Crossing the Atlantic by Balloon

魏国坤

The first people to cross the Atlantic by balloon were Ben Abruzzo， Max Anderson， and Larry Newman. The flight from Presque Island， Maine， to Miserey， France in August 1978 took five days and 17 hours.

The balloonists① had spent thousands of hours practicing for the flight. All three men were expert② pilots. This was Ben Abruzzo and Max Andersons second attempt③ to cross the Atlantic by balloon. Larry Newman， though， was new to ballooning.

They called their balloon Double Eagle H. They named it after Charles Lindbergh， whose nickname was the Lone Eagle. Lindbergh was the first person to cross the Atlantic on an airflight alone.

For breakfast during the trip the men had raisins④， coffee or cocoa. Later in the day they ate hot dogs and lots of vitamins.

It was not an easy flight. Once they neared the coast⑤ of France， though， they forgot about their discomfort. Small planes met them and helped them to France. A large crowd welcomed them there. The flight cost these three men $125，000.

Answer the questions.

1.The Chinese word for “nickname” is ____.

A. 姓氏      B. 名字     C. 全名      D. 綽号

2. The balloonists made this flight ____.

A. because they were asked to              B. because no one had ever done it before

C. to show that balloons are easy to fly        D. to win a large prize

3. From the passage we can conclude that ballooning is ____.

A. an expensive sport                           B. a safe sport

C. a very popular sport                        D. a sport for young people

4. Who did they name the balloon Double Eagle H after？ And why？