单选题 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.

单选题 The fastest transatlantic voyage by a packet mentioned by the author was from ______ .

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[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。

单选题 According to the author, in which decade of the nineteenth century did a steamship first attempt to compete with transatlantic packets?

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 题目问哪个年代汽船开始试图和邮船竞争。从文章的最后一句“No wonder that steamships，the first of which tried to compete with the packets in 1838，only began to replace them in the 1850s．”看出，蒸汽机船在1838年开始试图与邮船竞争，并在 19世纪50年代开始替代邮船。1838年正值19世纪30年代，所以答案为D。

单选题 What was the name of the packet that made the fastest transatlantic run?

单选题 Which of the following was most important in the development of the fast packets?

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 题目问在邮船的发展过程中，什么起了十分重要的作用。文章的第2句话“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...”从文中看出，正是随着美国的移民人数的增加，第一次使得横渡大西洋的客运比货运更为有利可图，从而促进了快速邮船的发展。所以A是正确的。

单选题 What's the average speed from Liverpool to New York for The Mary Whiteridge?

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 题目问对于邮船The Mary Whiteridge来说，从利物浦到纽约的平均天数是多少。倒数第2、3句“The Mary Whiteridge took 4.5 hours off this record on a run 19 to 21 days to Liverpool and from 30 to 35 homeward to New York”明确告诉我们，原来的平均速度为30到35天，现在速度提高了，肯定要比35天少了，所以答案为D。