B

JIANLI, Hubei Province, June 2 (Xinhua) — A cruise ship carrying more than 450 people sank in the Yangtze River overnight, which could be China’s worst sinking disaster in decades. As of 6 p.m. Tuesday, 14 people had been rescued from the capsized vessel, with five others confirmed dead. The rest are still missing, although rescuers said there could be more survivors. Strong winds and heavy rain are hampering rescue efforts.

The Eastern Star sank in only 15 meters of water “within one or two minutes” of being caught in freak weather in Jianli, according to the ship’s captain and chief engineer who survived the incident. The ship left the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing on May 28 bound for Chongqing Municipality.

The ship was carrying 403 passengers, five tour guides, and 46 crew, rather than the previously reported 47. Most passengers were tourists from Shanghai and its neighboring province of Jiangsu, aged between 3 and 83, with most in their 60s and 70s.

The 76.5-meter-long and 11-meter-wide vessel has been in service for nearly 20 years and can carry up to 534 people. It is owned by Chongqing Dongfang Shipping. Waterway officials said they have no record of the company being involved in any previous sinking incidents.

According to weather forecast, most of the Yangtze basin will be subject to downpours over the next 10 days, with heavy rain expected in the area where the search is underway.

Police, waterway authorities and fire departments have sent more than 150 boats and over 4,000 personnel to the scene. The Chinese Navy has sent diving forces to search for the missing. The team is composed of soldiers from the navy’s fleets in the North Sea, East China Sea, and South China Sea, as well as students of the Naval University of Engineering. In addition, five helicopters were dispatched from Beijing and Hubei’s provincial capital of Wuhan on Tuesday morning, along with an IL-76 transport plane.

24. We can infer from the text that ________.

A. the incident was very sudden

B. the weather benefited the rescue

C. the ship had bad safety records

D. the ship’s captain was drowned

25. Which of the following statements is TRUE about the Eastern Star?

A. It was overloaded.

B. It’s been launched recently.

C. It had 454 people on board.

D. Its owner met similar incidents.

26. What’s the main idea of the last paragraph?

A. How people came to the rescue.

B. Why the rescue was quite difficult.

C. What the rescue force consisted of.

D. How the rescue operation went on.

27. The author’s purpose of writing the text is most likely to ________.

A. inform                    B. explain

C. describe                    D. entertain