Read the passage and answer the multiple choice questions that follow.
The Aircraft Carrier
There are some good days on the aircraft carrier. On those days everything is going right, the planes are taking off every few seconds and on those days the carrier sings. It is like a ballet with the roar of the engines providing the soundtrack and the landing signal officer, or paddle as we call them, directing the precise graceful movement of the fighter jets approaching and departing.
There are, however, bad days as well. Those days can best be described as days of discord. These are the days in which things get messed up on the flight deck and the planes can’t take off or we’re not able to bring the aircraft up from the hangar deck or the elevators are malfunctioning or this or that and no one can figure out the exact reason why all this is happening. It is on days like these that my blood pressure goes sky high but I must keep calm because I am ultimately responsible for the well- being of everyone on board and the mission being accomplished.
If I was to accurately describe what an aircraft carrier is, it would be best to describe her as being a multitude of things instead of just one thing. To begin with, she is in a category of her own beyond the realm any other vessel that has ever existed. Through literature we have become familiar with Phoenician galleys, the ancient Greek trireme, the Spanish galleons, square- riggers, clippers, side-wheelers, liners and battleships. But the aircraft carrier is something very different firstly because of her immense size. But beyond this, it is the reach that she has since it goes hundreds of miles beyond the actual vessel itself. There is also, the realm that the aircraft carrier governs and it is not only the sea but the air as well. Clouds and atmospheric conditions are just as important to her as are ocean currents and depth. In a way, an aircraft carrier is almost four dimensional, being both a bird and battleship.
This aircraft carrier is from the United States and in many ways it is like a piece of the American mainland that has become detached from it and is now at sea. It has been said that islands cannot float but in many ways this carrier is an island that can float and not only that, but move around at a speed of thirty knots. Everything on the carrier is a part of the United States. The lumber is from Minnesota, Washington and Michigan. The copper used comes from Montana and the steel from Pennsylvania. As regards the crew, they are from all over the country so one could say almost each state is represented on this carrier.
Exactly what our engagement with the enemy will be is largely unknown. It may in the form of an ambush before we do anything on our part. This is a real possibility but it is something we can only know if we are able to tap into the enemy’s intelligence. What we do know is that our intent is to go deep into the enemy’s front yard. This had been told to us the second day we set out.
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