Exercise r3.

Read the text and choose the right answers to questions below.

On December 4, 1872, the brigantine Mary Celeste, carrying 1,700 barrels of crude alcohol en route from New York to Genoa, was found abandoned and drifting in the Atlantic Ocean between the Azores and Portugal. The crew of the Dei Gratia, the cargo ship that found the Mary Celeste, inspected her carefully and then sailed her to Gibraltar to collect the large salvage reward. Their report given at the inquiry suggests that the captain, his wife, his young daughter, and the seven-man crew had deserted the ship in a great hurry. The captain’s bed was unmade, something unheard of in a well-run ship, which the Mary Celeste was known to be. The oilskin boots and pipes belonging to the crew had also been left, although the chronometer, sextant, and lifeboat were missing. The arrangement of the sails also suggested sudden abandonment. The cargo was intact, although some barrels had leaked and two of the hatches were not in place.

Several theories have been propounded to explain why those aboard left a perfectly seaworthy vessel to risk their lives in an open boat. It has been suggested that they were the victims of alien abduction or sea-monster attacks. Such outlandish notions are hardly credible. The idea that the ship was a victim of piracy can also be discounted, since the cargo and other valuables were untouched. Likewise, mutiny does not seem plausible, since the captain and first officer were known to be fair and experienced, the voyage was relatively short, and mutineers would probably have taken over the ship, not forsaken it.

A possible explanation is that some event made the captain fear for the safety of the ship. In fact, recently studied seismic records indicate that a violent earthquake, whose epicenter was on the seafloor in the region where the Mary Celeste was sailing, occurred some days before the ship’s discovery. If the ship had been subjected to intense shocks caused by the quake, all aboard may have hastily abandoned ship to avoid what they imagined might be its imminent destruction from an explosion of the combustible cargo. A severed rope found dangling from the side of the Mary Celeste suggests that the evacuees trailed behind in the lifeboat, attached to the ship, waiting for the crisis to pass. Great waves may then have snapped the rope and capsized the smaller boat, whose occupants would have disappeared without a trace.

Question 1

Which of the following is the main topic of paragraph 1?

1. The finding of the Mary Celeste

1. The salvaging of the Mary Celeste

2. The abandonment of Mary Celeste

3. The fate of the Mary Celeste

Question 2

What does the author mean by outlandish notions?

1. It is odd that the mutineers would also abandon ship.

1. It is strange for a pirate not to take the cargo of a ship.

2. Mutinies do not occur when captains are fair and experienced.

3. Alien abductions and sea-monster attacks are unlikely explanations.

Question 3

What can be understood about the theories the author of the passage presents in paragraph 3?

(A) Some were validated by the facts presented in the inquiry.

2. None explain the mystery satisfactorily.

3. None take into account the Dei Gratia’s part in the mystery.

4. Some are convincing, considering the outcome.

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