Part Reading Comprehension (35 minutes)
Directions: There are 4 passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre.
Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage:
The biggest safety threat facing airlines today may not be a terrorist with a gun, but the man with the portable computer in business class. In the last 15 years, pilots have reported well over 100 incidents that could have been caused by electromagnetic interference. The source of this interference remains unconfirmed, but increasingly, experts are pointing the blame at portable electronic devices such as portable computers, radio and cassette players and mobile telephones.
RTCA, an organization which advises the aviation () industry, has recommended that all airlines ban (Ö¹) such devices from being used during "critical" stages of light, particularly takeoff and landing. Some experts have gone further, calling for a total ban during all flights. Currently, rules on using these devices are left up to individual airlines. And although some airlines prohibit passengers from using such equipment during takeoff and landing, most are reluctant to enforce a total ban, given that many passengers want to work during flights.
The difficulty is predicting how electromagnetic fields might affect an aircraft's computers. Experts know that portable devices emit radiation which affects those wavelengths which aircraft use for navigation and communication. But, because they have not been able to reproduce these effects in a laboratory, they have no way of knowing whether the interference might be dangerous or not.
The fact that aircraft may be vulnerable () to interference raises the risk that terrorists may use radio system in order to damage navigation equipment. As worry-
ing, though, is the passenger who can't hear the instructions to turn off his radio because the music's too loud.
21.The passage is mainly about_______.
A) a new regulation for all airlines
B) the defects of electronic devices
C) a possible cause of aircraft crashes
D) effective safety measures for air flight
22.What is said about the over 100 aircraft incidents in the past 15 years?
A) They may have been caused by the damage to the radio systems.
B) They may have taken place during takeoff and landing.
C) They were proved to have been caused by the passengers' portable computers.
D) They were suspected to have resulted from electromagnetic interference.
23.Few airlines want to impose a total ban on their passengers using electronic devices
because_______.
A) they don't believe there is such a danger as radio interference
B) the harmful effect of electromagnetic interference is yet to be proved
C) most passengers refuse to take a plane which bans the use of radio and cassette
players
D) they have other effective safety measures to fall back on
24.Why is it difficult to predict the possible effects of electromagnetic fields on an
airplane's computers?
A) Because it is extremely dangerous to conduct such research on an airplane.
B) Because it remains a mystery what wavelengths are liable to be interfered with.
C) Because research scientists have not been to produce the same effects in labs.
D) Because sxperts lack adequate equipment to do such research.
25.It can be inferred from the passage that the author_______.
A) is in favor of prohibiting passengers' use of electronic devices completely
B) has overestimated the danger of electromagnetic interference
C) hasn't formed his own opinion on this problem
D) regards it as unreasonable to exercise a total ban during flight