Schedules,asthe21stcenturypeopleknow,simplydidnotexistinthe17thand18thcenturies.Weareupsetifaplanearrivesanhourlate.Ourancestorsweren’tupsetifanAprilshipdidn’tshowupuntilJune.TheybegantoworryinJul

　　Schedules,asthe21stcenturypeopleknow,simplydidnotexistinthe17thand18thcenturies.Weareupsetifaplanearrivesanhourlate.Ourancestorsweren’tupsetifanAprilshipdidn’tshowupuntilJune.TheybegantoworryinJulyandwereoftenhappywhenitshowedupinAugust.Whenalong-distanceshipfinallydidgettotheport,thewholecitybecamebusyandexcited.Businessmenhurrieddowntocheckthegoodstheyhadordered.Theshipwouldprobablystayinportforatleastthreedays,oftenaweek,totakeonbusinessmen,givethesailorsarest,findoutaboutthelatestnews,weatherconditions,andsoon.

　　Traveltimecouldonlybeapproximate.Oneneverknewwhenthewindswouldbegood.Soeventhough“averagesailingtime”wasgiven,timecouldchangeconsiderably,shorteningthevoyagebyupto25%orputtingitoffbyupto500%ormore!TheaveragerunfromEnglandtoBostonwasaboutamonthandahalf,buttherewerealsovoyagesofthreemonths.Onevoyagein1640lastedsixmonths!

　　Traveltimeisnotthesameinbothdirections,duetothewindsandcurrents.ThisisespeciallytrueintheCaribbean,wherewindsarefromthesoutheasttheentireyear.ShipssailingwestacrosstheAtlanticspendlongerthanshipssailingeast,andthecontrarywindscanpreventashipfromactuallymakingittotheharborevenifitgetsclose.OneshipwasheldofftheNorthCarolinacoastfor17daysbeforebeingabletoland!

　　1.Whatcanwelearnfromthefirstparagraph?

　　A.Nosailorwasallowedtohavefunwhentheshipreachedland.

　　B.Peopleinancienttimesdidn’tcareaboutotherpeople’ssafety.

　　C.Theshipwouldleaveforavoyagewhenallofthepreparationsweremade.

　　D.Along-distanceshipwouldcreatealotofexcitementintheplacewhereitlanded.

　　2.Accordingtothepassage,traveltimecan’tbefixeddueto___________.

　　A.thepeopleattheport B.averagesailingtime

　　C.thechangeableclimate D.thebusinessmenandthesailors

　　3.Theunderlinedword“currents”inthethirdparagraphmeans__________.

　　A.the