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  3. In a few weeks researchers will begin scouring the Florida seafloor for a 177-year-old shipwreck—and the resting place of dozens

In a few weeks researchers will begin scouring the Florida seafloor for a 177-year-old shipwreck—and the resting place of dozens

admin2014-01-07  69
问题     In a few weeks researchers will begin scouring the Florida seafloor for a 177-year-old shipwreck—and the resting place of dozens of slaves who drowned in chains. Despite its drama, the story of the Guerrero remains little-known.
    Around 7 pm on the evening of December 19th, 1827, keeper John Whalton was tending to his lightship, a sort of mobile lighthouse. He was anchored a few miles off Key Largo when, he said later, "I saw the flash and heard the report of seven or eight guns."
    Whalton was about to witness the tragic ending of a desperate chase in the waters off what was then the US Territory of Florida. The Guerrero, with hundreds of Africans enchained in its hold and crewed by 90 Spaniards who were little more than pirates, was fleeing the Nimble, a British warship that was enforcing the international ban on slave trade.
    British officials had gotten a tip that the Guerrero was bound for Cuba, where bribed officials would look the other way while the Guerrero’s human cargo was exchanged for goods worth a fortune in Europe.
    The Nimble and the Guerrero were swapping cannon fire as they skirted much too close to the shore. As Whalton watched, both ships piled onto Carysfort Reef, one of the many reefs that lie three or four miles(about five or six kilometres)off the Florida Keys.
    The Nimble was aground but not badly damaged. The Guerrero, however, struck with such force that its masts snapped and collapsed, and the massive poles plunged into the hold where the Africans were imprisoned. The ship sank immediately in the shallow water, and some 40 captives drowned.
    The men aboard the Nimble could hear the screams from two miles(about three kilometres)away. "The cries of 561 slaves and(Guerrero’s)crew were appalling beyond description," The Niles Weekly Register, a Baltimore newspaper, later reported.
What is true about John Whalton?
选项 A、He was serving the army at the time when the tragedy happened.
B、Hardly had he seen the flash when he was notified of the condition.
C、Both the Guerrero and the Nimble were in the view of John.
D、The lightship where he was on duty anchored just a few miles from the Guerrero.
答案C
解析 定位到第3段.既然John Whalton看到the Guerrero正在努力逃离追赶它的the Nimble(如原文第3段第2句)，那么两艘船都应该在他的视线范围内。所以，正确答案是C。
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