The search area for the final missing people extends downriver from the site of the shipwreck.

You Xigui, director of Hubei provincial transport department, says search teams are still working 24/7. "Some passengers remain missing after the Eastern Star was lifted from the water upright. We issued an emergency notice yesterday afternoon, gathering police patrol vessels, civilian ships and more than 260 people to search the downstream waters along the Yangtze River.  We have also set up 69 stations in the ports along the river for garrison(驻地) and searching. Now the around-the-clock search operation is underway."

A ceremony was held on the banks of the Yangtze River Sunday morning to remember those who lost their lives.

Hundreds of those who took part in the rescue operations, standing alongside the grieving relatives of the victims, observed three-minutes of silence in tribute (敬意)to the over 400 people who lost their lives last Monday.

Meanwhile, local authorities have also sped up scientific analysis to identify the bodies taken back from the sunken ship. Guo Tangyin, deputy head of the Hubei police, says teams are now matching DNA samples.

With the rescue work drawing to a close, more people are starting to wonder what caused the fatal accident. You Qinghuam, with Shanghai Maritime University, believes a relatively longer alarm response time was the major reason that only 14 people survived.

" The signal for help was not sent out this time. It takes too long to receive the message that the ship is in danger, which means the loss of much important time for search and rescue work."

He adds that as the ship overturned quickly, there was hardly time for passengers to react.

With the fact that the passengers on board were mainly seniors, it would have been difficult for these people to save themselves, given the circumstances. Investigators have not yet reached a conclusion regarding the cause of the disaster, while Chinese authorities have pledged transparency(透明) in the ongoing probe.

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1.In what way are the search teams carrying out their work?

A By searching for the missing people at the site of the shipwreck.

B By searching for the missing people day and night.

C By searching the downstream waters along the Yangtze River.

D By searching up to 69 stations along the river.

解析：选B。B。细节理解题。由第二段可知, 搜救工作是24小时不间断地进行的（B选项）。

2.What special event took place on the seventh day after the ship wrecked?

A A rescue operation.

B A three-minute silence.

C A ceremony to mourn over the deaths.

D An emergency notice.

解析：选C。C。细节理解题。由第三, 四段可知, 在遇难人员“头七”（我国传统习俗）日为死难者举行了悼念活动。

3.Police are identifying the bodies by_________.

A matching the DNA samples

B speeding up scientific analysis

C taking the bodies from the sunken ship

D showing the dead to their relatives

解析：选A。A。细节理解题。由第五段可知, 警察通过比对DNA来鉴定遇难者的身份。

4.Now more and more people want to know_________.

A the ending of the rescue work

B the alarm response time

C the circumstances of the shipwreck

D the cause of the shipwreck

解析：选D。D。推理判断题。随着打捞进入尾声，越来越多的人都想了解此次沉船的原因（D选项）。

5.What’s probably the meaning of the underlined word “probe” in the last paragraph?

A Investigation

B Difficulty

C Conclusion

D Disaster

解析：选A。A。词义猜测题。调查人员还没有找到沉船的真正原因，但中国政府承诺在‘调查’方面会保证透明。所以该词为‘调查’之意。