2017年05月宅急通vol250

May 20th, 2017

Fly the Unfriendly Skies? 翱翔在不友善的天空？‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥p. 1

Fly the Unfriendly Skies?

by Jason Grenier, special correspondent When Dr. David Dao boarded the United Airlines flight, he never imagined he’d be violently assaulted and dragged off the plane before it even left the ground. But that’s exactly what happened when the flight crew asked four passengers to give up their seats so that United Airlines staff could fly to another airport. Three passengers agreed in exchange for cash. Dr. Dao was chosen at random to be the fourth. After he refused several times, he was grabbed by airport security personnel and removed from the plane against his will.

Millions of people viewed the shocking video of the incident, filmed by other passengers on smartphones and uploaded to the Internet. Dr. Dao’s limp body was pulled down the aisle toward the cabin door, as passengers scolded the police. Dao’s eyes were closed and his glasses appeared broken.

Blood dripped from his lip.

United Airlines has been left scrambling to contain the damage to its reputation. Initially, the company’s CEO made a blunder by defending the airline’s actions. Not until public opinion against United Airlines mounted did the CEO apologize and promise that such things would never happen again.

The viral video led to widespread public outrage because United Airlines would dare to treat a paying passenger like a criminal. Many travelers are boycotting the airline, choosing to fly with other carriers instead. Ironically, “Fly the Friendly Skies” is the airline’s advertising slogan.

The incident has sparked discussions about passengers’ rights and airline business practices. Some say the so-called “fine print” containing the contract terms of a ticket gave United Airlines the right to ask the police to remove Dr. Dao for being uncooperative. But most people feel the doctor’s civil rights are seriously violated, and he should sue United Airlines for millions of dollars. In the end, Dr. Dao has reached a settlement with the airline for an undisclosed amount.

Airlines often overbook flights, which means they sell more tickets than the actual number of seats on the plane. They do this on the chance some passengers won’t show up for their flights. By filling

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what would otherwise be empty seats with paying passengers, the airlines earn more money. Essentially, they get to sell the same seat twice. Problems arise when all the passengers do show up, but the flight has already been overbooked. In these situations, airlines routinely ask passengers to volunteer to be “bumped” from the flight. Usually, customers are given money as compensation for agreeing to give up their seats.

(

) 1. What is the main idea of this passage?

(A) The airlines could sell the same seats twice to earn more money.

(B) United Airlines tried hard to repair its reputation because it had caused public outrage.

(C) Airport security personnel could remove uncooperative passengers from planes.

(D) The advertising slogan of United Airlines is “Fly the Friendly Skies.”

(

) 2. According to the passage, why Dr. David Dao was asked to give up his seat?

(A) He was chosen at random.

(C) He was being uncooperative.

(

(B) He volunteered for it.

(D) He felt uncomfortable.

) 3. According to the passage, why did United Airlines try to contain the damage to its reputation?

(A) Because millions of people watched the video of Dr. Dao being violently assaulted.

(B) Because millions of passengers are violently assaulted on United Airlines flights every year.

(C) Because the passenger who was assaulted is a doctor.

(D) Because millions of people are compensated for agreeing to give up their seats.

(

) 4. According to the passage, what blunder did the United Airlines CEO make?

(A) He initially offered Dr. Dao money to keep silent about the incident.

(B) He promised to sue Dr. Dao for millions of dollars.

(C) He apologized and promised to make changes.

(D) He initially defending the airline’s actions.

(

) 5. The word “mount” in the third paragraph is closest in meaning to “_______.”

(A) contain

(B) attack

(C) increase

(D) organize

1. unfriendly  adj. 不友善的，有敵意的 David is so unfriendly that all his classmates really dislike him.

2. violently [] adv. 暴力地 It was reported that some people have been violently attacked in the train station.

3. drag [] vt. 拖，拉 The police caught the thief red-handed stealing money and dragged him into the police station.

4. give up [] phr. 放棄 We will find a solution to the problem somehow. Don’t give up.

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5. at random [] phr. 隨機地 No one can predict who will win the free plane tickets to Japan because the winner’s name will be drawn at random.

6. remove  vt. 移開 Justin helped his mother remove the plates and bowls from the dining table after dinner.

7. shocking  adj. 令人震驚的，令人驚訝的 It is not shocking that most parents have communication problems with their teenage children.

8. limp  adj. 無力的，無精神的 The old man’s feet suddenly went limp, and he fell down the stairs.

