Question

You never see him, but they're with you every time you fly. They record where you are going,how fast you're traveling and whether everything on your airplane is functioning normally. Their ability to withstand almost any disaster makes them seem like something out of a comic book.They're known as the black box.

When planes fall from the sky, as a Yemeni airliner did on its way to Comoros Islands in the India ocean June 30, 2009, the black box is the best bet for identifying what went wrong. So when a French submarine (潜水艇) detected the device's homing signal five days later, the discovery marked a huge step toward determining the cause of a tragedy in which 152 passengers were killed.

In 1958, Australian scientist David Warren developed a flight-memory recorder that would track basic information like altitude and direction. That was the first mode for a black box, which became a requirement on all U.S. commercial flights by 1960. Early models often failed to withstand crashes, however, so in 1965 the device（装置） was completely redesigned and moved to the rear of the plane – the area least subject to impact – from its original position in the landing wells (起落架舱). The same year, the Federal Aviation Authority required that the boxes, which were never actually black, be painted orange or yellow to aid visibility.

Modern airplanes have two black boxes: a voice recorder, which tracks pilots' conversations,and a flight-data recorder, which monitors fuel levels, engine noises and other operating functions that help investigators reconstruct the aircraft's final moments. Placed in an insulated ( 隔绝的) case and surrounded by a quarter-inch-thick panels of stainless steel, the boxes can withstand massive force and temperatures up to 2,000℉. When submerged, they're also able to emit signals from depths of 20,000 ft. Experts believe the boxes from Air France Flight 447, which crashed near Brazil on June 1,2009, are in water nearly that deep, but statistics say they're still likely to turn up. In the approximately 20 deep-sea crashes over the past 30 years, only one plane's black boxes were never recovered.

1.In Paragraph 1，the author wants to say the black box_________.

A. is an necessary device on an airplane

B. comes from a comic book

C. can prevent disasters

D. can control the function of an airplane

2.From the black box on the Yemeni airliner_________could be found.

A. the scene of the crash and the degree of the damage

B. the total number of passengers on board

C. data for analyzing the cause of the crash

D. homing signals sent by the pilot before the crash

3.Why was the black box redesigned in 1965?

A. New materials became available by that time.

B. The early models often got damaged in the crash.

C. Too much space was needed for its device.

D. The early models didn't provide the needed data.

4.The black boxes were painted orange or yellow to_________.

A. distinguish them from the colour of the plane.

B. warn people to handle them with care

C. make them easily identified.

D. obey the international standards.

5.What do we know about the black boxes from Air France Flight 447?

A. There is still a good chance of their being recovered.

B. There is an urgent need for them to be reconstructed.

C. They have stopped sending homing signals.

D.They were destroyed somewhere near Brazil.

Answer

1.A

2.C

3.B

4.C

5.A

【解析】

试题分析：本文主要讲的是黑匣子。他们记录了你要去哪里，你的旅行是否你的飞机上的一切运作正常；几乎能经受住任何灾难，这就是黑匣子。当飞机失事时，黑匣子就是识别真相的有力证据。1958，澳大利亚科学家戴维Warren研发了一个飞行记录器，高度、速度、方位等基本信息。这是黑盒子的开端。现代飞机有两个黑盒子：一个录音机，跟踪飞行员的对话，和飞行数据记录器，监控燃料量，发动机的噪声和其他的操作功能，帮助研究人员重建了飞机的最后时刻。耐压耐高温。在过去的三十年的深海里，只有一架飞机的黑匣子没有恢复。

1.。从第一段中“They record where you are going,how fast you're traveling and whether everything on your airplane is functioning normally. Their ability to withstand almost any disaster makes them seem like something out of a comic book”句意：他们记录了你要去哪里，你的旅行是否一切运作正常。他们几乎能经受住任何灾难，使它们看起来就像一本漫画书。可以看出黑匣子在飞机上的重要性，可以说是飞机上必不可少的设备。故选A。

2. black box is the best bet for identifying what went wrong.”以及“the discovery marked a huge step toward determining the cause of a tragedy in which 152 passengers were killed. ”意思是黑匣子是最好的赌注来识别到底是什么出了错。该发现标志着对确定一个悲剧，152名乘客死亡原因的巨大的一步。可见黑匣子在分析事故原因起着很重要的作用。故选C。

3. was the first mode for a black box, which became a requirement on all U.S. commercial flights by 1960. Early models often failed to withstand crashes,”那是黑匣子的第一个模型，1960年成为美国所有的商业航班要求。但是早期的模型往往无法承受撞击。所以在1965年又被重新设计了。故选B。

4. painted orange or yellow to aid visibility. ”被刷成橙色或黄色来提高能见度。根据常识，我们知道在飞机失事时要找到黑匣子，黑匣子就一定要显眼，所以刷成橙色和黄色容易会被人发现。故选C。

5. believe the boxes from Air France Flight 447, which crashed near Brazil on June 1,2009, are in water nearly that deep, but statistics say they're still likely to turn up. ”句意：专家认为，法航447航班在2009年6月1日坠毁在巴西附近的黑匣子，在水中很深的地方，但统计数据说，他们仍然有可能会出现。可见是有机会找到黑匣子并恢复的。故选A.。

考点：考查说明文阅读。