When an airplane crashes, the first thing people do is to ask, "What went wrong? "How can we keep it from happening again?" At this point someone will mention the “black box.” Actually, an airplane’s black box is orange. Because the box is bright orange to enable people to find the box after a crash. All commercial airplanes must carry the boxes, and because of this, air safety has improved.
A black box is a powerful data collection device. You may have heard of an airplane’s flight data recorder (FDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR). The cockpit is the place where the pilot sits. It is very helpful in detecting the location of any crashed aircraft during aviation accidents and incidents.
Together, these record up to 300 different kinds of information about a flight. For example, they record an airplane’s speed and altitude. Also, they record everything the pilots say to each other and over the radio. This helps people piece together just what happened in the minutes before a crash. Many people are surprised to learn that black boxes are not found up front in the cockpit. Instead, they are in the airplane’s tail.
The boxes are made of very strong materials. They are very well insulated, too. This protects the devices in two ways. It gives protection from the crash itself. And it protects against very high heat and fire. Black boxes record important information. Without them, many questions about an accident could never be answered. The information helps people understand and explain what went wrong. As a result, airplane designers can make changes so the problem will not happen again.
Choose the correct answer from a, b, c or d:
1. The “black box” on airplanes is colored orange to ………….. .
a) hide it in the airplane’s tail          b) make it easier to find
c) protect it against heat                 d) it them stronger
2. What has resulted from airplanes carrying black boxes?
a) There are now more crashes.   b) Pilots can’t talk over the radio.
c) Air safety has improved.           d) Airplanes never have accidents.
3. Why wouldn’t a black box be destroyed by most fires in a crash?
a) It is very well protected.              b) People need to study it.
c) It is in the tail, not the cockpit.   d) It is colored orange instead of black.
4. What can airplane designers do with the information gathered from black boxes?
a) To know the results of the crash    b) To know how it can record speed
c) To know why it's well insulated    d) To know the he reason behind the crash.
5. We can infer from the passage that a cockpit is …………. .  
a) in the front of the airplane           b) in the tail of the airplane
c) in the black box                        d) at the back of the airplane
6. The words "piece together" can be replaced by ………… .  
a) be safe               b) neglect              c) improve          d) understand
7. The underlined pronoun "them" refers to ……………… .
a) black boxes  b) heat and fire  c) information  d) pilot
8. Without having a black box in an airplane, ………….. .
a) the number of air crashes would be less
b) we would find ways to prevent air crashes.
c) we would realize what occurred in air crashes
d) we wouldn't find ways to prevent air crashes.