Germany's aviation authority has (2) granted air carrier Lufthansa permission to fly 50 long-haul jetliners home from East Asia, Africa and North America with some 15,000 passengers.
Lufthansa says the flights will land in Dusseldorf, Frankfurt and Munich Tuesday. An airline spokesman told the Associated Press the planes will fly under so-called visual flight rules.
The decision to ease the flight ban gripping Europe comes as the airline industry presses for the (3) resumption of flights grounded last week when a huge plume of volcanic ash (4) fouled European airspace.
Earlier Monday, International Air Transport Association chief Giovanni Bisignani said the economic impact of the closures (5) _______ the airline industry is greater than the (6) aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on the United States. Those attacks closed U.S. airspace for three days.
Bisignani described the current ban to British radio as "a European embarrassment and a European mess."
Separately, European transport ministers were meeting Monday to discuss when to safely re-open airspace. Officials said about 30 percent of European flights will fly Monday.
Meanwhile, NATO says airborne U.S. fighter jets have suffered engine damage (7) _______ volcanic (8) debris while flying in European airspace. A NATO official (9)declined to provide details of the training flight.
Finnish fighter (10) bombers suffered similar damage last week in training runs conducted just hours before authorities began closing European airspace on Wednesday.
For their part, scientists say the huge plume from the Icelandic volcano that forced the airline closures has become noticeably smaller since Saturday. Several major European airlines, including KLM, Lufthansa and Air France, conducted test flights with no passengers Saturday and Sunday, and reported no problems.
1. What does “set to” mean in this context? back
A) to start doing something determinedly
B) to reach an agreement to do something
C) to come up with a new solution to solve the problem
D) to give up the original plan and do something different
2.
Which word can replace “granted” here? back
A)proved
B)announced
C)permitted
D)received
3.
Which word can replace “resumption” here? back
A)solution
B)recovery
C)discussion
D)decision
4.
What does “foul” mean in this context? back
A)to make something dirty
B)to spread rapidly
C)to disturb the system
D)to stop operating
5.
Which word should be put into the blank? back
A)in
B)of
C)for
D)on
6.
What does “aftermath” mean this context? back
A)all the things that affect the way something happens
B)the state that something is in, especially how good or bad its physical state is
C)something that happens as a result of a particular action or set of conditions
D)the period of time after a big accident when people are still dealing with the results
7.
Which word should be put into the blank? back
A)for
B)from
C)of
D)on
8.
“Debris” consists of __________. back
A)pieces of waste materials
B)chemical substances
C)water and stone
D)dirt and fire
9.
Which phrase can replace “decline to” here? back
A)give way to
B)agree to
C)refuse to
D)hesitate to
10.
The “bomber” here is a/an __________. back
A)trained person
B)aeroplane
C)terrorist
D)government official
ANS:
1. A |
2. C |
3. B |
4. A |
5. D |
6. D |
7. B |
8. A |
9. C |
10. B |
全文連結:http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/europe/Lufthansa-Set-to-Begin-Flying-Passengers-Home-to-Germany-91518204.html