Question

Today, when a man steps on to the moon, or something new and important happens, the world learns about it immediately. What did the newspapers say about that first flight in 1903? Strangely enough, they said hardly anything about it at all. There are only a few reports about it in the papers. These reports said very little. Some of the things they said were not even correct.

In 1904 the Wrights built a second machine. They called it “Flyer No. Two”. They invited some reporters to a field near Dayton to watch them fly. Unfortunately, there was some mechanical(机械的) trouble with the plane and it did not fly at all that day. The newspapermen went away. They were disappointed and did not come back. The Wrights went on with their work. In 1905, they built an even better machine, “Flyer No Three”. They were able to stay upon the air for half an hour and more in the machine. Farmers and travelers on the road around the Dayton often saw them flying, but when three people told newspapermen about it, they refused to believe them.

The Wrights offered “Flyer No. Three” to the United States government. The government was not interested. They seemed to think the Wrights wanted money in order to build a plane. They did not understand the Wrights had already done this, and flown it as well. Experts were still saying that mechanical flight was impossible. At the end of 1905, the two brothers took their planes to pieces. The parts were put into a huge wooden box. It seemed nobody was interested.

1.The reporters were disappointed in 1904 because________.

A．the Wrights did not invite them

B．the plane could not stay long in the air

C．the plane did not fly at all that day

D．they had wanted to see a better machine

2.The U．S. government could not understand that________.

A．the Wrights had already built a machine that could fly

B．experts still thought flight was impossible

C．the Wrights wanted more money to build an airplane

D．“Flyer No. Three” was now in a wooden case

3.The Wrights took their plane to pieces because________.

A．they planned to go to Europe

B．nobody was interested

C．the government didn't give them any money

D．the newspapermen didn't report their flights

4.What does the underlined word “Flyer” mean?

A．Pilot.             B．Drive.            C．Plane.            D．Kite.

5.Which of the following is NOT true?

A．Today, people are very interested in new things.

B．People in the past talked little about new things.

C．Reporters are now as interested in new happening as in the past.

D．People in the past even told each other wrong things.

Answer

1.C

2.A

3.B

4.C

5.C

【解析】

试题分析：本文叙述了在过去的时侯the Wrights发明了一种能飞的机器，发明飞行器2号时，就请记者去了可是那天没有机器没能起飞，从此，记者再也没有去过，他们不相信他们能制造出这种飞行器。后来，他们兄弟二人把飞行器3号给美国政府看，美国政府及专家都不相信他们能制造出这种机器，这就说明过去的信息交流特别慢。而现在的通讯和媒体都传播得很快。

1.细节理解题。根据it did not fly at all that day. 故选C。

2.细节理解题。根据They did not understand the Wrights had already done this, and flown it as well.美国政府根本不相信the Wrights制成了能飞的机器，故选A。

3.细节理解题。根据It seemed nobody was interested.故选B。

4.词义猜测题。根据They invited some reporters to a field near Dayton to watch them fly. 可以猜出那是能飞的机器，故选C。

5.细节理解题。根据The newspapermen went away. They were disappointed and did not come back 和something new and important happens, the world learns about it immediately.记者过去和现在是不一样的，故选C。

考点：故事类短文阅读。