Passage 4
Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage.ª¥
The pollution of Hong Kong¡¯s beaches by oil from a damaged tanker last year recalls a similar incident which took place in Britain in 1967 when the Torrey Canyon,a huge oil tanker,split in two and caused disaster in coastal areas.Shoals of fishes were killed,sea birds hopelessly fouled with oil and coastal holiday resorts put out of business for several weeks. As a result of this particular incident scientists are becoming restless at the thought of Britain¡¯s inability to cope with national disasters on a large scale.The reason for their concern is that technology is rapidly outstripping(³¬Ô½)man¡¯s ability to control it.ª¥
Oil tankers,for instance,have been allowed to get bigger and bigger without sufficient thought being given to emergency
braking and manoeuvring arrangement.Collisions at sea continue,but little effect has been made to develop safety devices as effective as those used for aircraft.ª¥
Scientists were outspoken in expressing their concern during a recent meeting of the British Association.Unanimous approval was voiced when the leading speaker urged that a permanent national rescue services should be established,equipped for any emergency and ready to move off immediately.ª¥Of all the possible disasters mentioned,the one promoting most discussion was a major release of radioactivity from a nuclear power station.One does not need a particularly vivid imagination to visualize the other possibilities discussed.What would be the effect of a jumbo-jet crashing on a large chemical plant handling destroying liquids?Could the tapping of natural gas
lead to any form of collapse?Suppose a lorry full of a highly poisonous chemical crashed unseen into a large reservoir?Dams
can burst,abnormal conditions can lead to massive electrical blackouts.ª¥
An intensive study of such possibilities could at least reduce the effects of future disasters.For example,it would mean that a number of technical alternatives
(such as the choice between detergent or chalk for dispersing oil) could be examined and tested in advance so that specially trained expert would know exactly what action was needed in a given emergency.ª¤
36.The main idea of the second paragraph is that ____.ª¤
A)safety precautions in aircraft are not as effective as those used on shipsª¤
B)modern oil tankers can stop or turn easily in spite of their sizeª¤
C)there are now fewer collisions at sea because of modern safety devicesª¤
D)oil tankers are so big that special devices are neededª¤

37.The idea of a permanent national rescue service was welcomed by ____
of those present at the meeting of the British Association.ª¤
A)all B)the most outspoken C)some D)mostª¤

38.In the fourth paragraph the writer states that ____ .ª¤
A)on one occasion radioactivity escaped from a nuclear power stationª¤
B)an areoplane carrying destroying liquids might crash into chemical plantª¤
C)a lorry once crashed into a reservoirª¤
D)a terrible accident could happen in a nuclear power stationª¤

39.The main idea of the final paragraph is that ____.ª¤
A)in an emergency all the technical alternations should be studiedª¤
B)experts should be specially trained to determine the exact difference bet
ween detergent and chalkª¤
C)we ought to decide what measures to take before a disaster occursª¤
D)technical experts should be examined and tested to see whether they are c
apable of selecting the right course of action in a future emergencyª¤

40.Of the following suggested titles the one most accurately summing up the
passage is ____ .ª¤
A)The Dangers of Modern Technology
B)The Problem of Oil Pollutionª¤
C)Some Interesting Accidents
D)A Meeting of the British Associationª¤ª¤