9. drip [] vi. 滴下，滴落 Some guests were upset to see that rainwater was dripping from the ceiling of the hotel rooms.

10. scramble [] vt. 緊急處理 The car company was scrambling to solve its financial crisis during the recession.

11. defend [] vt. 為…辯護、辯解 The mayor made a proclamation in the press conference to defend himself against the rumors that he had accepted bribes.

12. dare [] vi. 膽敢，敢於 Frank is very shy. He doesn’t dare to ask Amber out.

13. carrier [] n. [C] 運輸公司 The pilot works for an international carrier, which offers services to 180 destinations in 50 countries.

14. ironically  adv. 諷刺地，反諷地 Ironically, the tennis player was beaten by the competitor she had looked down on the most.

15. terms [] n. pl. 條約，條款 These new employees have agreed the terms of the employment contract.

16. uncooperative [] adj. 不合作的 The police claimed the two suspects for the robbery have been uncooperative. They refused to reveal the whereabouts of the jewelry.

17. undisclosed  adj. 未公開的 The compensation for injuries at work gave the car mechanic an undisclosed amount.

18. overbook [] vt. 超額預訂 We had nowhere to stay because the hotel was overbooked.

19. essentially adv. 本質上，根本上 Taiwan’s low birth rate has remained essentially unchanged.

20. routinely  adv. 例行地，慣例地 Before leaving the factory, the machines are routinely tested for electrical safety.

21. bump [] vt. 把(某人)調換到…

The airline would bump six passengers off flights because the flight had been overbooked.

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22. compensation [] n. [U] 賠償金，補償金 These flood victims demanded financial compensation from the government for damages and losses.

1. David Dao n. 陶大衛 越裔美籍人，日前他被強行拖下聯合航空 3411 航班的事件引起社會各界的廣泛關注。 2. United Airlines n. 聯合航空 成立於 1926 年，是美國一家大型航空公司，簡稱聯航。 3.

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6.

7.

flight crew n. 機組人員 airport security personnel n. 機場保全人員 cabin door n. 艙門 viral video n. 網路爆紅影片 fine print n. 小字印刷

8. civil rights n. 公民權

翱翔在不友善的天空？ 當登上聯合航空的班機時，陶大衛醫生完全沒料到在班機起飛前，他會遭受到暴力攻擊、被 拖下飛機。但當機組人員要求四位乘客讓出機位，好讓聯航員工能飛抵另一座機場時，這起事件 便發生了。有三位乘客同意放棄機位以交換現金。陶醫生是被隨機選中的第四人。在他數度拒絕 後，機場保全人員硬是違背其意願將他拖下飛機。 數百萬人看到這起事件的驚人影片，這是其他乘客用智慧型手機拍下後上傳到網路。陶醫生 全身無力地被拖過走道往艙門方向而去，乘客則責罵航警。陶醫生雙眼緊閉，眼鏡明顯碎裂。鮮 血從他唇間滴下。 聯合航空急忙搶救受損商譽。公司的執行長先是捍衛航空公司作為，鑄成大錯。直到社會大 眾對聯航的不滿情緒升高，該執行長才道歉並承諾不會再發生這樣的情況。 這則網路爆紅影片導致眾怒難平，因為聯航竟敢將付費乘客當成罪犯一般對待。許多旅客開 始杯葛這家航空公司，改搭其他航空。諷刺的是，「翱翔在友善天空」是該航空公司的廣告口號。 這個事件引發大家對乘客權益和航空公司商業慣例的討論。有人說所謂的「小字印刷」內有 機票合約條款賦予了聯航權利，可因陶醫生不合作而要求航警拉他下機。但大部分人覺得這位醫 生的公民權受到嚴重侵犯，他應該向聯航提告求償數百萬美元。最後，陶醫生跟該航空公司達成 和解，但賠償金額保密。 航空公司經常接受班機超額訂位，意味他們賣出的機票多於飛機上實際的座位數。這樣做是 基於可能有部分的乘客不會準時出現。把原將空置的座位填進付費旅客，航空公司能賺更多錢。 實質上，是同一個位子賣兩次。當所有乘客都現身，機位卻超賣時，問題就來了。遇到這種情況， 航空公司會徵求乘客自願下機。通常，顧客會因為同意放棄機位而獲得金錢補償。 閱讀測驗解答：1. B

2. A

3. A 4. D 5. C

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