APRIL 5 marks the 100th anniversary(周年纪念日)of the sinking(下沉)of the Titanic. In 1997, the movie Titanic was a huge hit all around the world. Now, the 3-D version of the movie will come to Chinese theaters on April 10.
As anyone who has seen the movie knows, the Titanic struck an iceberg(冰山) and sank on its first voyage in 1912, killing 1,517 people. A century after the accident, scientists have found something new to blame(负责任) for the sinking: the moon. Donald Olson, a Texas State University physicist, led a team of astronomers(天文学家) to examine the moon’s role, according to Reuters.
Normally, icebergs stay in place and cannot move until they melt enough or a high tide(潮汐) frees them. A single iceberg can become stuck many times on its journey southward. The process can take several years.
According to Olson, a hundred years ago the moon made its closest approach to the Earth in more than 1,400 years. This caused the moon to have a much stronger pull on the Earth’s oceans than usual, which created a super-high tide. The tide pushed icebergs from shallow waters off the coasts of Canada’s provinces, Newfoundland and Labrador, into the Titanic’s way.
“Of course, the final cause of the accident was that the ship struck an iceberg,” Olson told Reuters. “It went full speed into a region with icebergs, but the lunar connection(月亮的联系) may explain how an unusually large number of icebergs got into the path of the Titanic.”
The research team will publish their research in the April issue of Sky & Telescope magazine.
根据短文内容，选最佳择答案,并在答题卡上按要求作答。
小题1: How many people lost their lives in this accident?| A．Over 2,000 people. | B．About 100 people. | | C．More than 1,500 people. | D．We don’t know. |
小题2: The underlined word “voyage” in the second paragraph really means ______.小题3: Which of the following about icebergs is TRUE?| A．Icebergs move only when the tide frees them. | | B．An iceberg can stop for some time during its travel. | | C．An iceberg will move as soon as its melts. | | D．It takes an iceberg several months to leave its place. |
小题4: Which of the following played a role in the sinking of the Titanic?
a. the moon b. the tides c. too many passengers
d. the high speed of the ship e. going the wrong way f. the iceberg | A．a,b,c,f | B．a,c,d,e | C．a,b,d,f | D．a,c,e,f |
小题5:. What is the article mainly about?| A．The main cause of the Titanic’s sinking. | | B．The 100th anniversary of the Titanic. | | C．The moon’s great influence on the Earth’s tides. | | D．The moon’s role in the sinking of the Titanic. |
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