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Task 2. Last of the airships.
At 7:20 pm on May 6th 1937, the world's largest airship, the Hindenburg, floated majestically over Lakehurst airport, New Jersey, after an uneventful crossing from Frankfurt, Germany.
There were 97 people on board for the first Atlantic crossing of the season.
There were a number of journalists waiting to greet it.
Suddenly radio listeners heard the commentator screaming,
Oh, my god, it's broken into flames. It's flashing, flashing. It's flashing terribly.
32 seconds later, the airship had disintegrated and 35 people were dead. The age of the airship was over.
The Hindenburg was the last in a series of airship which had been developed over 40 years in both Europe and the United States.
They were designed to carry passengers and cargo over long distances.
The hindenburg could carry 50 passengers accommodated in 25 luxury cabins with all the amenities of a first class hotel.
All the cabins had hot and cold water and electric heating.
There was a dining-room, a bar and a lounge with a dance floor and a baby ground piano.
The Hindenburg had been built to compete with the great luxury transatlantic liners.
It was 245 metres long with a diameter of 41 meters. It could cruise at a speed of 125 km per hour, and was able to cross Atlantic in less than half the time of a liner.
By 1937, it had carried 1000 passengers safely and had even transported circus animals and cars.
vi. 竞争，对抗，比赛
