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A

The first people who gave names to hurricanes were those— the people of Puerto Rico （波多黎各）. The small island of Puerto Rico is in the West India， off the coast of Florida. This is where all the hurricanes begin that strike the east of the United States. The people of Puerto Rico expect some of these unwelcome visitors every year. Each one is named after the Saints （圣者） day on which it arrives. Two of the most serious storms were the Santa Aha in 1925 and the San Ciriaca in 1899.

Giving girls names to hurricanes is a fairly new idea. It all began with a story called “storm” written by George Steward in 1941. In it a weatherman enjoyed himself by naming storms after the girls he knew. He named one Maria. The story describes how Maria grew and developed， and how she changed the lives of people when she struck the United States. Weathermen of the US Army and Navy named the hurricanes after womens names during World War II. One of their duties was to warn American ships and planes when a storm was coming. Whenever they detected （探測(cè)） one， they gave it a girls name. The first one was given a name beginning with A. The second one was given a name beginning with B. They used all the letters from A to W. This was the first list of hurricane names that followed the alphabet （字母表）.

1. Where do the hurricanes striking the east of the US come from？

A. The west of the US. B. Florida.

C. Puerto Rico. D. India.

2. Who first gave hurricanes girls names？

A. A weatherman. B. The weathermen of the US Army.

C. George Steward. D. The people of Puerto Rico.

3. Which was the earliest hurricane with a girls name？

A. Maria. B. Santa Aha.

C. San Ciriaca. D. Alma.

4. Why did the weathermen name the hurricanes by the alphabet？

A. To show the order of the hurricanes.

B. To judge which of the hurricanes was the strongest.

C. To celebrate their success in stopping the hurricanes.

D. To warn the ships and the planes of the arrival of the hurricanes.

B

Just a couple of hours ago， I was on the plane， ready to fly home from London. The flight had been delayed （推遲） by a few hours so it felt good to be so close to take-off. I had my iPod in place and a new book to read. Then， over the loudspeaker came the pilots voice： “The ground crew （機(jī)務(wù)人員） has found a metal instrument in one tire. We regret that we must cancel this flight.”

The passengers reactions （反應(yīng)） that the announcement led to were interesting. One man close to me began to argue with a flight attendant. A couple in another row complained loudly. A businessman in a black suit actually kicked the seat in front of him. Yet some passengers reacted differently. An elderly gentleman smiled as he helped others take their bags down from the overhead compartments. A teenager， rather than trying to rush off the plane like most of the other passengers， stopped to help a woman with a disability. The lady sitting next to me laughed and said， “Hey， its not the end of the world，” before she made a call to her kids and shared her adventure with them， the wisest among us who has the ability to keep calm when things go wrong.

No life is perfect； mine certainly isnt. We all must face challenges， both large and small. You and I have the power to choose to face them wisely. We always have the choice to be strong and kind when things fall apart.

Thats grace under pressure. My seatmate was right—things could have been so much worse. Anyway， I am safe. I have my health. I have two wonderful children. I have work I love and so much to be thankful for. Sure I now have to wait a few hours to catch the next flight home.

5. What caused the passengers different reactions？

A. The loudspeaker.

B. The delay of the flight.

C. The ground crews fault.

D. The pilots announcement.

6. Who turned his anger on the seat？

A. A man in a black suit.

B. A man close to the author.

C. An old man taking bags down.

D. A teenager helping the disabled.

7. What did the woman sitting next to the author do？

A. She assisted a disabled woman.

B. She made a phone call to her family.

C. She helped others carry their luggage.

D. She told moving stories to her children.

8. What can we learn from the story？

A. Our life is full of ups and downs.

B. It is natural to be scared under pressure.

C. We should help each other in times of difficulty.

D. We should be positive and calm when life is hard.