OPTION A — READ THE TEXT AND ANSWER QUESTIONS 1 TO 5.

TRAVEL PROBLEMS IN RECENT HISTORY

Flight delays and cancellations over the holiday weekend have left thousands of passengers stranded. It has been the fate of many Southwest passengers this week, as the airline struggled to recover from a winter storm that affected much of the United States. Thousands of Southwest flights have been delayed or canceled in recent days, and complaints on social media have portrayed the customer service response as severely deficient. Here's a look at a few other notable airline disasters that left passengers stranded and (line 5) frustrated.

In April 2.017, Delta canceled more than 3,500 flights over five days when storms hit Atlanta, creating a cascading effect as the airline struggled to provide staff and rebook passengers. Thunderstorms lasted just a few hours in Atlanta, but they created chaos across the country. The airline's offer of free pizza lifted thousands of stranded customers' moods only slightly. In June 2.021, a problem with weather data (line 10) prevented Southwest from flying safely. The next day, more technological problems, described as failures in "network connectivity," plagued the airline, forcing it to cancel or delay half of its flights. The disrupted flights continued for days while the airline recovered, coming at a time when demand for travel began increasing as coronavirus restrictions were eased.

In July 2.022, shortage of staff at Heathrow Airport in London, along with a baggage system (line 15) malfunction, caused thousands of bags to go missing. At one point, Delta filled a plane bound for Detroit with 1,000 pieces of abandoned luggage to help reunite the bags with their owners across the United States. And in October 2.022, established plans — including those of some Boston Marathon runners — were postponed when Southwest canceled more than 1,800 flights over one weekend. It began with "weather challenges in our Florida airports," and was aggravated by "unexpected air traffic control issues in the same (line 20) region," the airline said.

These are among the worst-case scenarios for travelers when flying. And in some notable instances, (line 22) routine events like severe weather or technological issues can go out of control, leaving thousands of people stranded and feeling helpless. (Fragment adapted from The New York Times.)

OPTION B — READ THE TEXT AND ANSWER QUESTIONS 1 TO 5.

PRINCE HARRY AND THE VALUE OF SILENCE

During the early stages of my father's Alzheimer's, I apologized to him for writing an autobiography many years earlier in which I opened the gates of our troubled family life. He was already talking less at that point, but his eyes told me he understood. I thought of that moment when I read that Prince Harry, in his new memoir, wrote about his father, King Charles, getting between his battling sons and saying, "Please, boys, don't make my final years a misery." His words reveal a man who is aware of his mortality and who (line 5) would like his sons to be aware of it as well.

My justification in writing a book I now wish I hadn't written was very similar to what I understand to be Harry's reasoning. I wanted to tell the truth, I wanted to set the record straight. I thought if I put my own feelings and my own truth out there for the world to read, my family might also come to understand me better. Of course, people generally don't respond well to being embarrassed and exposed in public. And (line 10) in the following years, I've learned something about truth: It's way more complicated than it seems when we're young. There isn't just one truth, our truth — the other people in our story have their truths as well.

(line 13) Prince William has, I'm sure, his own opinion on the physical fight that Harry has described. To really understand the dynamic between the brothers, William's truth has to be considered as well. Harry has written that, after William hit him, Prince William told Harry to hit him back, which he declined to do. (line 15) But by writing about the fight, he's done exactly that.

Silence gives you room, it gives you distance, and it lets you look at your experiences more completely. Sometime in the future, Harry may look back as I did and wish he could unspeak what he has said. But not everything needs to be shared. Harry seems to have operated on the principle that 'Silence is (line 20) not an option.' I would, respectfully, suggest to him that it is. (Fragment adapted from The New York Times.)