Airships can fly because they are lighter than air, like balloons (气球).

But they also have engines (发动机), so they can fly long ways. In the 1920s and 1930s, airships carried passengers (乘客). They could fly from Europe to the U. S. in two days. That was much faster than the same trip by ship. The biggest airships had restaurants and bedrooms and carried up to 100 passengers.

The airships of that time were kind of dangerous, and many of them broke down. In 1937, a famous airship called the Hindenburg fell down near New York, and thirty-six people died. After that, passenger airships stopped flying. Planes became the most important way of carrying things and passengers because they were faster and safer.

Now a number of companies around the world are making airships again. They are much safer than the airships of the 1920s and 1930s. They are not for passengers, and they only carry things.

There are four main good points of airships:

(1)They don’t need airports. They can land in places where planes can’t.

(2)They can carry much more things than helicopters (直升飞机) can.

(3)They use much less fuel than planes and helicopter, so they are better for the environment.

(4)They can stay in the air for a long time, so they are good for the scientific work.

Today most things still travel on planes, ships, trains and trucks. But in the future, a lot more things could travel by airship because it is cheaper and better for the environment. Maybe there will be airships for passengers again too.

【小题1】During the 1920s and 1930s, airships ________.

A．couldn’t carry people	B．were faster than ships
C．were safer than planes	D．could only fly for short trips

【小题2】What does the underlined word “safer” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Less larger.

B．Less expensive.

C．Less dangerous.

D．Less cheaper.

【小题3】What happened after the Hindenburg broke down?

A．Airships stopped carrying passengers.	B．People built more airships similar to it.
C．People stopped flying, and only used ships.	D．Many more passenger airships also broke down.

【小题4】Which is one of the good points of airships?

A．They can fly without fuel.	B．They can take more passengers.
C．They can land in any place.	D．They are more friendly to the environment.

【小题5】What is the passage mainly about?

A．The history of airships.	B．The good points of airships.
C．The story of a famous airship.	D．The reasons why people stop using airships.