A
Eddie McKay, a once-forgotten pilot, is a subject of great interest toa group of history students inCanada.
It all started when GrahamBroad, a professor at the University of Western Ontario, foundMcKay’s name in a footnote in a book about university history. McKay wasincluded in a list of university alumni （校友） who had served duringthe First World War,but his name was unfamiliar to Broad, a specialist in military history. Out ofcuriosity, Broad spent hours at the local archives （档案馆） in a fruitless search forinformation on McKay. Tired and discouraged, he finally gave up. On his wayout, Broad’s glance happened to fall on an exhibiting case showing some oldnewspapers. His eye was drawn to an old picture of a young man in a rugbyuniform. As he read the words beside the picture,he experienced a thrilling realization. “After looking for him all day, therehe was, staring up at me out of the exhibiting case,” said Broad. Excited bythe find, Broad asked his students to continue his search. They combed oldnewspapers and other materials for clues.Gradually, a picture came into view.
CaptainAlfred Edwin McKay joined the British Royal Flying Corps in 1916. He downed tenenemy planes, outlived his entire squadron （中队） as a WWI flyer, spentsome time as a flying instructor in England, then returned to the front, wherehe was ually shot down over Belgium and killed in December 1917. Butthere’s more to his story. “For a brief time in 1916 he was probably the mostfamous pilot in the world,” says Broad. “He was credited with downing OswaldBoelcke, the most famous German pilot at the time.” Yet, in a letter home,McKay refused to take credit, saying that Boelcke had actually crashed intoanother German plane.
McKay’s war records weredestroyed during a World War II air bombing on London — anexplanation for why he was all but forgotten.
Butnow, thanks to the efforts of Broad and his students, a marker in McKay’s memorywas placed on the university grounds in November 2007. “I found my eyes fillingwith tears as I read the word ‘deceased’ （阵亡）next to his name,” said Corey Everrett, a student who found a picture of Mckayin his uniform. “This was such a example of the fact that he had been astudent just like us, but instead of finishing his time at Western, he chose tofight and die for his country.”
56.What made Professor Broad continue his search formore information on McKay?
A. A uniform. ofMcKay. B. Afootnote about McKay.
C. A bookon McKay. D. A picture ofMcKay.
57.What didthe students find out about McKay?
A. He trained pilots forsome time.
B. Helived longer than other pilots.
C. He died in the Second World War.
D. He was downed by thepilot Boelcke.
58.McKay’s flying documents were destroyed in.
A.Belgium B.Germany C. Canada D.England
59.We canlearn from the last paragraph that McKay.
A. preferred fight to hisstudy
B. went to war beforegraduation
C. left a picture for Corey Everrett
D. setan example for his fellow students
60.Whatis the text mainly about?
A. The researchinto war history.
B. The findingof a forgotten hero.
C. The pilotsof the two world wars.
D. Theimportance of military studies.
