2. 职称英语
  3. Read the following passage. In December 1872, sailors on a passing ship

Read the following passage. In December 1872, sailors on a passing ship

游客2025-02-04  63
问题     Read the following passage.
    In December 1872, sailors on a passing ship discovered the Mary Celeste, an American cargo ship, floating in the Atlantic Ocean, east of the Azores. There were no people on board the Mary Celeste: its captain and the crew of nine people were all gone. Its lifeboat (a small boat that ships carry for emergency purposes) was missing. Several theories have been proposed to explain what happened to the ten people who had been aboard the Mary Celeste.
    One theory is that the crew of the Mary Celeste fell victim to pirates. Pirates in the area were known to attack commercial ships and capture sailors, and then the pirates demanded money from the company that had employed the sailors for sailors’ release. The theory is that pirates attacked the Mary Celeste and took everyone on board captive.
    A second theory is based on the fact that the Mary Celeste was transporting flammable liquid stored in barrels. Some of the barrels were found empty when the Mary Celeste was recovered, suggesting they might have leaked during the voyage. The flammable liquid leaking from the barrels may have created a danger of explosion and caused the sailors to escape to the lifeboat to wait until the danger passed. As they were waiting, the lifeboat may have had an accident, and the crew was lost.
    The third theory asserts that the captain and the crew may have determined that the ship was in danger of sinking. This is supported by the discovery that more than one meter of water had leaked into the ship’s bottom, and only one water pump on the ship was in working order. Rather than waiting for the Mary Celeste to sink, the captain may have ordered everyone to get into the lifeboat and use it to reach the safety of the nearby island of Santa Maria.
    Now listen to part of a lecture on the topic you just read about.
    Summarize the points made in the lecture, being sure to explain how they challenge the specific theories presented in the reading passage.
None of these theories about what happened to the people on board the Mary Celeste is very convincing.
    First, the pirate theory. When pirates captured sailors, the main reason was usually that the pirates could later demand money in exchange for releasing the sailors. However, no one ever came forward to demand money for the captain and the sailors of the Mary Celeste. Additionally, almost nothing from the Mary Celeste was missing. It’s highly unlikely that pirates would capture the crew and demand no money or that pirates would leave behind all the valuables on board.
    About the second theory and the flammable liquid… there is very little evidence that the barrels on board the Mary Celeste had actually leaked the liquid and created a danger of explosion. You see, when this type of liquid leaks, it produces a very strong smell and the smell lingers for a long time. Remember the sailors from the passing ship who discovered the abandoned Mary Celeste floating in the ocean? If there had been a leak, the smell would have stayed around for a while and those sailors would have noticed it. They made careful records of what they discovered on the abandoned ship, but they did not mention there was any smell.
    Third, although some water had leaked into the ship’s bottom, the Mary Celeste was clearly capable of traveling for at least a few days since it was still floating when it was discovered. The crew members on the Mary Celeste were very experienced sailors. They would have recognized the ship was still in good enough shape to sail to the nearby island of Santa Maria. They would not have abandoned the ship and used a small lifeboat. That would have been much riskier than staying on the ship.
选项
答案     The lecturer rebuts the three theories introduced in the reading passage concerning the crew of the Mary Celeste, an American cargo ship. As the lecturer concludes, a deeper analysis will reveal the weakness of these theories.
    The first theory believes that the crew was captured by pirates. But as the lecturer points out, pirates abducted people for money. This theory cannot explain the fact that valuables on the ship remained intact and no one has demanded money for the crew of the Mary Celeste so far.
    The second theory is based on the finding that some barrels of flammable liquid were empty. It contends that sailors, to avoid the danger of explosion, may have escaped from the ship with a lifeboat and got lost due to an accident afterwards. Suppose there was a leak, as the lecturer reasons, it should have created a long-lasting strong smell. But the sailors who discover the Mary Celeste did not mention any smell in their report.
    Finally, the third theory points to the water leak at the ship’s bottom. It states firmly that since only one water pump on the ship was found in working condition when water leaked into the ship, the crew probably thought that the ship was sinking and thus abandoned the ship and headed for the island of Santa Maria on the lifeboat. However, the lecturer argues that despite the leak, the Mary Celeste is capable of staying afloat for a few days. The experienced sailors could have traveled to the island of Santa Maria on it, which is much safer than a lifeboat.
解析     题目：靠自己的知识和经验解决问题比询问他人的建议更好。
    虽然题目问的是“Agree or Disagree”，但本题可以看做是一个“二选一”的题目，因为文章给出了两个选择，让考生比较哪个选择更好。所以，考生要讨论这两个选项的利弊，从而支持自己的选择。如果选择依靠自己的知识和经验，那可以谈谈依靠自己的好处，例如：培养自己解决问题的能力等。如果选择询问别人的建议，则可以谈谈提高效率等好处。同时，也可以谈另一方面的缺点，反面衬托所做选择的优点。当然，这种生活类型的题目不一定有绝对的对错，也可以适当认可对立方的一些好处，如范文所示，寻求帮助也有好处，但要根据自身情况调整，而不是盲从。这样的论述会使文章显得更加生动。
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