资料：AmericanAirlinesCEOtakesbla-名校题库网

资料：American Airlines CEO takes blame for maintenance errors, disrupted flights

Friday, April 11,2008

By TERRY MAXON and DAVE MICHAELS/The Dallas Morning News

American Airlines chairman and chief executive officer Gerard Arpey said Thursday that he is taking “personal responsibility” for the bad maintenance that has forced the carrier to cancel some 3,000 flights this week for aircraft inspections.

MD-80s sat on the sidelines at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on Thursday, when American Airlines canceled more than 930 flights as inspections continued. The Fort Worth-based carrier has canceled 570 flights scheduled today.

“I run the company.” Mr.Arpey told reporters at an afternoon news conference.” so if there’s any blame to be had, it is my fault, and I take full responsibility for this.”

American canceled more than 930 flights Thursday as its mechanics, quality assurance inspectors and engineers worked to ensure that the carrier’s fleet of 300 MD-80 jets would meet Federal Aviation Administration（FAA） regulations.

The Fort Worth-based carrier canceled 570 flights for today as well, and expects the disruptions to continue into the weekend, although an airline spokesman said Saturday’s cancellations should be fewer than today’s.

On Tuesday, American grounded its fleet of aging MD-80s,which have an average age of more than 18 years and include some past their 25th birthday, to redo checks of the wiring harnesses in the right wheel well of the jets-only two weeks after it had performed the same inspections.

The FAA has said in recent days that its enforcement hasn’t changed or become stricter. But Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison said airlines have told her they’ve noticed difference.

“The standard is now being very, very rigidly enforced and leeway is being taken away.”Ms,Hutchison said.“I can’t say if it’s food or bad. But I know that it’s changed.”

Today, the U.S. has five to eight aviation fatalities per 100 million people who fly each year; during the mid-1990s,it was about 45 deaths per 100 million people flown.

The FAA and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison seem to disagree on ______.

A.the usefulness of the FAA regulations for airlines
B.whether the FAA standard is being taken away
C.whether FAA is enforcing its regulations too strictly
D.the total number of flights American Airlines

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答案： C

本题解析：

本题考查细节理解。

【关键词】The FAA and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison; seem to disagree on

【主题句】

倒数第三段The FAA has said in recent days that its enforcement hasn’t changed or become stricter. But Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison said airlines have told her they’ve noticed difference. 美国联邦航空局近日表示，它的执法并没有改变或变得更严格。但是，参议员Kay Bailey Hutchison表示，航空公司已经告诉她他们已经注意到了差异。

倒数第二段“The standard is now being very, very rigidly enforced and leeway is being taken away.” Ms,Hutchison said.“I can’t say if it’s good or bad. But I know that it’s changed.” “这个标准现在正在被严格执行，回旋余地正在被剥夺。”Hutchison女士说，“我不能说它是好还是坏，但我知道它已经改变了。”

【解析】题目意为“FAA和参议员Kay Bailey Hutchison在_______上意见不一致。”选项A意为“FAA法规对航空公司的有用性”；选项B意为“FAA标准是否被停用”；选项C意为“FAA是否过于严格执行其规定”；选项D意为“美国航空的航班总数”。根据主题句，两方主要是对于执法过于严厉上存在分歧，因此选项C与题意相符。