Question

NEW YORK—Australian mining enterpriser Clive Palmer on Tuesday unveiled(公布) blueprints (蓝本) for Titanic Ⅱ, a modern copy of the doomed ocean liner, although he didn’t call the ship unsinkable any more.

The ship will largely recreate the design and decoration of the fabled original, with some modifications to keep it in line with current safety rules and shipbuilding practices, and the addition of some modern comforts such as air conditioning, Palmer said at a press conference in New York.

The three passenger classes, however, will be prevented from mingling(混杂), as in 1912, Palmer said. “I’m not too superstitious(迷信的). ”Palmer said when asked whether recreating a ship best-known for sinking was tempting fate.

White Star Line, the operator of the original ship, had said the Titanic was designed to be unsinkable. About 1, 500 people died on Titanic’s maiden voyage in 1912 from Southampton to New York after the ship collided with an iceberg in the North Atlantic.

Palmer, who created the company Blue Star Line last year, refused to make a similar boast.

“Anything will sink if you put a hole in it,”Palmer said. “I think it would be very cavalier(漫不经心的) to say it.”

Unlike the original, TitanicⅡ will have more than enough space in its lifeboats for every person on board and will have additional escape staircases. Markku Kanerva, sales director at Deltamarin, the Finnish company designing the ship, said it would be “the safest cruise ship in the world”.

Palmer refused to answer questions about the project’s cost. Although the Titanic was the world’s largest ship in her time, she would be smaller than many of today’s modern cruise ships.

“It’s not about the money, ”Palmer said. “I’ve got enough money for it. I think that’s all that matters.”

Forbes estimated Palmer’s net worth to be $795 million in 2012. He describes himself as a billionaire.

TitanicⅡ will be built by Chinese state-owned CSC Jinling Shipyard, which has already built four ore carriers for Palmer’s mining business, he said. The contract to build TitanicⅡ has not yet been signed, Palmer said.

1.What can be inferred about TitanicⅡ from the passage?

A. TitanicⅡ will have more space in its lifeboats than the Titanic.

B. TitanicⅡ will be the largest cruise ship in the world.

C. TitanicⅡ will allow different classes of passengers to mingle.

D. TitanicⅡ will be a real unsinkable cruise ship.

2.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A. 1, 500 people died on Titanic’s maiden voyage in 1912.

B. The Titanic collided with an iceberg in the South Pacific.

C. The Titanic was equipped with air conditioning.

D. The Titanic was the world’s largest ship at that time.

3.What’s the author’s purpose of writing the passage?

A. To tell us the story of the Titanic.

B. To tell us TitanicⅡ will cost a lot of money.

C. To tell us about the future TitanicⅡ.

D. To tell us a Chinese Shipyard will build TitanicⅡ.

4.What’s the best title of the passage?

A. The old Titanic

B. The blueprints of TitanicⅡ

C. The unsinkable TitanicⅡ

D. Clive Palmer—a billionaire

Answer 1