Question

The story of the Mary Celeste is a very famous unsolved mystery. The story is about a sailing ship called the Mary Celeste and the strange disappearance of all the people on board the ship.

The ship sailed from New York on 7th November, 1872, for the port of Genoa in Italy. It was carrying a cargo (货物) of 1,700 barrels of American alcohol which was worth 35,000 dollars. There were 10 people on board the ship: the captain, Briggs, his wife, Sarah, their two-year-old daughter, and seven crewmen. Briggs had a good fame as a captain. He was also a religious man who did not drink alcohol.

The mystery begins on 15th November, 1872. The Mary Celeste was between the Azores and the coast of Portugal when it was seen by the captain of another ship, Captain Morehouse. Captain Morehouse was immediately worried because he could see that the Mary Celeste was out of control. He was also very surprised because he knew that Captain Briggs was a good sailor. There were no distress (求救) signals from the Mary Celeste and no reply when Morehouse tried to make contact, so he decided to take a small boat and climb on board the Mary Celeste. There was nobody on board!

There didn’t seem to be much wrong with the ship: it was not in danger of sinking, so there was no need for panic. However, the ship’s register and other paperwork were missing; the navigation instruments were missing; and everything on the ship, including the captain’s bed, was wet through. Another important fact is that there were no boats on board. And a strange fact is that when the cargo was finally unloaded in Genoa, nine barrels of alcohol were missing. Can we find an explanation which fits all the known facts?

Morehouse guessed that the crew must, for some reason, have thought that the boat was sinking and panicked. But why did they think it was sinking? It is possible that, as the cargo was alcohol, there might be an explosion which would cause everyone on board to panic. The crew might have climbed into the boat and tied the boat to the main ship while they checked if the ship really was sinking. Perhaps a storm broke the rope and left them all in a small boat on stormy seas.

It seems that 92 now, but I am sure that people will keep thinking of possible solutions, and the only limit to these solutions will be the human imagination!

1.Which place did the Mary Celeste leave for?

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2.What do you know about Briggs besides having a family of three people?

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3.How did Morehouse feel when he saw the Mary Celeste was out of control?

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4.Why did Morehouse guess that the crew panicked at that time?

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5.What can be filled in the blank in the last paragraph?

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6.Where do you think all the people on the ship might go? Show your possible reason(s)!

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Answer 1