A very rapid increase in the number of ships between American and European ports began almost immediately after the end of the W

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问题    A very rapid increase in the number of ships between American and European ports began almost immediately after the end of the War of 1812 in order to meet the new need for the regular rapid transportation of mail, light cargo, and passengers. It was the increase in emigration to America that for the first time made the carrying of passengers across the Atlantic more profitable than the transportation of heavy cargo. A new type of sailing, the packet (邮船), appeared to meet this new demand, and the extent of the demand very soon resulted in strong competition among several packet lines. The earliest of these was the Black Ball Line established in New York in 1816, only a year after the end of the war. The scheduled service of this famous line started with four of the new fast packets each of 400 to 500 tons: the Pacific, the Amity, the James Cooper, and the William Thompson. During the first twenty years of service, the average time from New York to Liverpool was 23 days and the average trip back to New York took 40 days. By the middle of the century, packets had increased in size to between 900 and 1,000 tons and their speed had increased. The Red Jackel once sailed from New York to Liverpool in 13 days, 11.5 hours. The Mary Whiteridge took 4.5 hours off this record on a run from Baltimore to Liverpool. Such speeds were far greater than the average of from 19 to 21 days to Liverpool and from 30 to 35 homeward to New York, but the packets had still set a new standard for transoceanic travel. No wonder that steamships, the first of which tried to compete with the packets in 1838, only began to replace them in the 1850s.

选项 A、Liverpool to New York
B、New York to Liverpool
C、Baltimore to Liverpool
D、Liverpool to Baltimore

答案C

解析 题目问作者提到的最快捷的跨越大西洋航线是哪条。文章后半部分提到在最初四条航线的激烈竞争中,The Red Jackel从纽约至利物浦只需13天零11个半小时,而 The Mary Whiteridge从巴尔的摩至利物浦所需的时间比这个时间还少4个小时,即 13天零7个小时,且这个速度远远超过了当时的平均速度。所以答案为C。
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