01 You neversee him, but they're with you every time you fly. They record where you aregoing,how fast you're traveling and whether everything on your airplane isfunctioning normally. Their ability to withstand almost any disaster makes themseem like something out of a comic book.They're known as the black box. When planes fall from the sky, as a Yemeniairliner did on its way to Comoros Islands in the India ocean June 30, 2009, theblack box is the best bet for identifying what went wrong. So when a Frenchsubmarine (潜水艇) detected the device's homing signalfive days later, the discovery marked a huge step toward determining the causeof a tragedy in which 152 passengers were killed. In 1958, Australian scientist David Warren developeda flight-memory recorder that would track basic information like altitude anddirection. That was the first mode for a black box, which became a requirementon all U.S. commercial flights by 1960. Early models often failed to withstandcrashes, however, so in 1965 the device was completely redesigned and moved tothe rear of the plane – the area least subject toimpact – from its original position in the landing wells(起落架舱). The same year, the Federal Aviation Authorityrequired that the boxes, which were never actually black, be painted orange oryellow to aid visibility. Modern airplanes have two black boxes: a voicerecorder, which tracks pilots' conversations, and a flight-data recorder, whichmonitors fuel levels, engine noises and other operating functions that helpinvestigators reconstruct the aircraft's final moments. Placed in an insulated(隔绝的) case and surrounded by a quarter-inch-thickpanels of stainless steel, the boxes can withstand massive force andtemperatures up to 2,000°F.When submerged, they're also able to emit signals from depths of 20,000 ft. Experts believe theboxes from Air France Flight 447, which crashed near Brazil on June 1,2009, arein water nearly that deep, but statistics say they're still likely to turn up.In the approximately 20 deep-sea crashes over the past 30 years, only oneplane's black boxes were never recovered. 1. Whatdoes the author say about the black box? A) It ensures the normal functioning of anairplane. B) The idea for its design comes from a comic book. C) Its ability to ward off disasters is incredible. D) It is an indispensable device on an airplane. 2. What information could be found from the black boxon the Yemeni airliner? A) Data for analyzing the cause of the crash. B) The total number of passengers on board. C) The scene of the crash and extent of the damage. D) Homing signals sent by the pilot before the crash. 3. Why was the black box redesigned in 1965? A) New materials became available by that time. B) Too much space was needed for its installation. C) The early models often got damaged in the crash. D) The early models didn't provide the needed data. 4. Why did the Federal Aviation Authority require theblack boxes be painted orange or yellow? A) To distinguish them from the colour of the plane. B) To caution people to handle them with care. C) To make them easily identifiable. D) To conform to international standards. 5. What do we know about the black boxes from AirFrance Flight 447? A) There is still a good chance of their beingrecovered. B) There is an urgent need for them to bereconstructed. C) They have stopped sending homing signals. D) They were destroyed somewhere near Brazil .