Sailing Through History

A group of 1,309 passengers boarded the MS Balmoral on Sunday, in Southampton, England, on a voyage to retrace the path of the Titanic. The Titanic was the biggest ship in the world when it sailed on its ill-fated maiden voyage in 1912. Of the 2,227 passengers and crew aboard, more than 1,500 died. The ship, which was headed to New York City, carried the rich and famous on its first voyage. It also carried immigrants, who were seeking a better life in America.

Relatives of people who sailed on the Titanic, historians, authors and people fascinated by the story of the unsinkable ship, are on the Balmoral. They want to remember the doomed ship and those who died on her first and last voyage. The historic liner had set sail on April 10, 1912, from Southampton. Late at night on April 14, she hit an iceberg. In the early morning hours of April 15, the Titanic sank.

The Balmoral is following Titanic’s original route from Southampton. First, the modern-day cruise liner docked in the port of Cherbourg, France, where the Titanic had picked up more passengers. On Monday afternoon, the Balmoral stops in Cobh, Ireland, the Titanic’s last port of call before sailing to New York.

Balmoral will then cruise the North Atlantic Ocean to the location where Titanic hit an iceberg that ripped the ship’s hull(外壳). On Sunday, April 15, at 2:20 a.m.—the time the Titanic went down—passengers and crew will hold a memorial service. The next two days will be spent in Halifax, Canada, where many victims of the sinking are buried. Then, the Balmoral will reach its final destination in New York City, where Titanic was supposed to dock—but never did.

Until today, several teams of divers have explored the site. They have recovered some items such as dishes and silverware and put them on public display. And more trips are planned to the wreckage in the future. The Titanic and its passengers and crew have been remembered in books, movies and TV programs. But there’s a much more important contribution that Titanic gave us. After she sank, lawmakers and shipbuilders made ships safer. It took a terrible tragedy to make ship travel safer for all.

1.How many passengers in Titanic survived at last?

2.How many countries does the Balmoral reach before sailing to New York?

3.The Balmoral will stay in Canada just __________.

4.What might be the most important contribution of sunken Titanic?

We all have storms through our lives. But we have no right to make everyone else suffer with our own   31 .

The carpenter I   32  to help me restore an old farmhouse had just finished a(n)   33  first day on the job. A flat tire made him lose an hour of work, his electric saw quit, and now his truck   34  to start.

While I drove him home, he sat in stony   35  .

On arriving, he invited me in to meet his family. As we walked toward the front door, he paused   36   at a small tree,   37  tips of the branches with both hands.

When opening the door, he underwent a(n)   38  transformation. His tanned face was wreathed in smiles, and he   39   his two small children and gave his wife a kiss.

The next day my   40  drove me to ask him about what I had seen. “Oh, that’s my trouble tree,” he replied. “I know I can’t   41  having troubles on the job, but the troubles don’t   42  to the house with my family. So I just   43  them up on the tree. Then in the morning I pick them up again.”

“  44  thing is,” he smiled, “when I come out in the morning to pick them up, there aren’t nearly as   45  as I remember the night before.”

Putting   46  around our problems is a really good idea --- it prevents our difficulties from spilling over onto loved people, who can’t do anything about our problems. Why   47  them if they can’t help us?

So, plant yourself a trouble tree outside and use it   48   you come home. Be grateful that you have loved ones to go home to    49  your loved one is simply your beloved dog. And when you picked up your troubles on the way each morning, be   50  that they’re not as heavy as they were the night before.

Vitamin C helps our bodies make a special chemical, which _______ affects our brains, making us feel happy.

Sex education is a sensitive area for some parents, and thus it should remain _________.

A _______ number of mothers with young children are stopped from undertaking paid work because they lack access to childcare.

All the employees complain that their boss is just _______ with promises but never with money.

Mr. Richard was disappointed that many students who had signed up for his adventure course _______ at the last moment.

Jeremy Lin has scored 166 points in seven games and his fame is sweeping the US, which means that his career has _______.

A poet can _______ ordinary words into a meaningful and effective piece of writing.

The organizing committee announces that tickets at the Grand Stadium are limited and will be _______ to those who apply first.