Lesson 91     Three men in a basket

A pilot noticed a balloon which seemed to be making for a Royal Air Force Station nearby. He informed the station at once, but no one there was able to explain the mystery. The officer in the control tower was very angry when he heard the news, because balloons can be a great danger to aircraft. He said that someone might be spying on the station and the pilot was ordered to keep track of the strange object. The pilot managed to circle the balloon for some time. He could make out three men in a basket under it and one of them was holding a pair of binoculars. When the balloon was over the station, the pilot saw one of the men taking photographs. Soon afterwards, the balloon began to descend and it landed near an airfield. The police were called in, but they could not arrest anyone, for the basket contained two Members of Parliament and the Commanding Officer of the station! As the Commanding Officer explained later, one half of the station did not know what the other half was doing!

一个飞行员发现了一只气球，它像是正飞往附近的一个皇家空军基地。他马上把情况报告了该基地，但那里的人没有一个能解释这到底是怎么回事。控制塔上的官员得知这一消息后，非常气愤，因为气球有可能给飞机造成极大的危险。他说可能有人正对基地进行侦察，因此命令那个飞行员跟踪那个奇怪的飞行物。飞行员设法绕着气球飞了一阵。他看清了气球下面有3个人呆在一只筐里，其中一个举着望远镜。当气球飞临基地上空时，飞行员看见有一个人在拍照。不久，气球开始降落，在一个停机坪附近着了陆。警察被召来了，但他们却不能逮捕任何人，因为筐里是两名国会议员和一名基地的指挥官！正如指挥官后来解释的那样，基地的这半边不知道那半边正在干什么！

Grammar

本课复习情态动词can/be able to;词组manage to do的用法。中考对于情态动词can的考查是一个重点。主要涉及can表能力、许可和猜测等，而be able to需要重点掌握其不同时态的结构。

Exercise

1. The baby will __________ walk in a few months.

A. can          B. could           C. be able to        D. is able to

2. This is the most interesting film. I have never seen such an interesting film before. (改写定语从句)

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1. 解析：本题考查can 和be able to的区别，can没有将来时态，be able to的将来时态为will be able to,故答案为C。

2. 解析：考查定语从句的改写。答案是This is the most interesting film that I have never seen before. 需要注意如果先行词是最高级，关系代词需要用that。