题目内容
The pilot, whether ______ or design, made the plane do a sharp turn beautifully.
| A．by accident | B．at times | C．suddenly | D．all at once |
A
解析
When JetBlue captain Clayton Osbon became unpredictable, his co-pilot invented a reason for him to go back into the cabin．Once the captain was out of the cockpit （驾驶舱） , the co-pilot locked the door to keep the captain from returning．Passengers, some with law enforcement experience, calmed the captain．The flight changed course to Amarillo, Texas where the captain was hospitalized．
Incidents in which a pilot has had an in-flight psychological breakdown are rare．But how could it happen at all? Though pilots are required to have an examination at least once a year by a physician approved by the FAA, there are no formal procedures in place to test pilots for signs of psychological problems．
At most airlines, pilots are members of a union．A pilot who appears to have a psychological or an alcohol problem can be reported to a union member whose job it is to investigate．If there is a problem, the pilot is given the choice of getting treatment or being reported to management．But at airlines, such as Allegiant, JetBlue, and Virgin American where there is no union, pilots are – to say the least - unwilling to report a fellow pilot to management．
In most professions, a person experiencing emotional difficulties is free to consult a doctor．Rut an airline pilot in therapy is viewed with suspicion both by the airline and by the FAA．No pilot wants to be put under extra examination by an agency that has the power to revoke their license or end their employment．That being the case, pilots are less likely than people in other professions to seek help．
There may be no way to make sure this never happens again, but its possibility can be reduced． Tests such as the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory （ MMPI） can reliably detect depression, paranoia, schizophrenia, and other problems．The FAA could require pilots to take the MMPI or a similar test on a periodic basis．Whether such testing becomes required will depend upon the public's response to this incident and whether additional incidents take place．
Flying is remarkably safe．But incidents such as this cause concern．
【小题1】What does the underlined word "revoke" most probably mean?
| A．delay | B．cancel | C．interrupt | D．renew |
| A．Because they are tested for signs of psychological problems every year． |
| B．Because they are likely to be treated by physicians． |
| C．Because they are supported by the airlines． |
| D．Because they might be fired． |
| A．satisfied | B．indifferent | C．concerned | D．disapproving |
| A．Entertainment | B．Sports | C．Business | D．Society |
My husband and son took a New York-to-Milwaukee flight that was supposed to leave Friday at 11:29 am. The flight boarded after 4 pm and didn’t leave the gate until 4:40, and half an hour later the pilot announced it would be another hour until takeoff. At that point a Jewish family, worried about violating the Sabbath （安息日）, asked to get off. Going back to the gate cost the plane its place in line for takeoff, and the flight was eventually cancelled. Was the airline right to grant that request?
M. W, Norwalk, CONN.
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Situations like that can bring out the worst in people. But despite the increasing resentment（怨恨） of a plane full of people, the pilot tried to do the right thing. He went out of his way to satisfy one family’s urgent need. He should not have done so.
Passengers bought tickets in the belief that the airline’s primary goal was to get them to their destination as close to the schedule as possible. Once they got on the plane and the doors are locked, it’s not correct to announce that the rules have changed and that a personal (as opposed to medical) emergency —no matter how urgent — might take precedence（优先）.
That would be just as true if turning back to the gate had merely cost a few minutes rather than doomed the flight entirely, since on a plane, even a slight delay can spread outward, from the people in the cabin to those meeting them to the passengers waiting to board the plane for the next leg of its journey and so on. It would also be true if the personal emergency were not religious — if someone suddenly realized she’d made a professional mistake that might cost her millions, and she had to race back to the office to fix it.
If a religious practice does nothing to harm others, then airlines should make a reasonable effort to accommodate it. Though that family has every right to observe the Sabbath, it has no right to enlist an airplane full of captive bystanders to help them do so. By boarding a flight on a Friday afternoon, the family knowingly risked running into trouble. The risk was theirs alone to bear.
【小题1】M. W. wrote the letter to ask whether ______.
| A．Any religious passenger has the right to ask the pilot to take off |
| B．The airline has the right to cancel the flight without any reason |
| C．A flight should meet any passenger’s need despite others’ benefit |
| D．A plane which has left the gate should give up taking off |
| A．The pilot did the right thing in spite of the fierce resentment. |
| B．The plane should turn back if anyone aboard is seriously ill. |
| C．Anybody who has boarded has no chance to get off the plane. |
| D．Any flight shouldn’t change its schedule no matter what has happened. |
| A．Turning back to the gate usually takes a plane quite a long time. |
| B．Nobody should take precedence to require the plane to turn back to the gate. |
| C．Even if it had taken a few minutes it was not right to turn back to the gate. |
| D．It was OK if turning back to the gate hadn’t caused the flight to be cancelled. |
| A．It’s right for the plane to turn back to the gate to save a passenger’s treasure |
| B．The Jewish family should give up observing the Sabbath after boarding |
| C．The biggest problem of turning back is to bring trouble to the pilot |
| D．The Jewish family had better avoid boarding on Friday afternoon |