Arthur hit Canada’s coastal provinces Saturday with near-hurricane strength winds and pouring rains, knocking down trees and leaving more than 200,000 customers without power.

Canadian Hurricane Centre spokesman Chris Fogarty said that Arthur was downgraded from a hurricane to a post-tropical storm Saturday morning by the time it reached Atlantic Canada after swiping a day earlier at North Carolina’s Outer Banks, but it still caused some damages. Environment Canada measured wind gusts topping 72 mph (116 kph) in Halifax, while more than 4 inches (11 centimeters) of rain had already fallen on parts of southwestern New Brunswick.

Late Saturday morning, Nova Scotia Power said 113,000 of its customers were without power. The utility in New Brunswick reported almost 100,000 outages by mid-afternoon. It warned some residents they could be without power for up to 48 hours because of widespread damage caused by the storm. Police in Saint John, New Brunswick, said some local roads were closed because they were covered by flood water.

The storm also caused flight cancellations and delays at the region’s largest airport in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Prince Edward Island said a number of electrical poles had been knocked down by the storm and roads were blocked by downed trees.

The Canadian Hurricane Center said the storm would end in the Maritimes overnight and then track northeast through the Gulf of St. Lawrence toward Newfoundland on Sunday.

In the United States, North Carolina’s popular beach towns began returning to the business of recreation Saturday, after Arthur struck the state’s coast with forceful winds and heavy rain and then went northward without leaving a trail of significant damage. 

New England was largely spared from damage caused by the storm, but some 19,000 people in Maine and 1,600 in Vermont were without power after high winds and heavy rains pounded the region. There were reports of regional flooding in coastal areas of Massachusetts and the Nova Star Ferry delayed service Friday and Saturday morning because of dangerous seas. No injuries or deaths have been reported.

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1.What is the track of Hurricane Arthur according to the passage? North Carolina=NC; Nova Scotia=NS; Gulf of St. Lawrence=GL; Newfoundland=NF; New Brunswick=NB

A NC→ NS→ GL→ NF→ NB

B NC→ NB→ NS→ GL→ NF

C NS→ NC→ NB→ NF→ GL

D NC→ NS→ NB→ GL→ NF

解析：选D。D. 细节理解题。整合全文信息可知，飓风“阿瑟”首先袭击了美国的北卡莱罗纳州之后，进入加拿大的新斯科舍省，继而袭击了新布伦斯维克省，然后穿越劳伦斯海峡，北上纽芬兰。故选D。

2.In what way did Aurther affect Canada? （1）power outage （2）ferry service delays （3）flight canellations and delays （4）water outage （5）dangerous seas （6）closed roads

A （1） （2） （4） （6）

B （1） （3）（4） （6）

C （1） （2） （3） （5）

D （2） （4） （5） （6）

解析：选B。B. 细节理解题。根据文章二、三段可知，飓风“阿瑟”袭击加拿大东方沿海各省，造成停电、停水、航班延误、道路关闭， 给人们的生活带来了很多不便。

3.What do we know from the passage?

A The recreation business in North Carolina was not affected.

B Water was cut off in Nova Scotia during the storm.

C Arthur would leave the coastal areas on Sunday.

D There was great damage caused by the hurricane.

解析：选C。C. 推理判断题。根据文章第五段The Canadian Hurricane Center said the storm would end in the Maritimes overnight…可以判断，飓风“阿瑟”周日将由加拿大滨海地区北上，即沿海各省周日将结束飓风天气。

4.Why did Nova Star Ferry delay its service?

A The sea had high waves.

B It was raining heavily.

C There were floods in this area.

D The power was cut off.

解析：选A。A. 推理判断题。根据最后一段的because of dangerous seas，结合飓风天气可知，海上风大浪高，是极不利于渡轮航行的。

5.What can be the best title of the passage?

A Hurricane Arthur Causes Damage in North America

B Hurricane Arthur Attacks Estern Canada

C Black Saturday in Coastal Provinces

D Climate Change Causes More Hurricanes

解析：选B。B. 主旨大意题。通读全文可知，文章的主要内容是飓风“阿瑟”袭击加拿大东部沿海各省，造成停电、停水、航班延误等。故选 B。