In 1909 an English newspaper offered ￡ 1,000 to the first man to fly across the English Channel in an aeroplane. Today, modern jets cross it in minutes. But at that time it still seemed a good distance. The race to win the money soon became a race between two men. Both were very colorful.
One was Louis Bleriot. He owned a factory in France that made motor car lamps. He was already well known as a pilot because he had had accidents several times. Some people laughed at him. One man said, “He may not be the first to fly across the Channel but he will certainly be the first to die in an accident!” But Bleriot was really a good and brave pilot. He also had many good ideas about aeroplane design.
The other man was Hubert Latham. He was half French and half English. He took up flying when his doctors told him he had only a year to live. “Oh, well,” he said, “if I.m going to die soon, I think I shall have a dangerous and interesting life now.”
Latham was the first to try the flight across the Channel. Ten kilometres from the French coast, his plane had some trouble. It fell down into the water and began to sink under the water. A boat reached Latham just in time. He was sitting calmly on the wing and was coolly lighting a cigarette. Bleriot took off six days later. He flew into some very bad weather and very low cloud. He somehow got to the English side and landed in a farmer.s field. When he did so, a customs (海关) officer rushed up to his plane. Planes have changed since then, but customs officers have not. “Have you anything to declare?” The officer demanded.
The story took place 1 .
A. in the early 20th century
B. in the 19th century
C. at a time not mentioned in the passage
2. Bleriot was well known as a pilot because 2 .
A. he was unusually brave
B. he had many good ideas about aeroplane design
C. he had had a few accidents
3. Why did Hubert Latham want to fly across the Channel? 3
A. He thought he could manage it easily.
B. He knew he only had a year to live.
C. He had always been interested in flying.
4. Why did the customs officer rush to the plane? 4
A. To ask if Beriot had anything to declare.
B. To make sure that the pilot was not hurt.
C. To ask why the plane had landed in a farmer’s field.
5. “Do you have anything to declare?” means 5 .
A. “Do you want any help?”
B. “Is there anything wrong?”
C. “Have you brought anything on which custom duties must be paid?”
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