A massive container ship got stuck in the Suez Canal and blocked all traffic in the important waterway for more than a day. The Suez Canal Authority said the 400-meter-long ship, called Ever Given, got stuck on Tuesday morning after facing high winds and a dust storm. Experts said that had never happened before in the canal’s 150-year history. By mid-afternoon on Wednesday, Reuters reported that officials were still working to free the ship. The news agency got the information from GAC, a Dubai-based shipping services company.
Pictures published on social media appeared to show the ship positioned across the full width of the canal. Others from the canal authority showed digging equipment on the shore removing dirt and rock that blocked the ship’s path.
The Panama-registered ship transports goods between Asia and Europe. Evergreen Marine Corporation is a major Taiwan-based shipping company that operates the ship. It said in a statement that Ever Given had been hit by strong winds as it entered the canal from the Red Sea, but none of its containers had sunk.
The Suez Canal connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. About 30 percent of the world’s container ship traffic passes through the waterway each day. GAC said in a message on its website that shipping traffic was expected to restart as soon as Ever Given can be moved to another position. About 30 ships waited at Egypt’s Great Bitter Lake midway on the canal. In addition, about 40 waited in the Mediterranean near Port Said, while another 30 were stopped at Suez on the Red Sea.
Among the ships were at least seven carrying around 5 million barrels of crude oil, financial data company Refinitiv said. The company that manages the ship, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, said it is investigating the incident. It added that all 20 crew members were safe and it had “no reports of injuries or pollution”. The company also said the ship never lost power.
本时文内容由奇速英语国际教育研究院原创编写，未经书面授权，禁止复制和任何商业用途，版权所有，侵权必究！（作者投稿及时文阅读定制请联系微信：18980471698）
1.Why did the ship Ever Given get stuck in the Suez Canal?
A Because it was hit by strong winds.
B Because it avoided hitting the coming ship.
C Because the captain gave wrong instructions.
D Because it wrongly changed the direction.
解析：选A。细节理解题。根据文章第一段The Suez Canal Authority said the 400-meter-long ship, called Ever Given, got stuck Tuesday morning after facing high winds and a dust storm.以及第三段It said in a statement that Ever Given had been hit by strong winds可知，长赐号Ever Given搁浅是因为遭遇了强风袭击，故选A。
2.What did the canal authority do to handle the accident?
A They transferred containers to other ships.
B They brought in the digging equipment.
C They supplied the ship with fuel and food.
D They pulled the cargo ship behind another ship.
解析：选B。推理判断题。根据文章第二段Others from the canal authority showed digging equipment on the shore removing dirt and rock that blocked the ship’s path.可知，运河管理局的其他人展示了岸上的挖掘设备，用于清除阻塞船只路径的泥土和岩石，由此推断他们是调来了挖掘设备来处理此次事故，故选B。
3.What can we learn about the ship in trouble?
A It transports goods from Asia to Europe by mistake.
B It belongs to a major Taiwan-based shipping company.
C It has little knowledge of the condition of the Suez Canal.
D It didn’t make an accurate judgment of the weather change.
解析：选B。细节理解题。根据文章第三段Evergreen Marine Corporation is a major Taiwan-based shipping company that operates the ship. 可知，长荣海运公司是一家主要的台湾航运公司，经营这艘船。故选B。
4.What is the direct consequence of the accident?
A Some of the containers sunk.
B Several crew members were injured.
C The local water area was polluted.
D Shipping was temporarily blocked in Suez Canal.
解析：选D。细节理解题。根据文章第一段A massive container ship got stuck in the Suez Canal and blocked all traffic in the important waterway for more than a day.可知，这艘大型集装箱船被困在苏伊士运河，封锁了这条重要水道一天多的交通，直接影响航运。故选D。
