needed some engine repair.

D. The wings of the plane had to be cleared of ice.

57. Flight 90 crashed into the Potomac River _____.

A. as it was landing

B. as it was flying

C. 5 minutes after takeoff

D. as it was taking off

58. The rescue was made more difficult because there ______.

A. weren’t enough rescue workers

B. were no rescue boats available

C. was only enough room for one rescue helicopter

D. was hardly any room for a rescue helicopter

59. Arland Williams died because he ______.

A. had suffered head injuries in the crash

B. had been in the icy water too long

C. did not know how to swim

D. wanted to become a hero

60. Which of the following best states the main idea of the selection?

A. Arland Williams became a hero when he died after saving all the survivors.

B. Arland Williams died in the icy Potomac River after the plane he was on crashed on takeoff.

C. A bank examiner from Georgia became a hero because he had put the lives of others ahead of his own.

D. Arland Williams became a hero because he successfully saved five passengers.

Ⅴ.词形转换。将括号里提供的词转换成适当的词形填入答题纸上相应的位置。（本大题共10小题，每小题1分，共10分）

  Complete each of the following sentences with a (compound) word derived from the one(s) given in brackets. (10 points)

61. He has been more appreciated by people abroad than by his own ______. (country, man)

62. At the conference the chairman made a detailed ______ of the international economic situation. (appraise)

63. The use of plenty of short, simple, and elliptical sentences in the story creates a sense of ______. (emergent)

64. Upon graduation from university, he was assigned to work as Professor Stevenson’s ______. (assist)

65. Her six-year-old daughter is a very ______ girl. She always insists on making her own decisions. (dependent)

66. She could not give us a ______ explanation for her decision to give up the opportunity. (reason)

67. They were sitting on a ______ bench, enjoying the warm sunshine. (wood)

68. The questioner is just interested in you; he does not mean to be       . (polite)

69. She encouraged her students to give their opinions, and she always listened ______.(attentive)

70. In the later period of the war, enemy planes began to ______ the city even in the daytime. (bomb)

Ⅵ.句子翻译。将下列句子译成英语，译文写在答题纸上相应的位置。（本大题共5小题，每小题3分，共15分）

Translate the following sentences into English. (15 points)

71.汽车司机应当考虑到他人的安全；安全驾驶才是最好的驾驶。

72.要不是太阳的热量，地球将是一个冰冻的星球。

73.汤姆选定了一台IBM笔记本电脑，他的父亲开了一张一千美元的支票付给店主。

74.如果你继续关注已经长大成人的孩子，你很可能会成为他们的累赘。

75.我现在左右为难，因为有人给我提供了两个工作，并且两个工作听起来都很诱人。

Ⅶ.作文。根据所学的一篇课文，写出150字左右的短文。（本大题共15分）

   Write a short composition in about 150 words based on the text “On Friendship”.(15 points)

  TOPIC: What do you think a true friend should be like?