The report came to the British on May 21, 1941. The German battleship Bismarck, the most powerful warship in the world, was moving out into Atlantic Ocean. Her task：to destroy the ships carrying supplies from the United States to war-torn England.
The British had feared such a task. No warship they had could match the Bismarck in speed or in firepower. The Bismarck had eight 15 inch guns and 81 smaller guns. She could move at 30 nautical miles (海里) an hour. She was believed to be unsinkable.
However, the British had to sink her. They sent out a task force headed by their best battleship Hood to hunt down the Bismarck. On May 24, the Hood found the Bismarck.
It was a meeting that the German commander Luetjens did not want to see. his orders were to destroy the British ships that were carrying supplies, but to stay away from a fight with British warships.
The battle didn't last long. The Bismarck's first torpedo (鱼雷)hit the Hood, which went down taking all but three of her, 1,419 men with her.
But in the fight, the Bismarck was slightly damaged. Her commander decided to run for repairs to France, which had at that time been taken by the Germans. The British force followed her. However, because of the Bismarck's speed and the heavy fog, they lost sight of her.
For two days, every British ship in the Atlantic tried to find the Bismarck, but with no success. Finally, she was sighted by a plane from Ireland. Trying to slow the Bismarck down so that their ships could catch up with her, the British fired at her from the air. The Bismarck was hit.
On the morning of May 27, the last battle was fought. Four British ships fired on the Bismarck, and she was finally sunk.
1．The Bismarck sailed into the Atlantic Ocean _____.
A．to sink the Hood
B．to gain control of France
C．to cut off American supplies to Britain
D．to stop British warships reaching Germany
2．Many people believed that the Bismarck could not be defeated because she ______.
A．was fast and powerful
B．had more men on board
C．was under Luetjens' command
D．had bigger guns than other ships
3．We learn from the text on 24 May______.
A．the British won the battle against the Bismarck
B．the Bismarck won the battle against the British
C．the British gunfire damaged the Bismarck seriously
D．the Bismarck succeeded in keeping away from the British
4．Which of the following is the immediate cause of the sinking of the Bismarck?
A．The British air strikes.
B．The damage done by the Hood.
C．Gunfire from the British warships.
D．Luetjens' decision to run for France.
答案与提示：
1．C
本题考查读者对细节的理解。从文中的第一自然段的最后一句可知。
2．A
本题考查对文章的细节的理解。从文章所提供的信息“没有战船能在速度和火力上能同它相比”可以看出。
3．B
本题考查读者的归纳推理能力。根据文章中所提到的“The Misarck's first…the Bismarck was slightly damaged…However,…they lost slight of her”可以推知。
4．C
本题考查读者对细节的理解能力。文中写道：虽然飞机也开火，但最终是飞机把战船引向了它。四条战船向它开火，最终它沉没了。故直接原因是战船开火击中的。
