The dog Pooch Chi Chi managed to open the door and let a fire crew in after his owner collapsed on the kitchen floor.
Responders were searching for another entrance when they heard a “click” as the dog managed to unlock the door to let them in, They found the man, named only as Mr Green, collapsed on the floor in the kitchen as the fire took hold on the hob. Firefighters then swiftly put out the fire and carried out first aid until paramedics(急救医士)arrived.
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said “a potential disaster” was averted with help from the dog. They said they were called to the scene after a smoke detector was activated and a Careline alarm was sounded.
Mr Green initially answered the call but operator at Careline lost communication. Within six minutes, the crew was on scene and investigating. They could hear the alarm but were unable to establish contact with the man inside. With curtains drawn, the crew could not see in-side but could hear a dog barking. They tried the front door, but it wouldn’t open. As the crew looked for another entrance, they heard a “click” and the front door opened. The crew went inside to find a man collapsed on the floor in the kitchen when a fire was beginning to take hold on the cooker. They contacted the ambulance service, put out the fire and allowed fresh air in. Firefighters then carried out first aid and stabilized the man until paramedics arrived. It wasn’t until later in the incident that they discovered that Chi Chi had managed to open the front door and let the crew inside.
Ian Bolton, Crew Manager for Home and Partnerships at Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service added: “Having monitored detection in people’s homes means the fire service are only minutes away from providing lifesaving assistance. This is a real success story and highlights the importance of Careline and the fire service. Careline’s system, combined with the speed of our crews getting to the incident, saved Mr Green’s life. The cherry on the cake. however, was Chi Chi letting the crews in before they had to force entry to the property. ”
1. What does the underlined word “averted” in Paragraph 3 mean?| A．Approved. | B．Avoided. | C．Approached. | D．Adjusted. |
| A．The man fell down and couldn’t move. |
| B．The system broke down accidentally. |
| C．The operator lost his senses. |
| D．The crew couldn’t see inside. |
| A．The swift reaction of Mr. Green. |
| B．The wide use of the smoke detector. |
| C．The dog unlocking the entrance to the door. |
| D．The joint work of Careline and the fire service. |
| A．Competent. | B．Encouraging. | C．Considerate. | D．Energetic. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】What do you do when you are cold? Your may wrap yourself in a warm blanket and sip a cup of steaming cocoa. All animals have different ways of responding to the cold. Some animals, such as Canada geese, move to warmer climates. Others sleep for the whole winter. But the wood frog does something unusual. It freezes.
The wood frog’s ability to freeze its body is vital to its survival. The wood frog can live in extreme climates from the Appalachian Mountains, across much of Canada, and into Alaska. When temperatures are cold, a wood frog digs down a few inches beneath the leaves on the forest floor. As the outdoor temperature decreases, the frog’s skin freezes. For a human this would result in cold injury, or the freezing of body tissues. But the wood frog has a natural defense against the cold that is remarkable.
Special proteins inside the frog’s body freeze the water in the frog’s blood. Water forced out of the frog’s other cells freezes as well. But a special solution produced inside the frog acts like antifreeze in a car, protecting the cells.
In cold temperatures the frog’s heartbeat, breathing, and brain activity stop. Because the organs are surrounded by ice, they do not rot away (腐烂) and do not require oxygen or nutrients. In fact, about 65% of the frog freezes. The frog, however, is still alive.
The wood frog can freeze for a few days or several months at a time. It can survive temperatures as low as 18°F without damage to its body. When the temperature outside increases, the frog thaws (变暖) along with its surroundings. Water and blood begin circulating in its body again. Within a few hours its heart starts beating again. Over the next several hours, the frog slowly regains use of its legs―and hops away.
Scientists are extremely interested in the wood frog’s ability to freeze. For years they have sought ways to freeze body tissue without damaging it. They hope that in studying wood frogs they may learn better ways of preserving human organs for transplants and other medical procedures. Whether these frogs can be used to help humans or not, they certainly are amazing.
1. To survive under severe conditions, wood frogs mainly benefit from__________.| A．fallen leaves. |
| B．their ability to freeze. |
| C．the other animals in the area. |
| D．the temperature of their environment. |
| A．They are not truly frozen during winter months. |
| B．They have a special process for storing energy. |
| C．They are not harmed by the body-freezing process. |
| D．They have a unique ability to know the temperature. |
| A．hops away before being frozen. |
| B．thaws faster than its surroundings. |
| C．uses the same amount of time to thaw as to freeze. |
| D．adjusts the body temperature with its surroundings. |
| A．the scientific studies that involve wood frogs. |
| B．how wood frogs migrate to warmer climates. |
| C．how wood frogs survive in unfavorable conditions. |
| D．the reasons scientists have been unsuccessful at freezing organs. |
【推荐2】The cry of the fishing cat sounds like the quack of a duck, and the rest of this midsize cat also enables it to hunt in the water. Its streamlined head is perfect for moves in the mangrove swamps (红树林沼泽地) and wetlands of South and Southeast Asia, and its pointy ears even fold (折叠) down when it jumps into deep water. The short and strong tail helps control its direction. The extra-thick coat keeps it warm and dry while swimming.
“I found fishing cats to be very ingenious,” says Tiasa Adhya, co-founder of The Fishing Cat Project, a research and conservation group based in eastern India. Her research recently showed that the animal has two methods of catching fish. In deep waters, the cat stays still on the banks for hours before jumping into the water for the kill. In shallow (浅的) waters, though, the cat actively drives the fish out of their hiding places by moving about with heavy steps.
Now the fishing cat is facing another challenge: humans. The world has lost almost 90 percent of its wetlands since the 1700s, with Asia suffering the greatest loss. These days, industrialized fish farming, pollution and other human behaviors have destroyed the living condition of freshwater fish and set fishing cats against farmers, as the hungry cats steal farmed fish, and the farmers get even with them (报复). Once found along river systems from Pakistan to Vietnam, the cats have disappeared from large areas of their range.
Researchers are testing new methods, including the commercial launch (商业化推出) of a type of native rice variety. Depending on nutrients (营养物) washed in by rains rather than on chemicals, the rice creates living space for the fishing cat and its food. The idea is that in healthy lakes where there is plenty to feed fishing cats and fishermen alike, killings will be unnecessary. “Nobody takes a loss,” Adhya explains, “when somebody takes a fish.”
1. What does the author want to explain about fishing cats in the first paragraph?| A．Why they moved to South and Southeast Asia. |
| B．What helps them swim well in the water. |
| C．What pushes them to live with ducks. |
| D．Why they love staying in the water. |
| A．Friendly. | B．Alarmed. | C．Clever. | D．Lazy. |
| A．The battle between fishing cats and humans. |
| B．The decision to protect freshwater fish. |
| C．The importance of stopping pollution. |
| D．The method of increasing wetlands. |
| A．It will do some harm to the environment. |
| B．It will create a win-win situation. |
| C．It will increase food production. |
| D．It will cost a lot of money. |
【推荐3】The first apes evolved 20 million years ago in the forests where they would go up a tree to get their food, and then come back down to move on to the next tree. Getting out of a tree presents all kinds of new challenges. Big apes can’t afford to fall because it could kill or badly injure them. Natural selection would have favored those with body structures that allowed them to descend safely.
Dartmouth researchers report in the journal Royal Society Open Science that apes probably evolved free-moving shoulders and flexible elbows to slow their descent from trees as gravity pulled on their heavier bodies. These flexible body parts passed on from ancestral apes would have allowed early humans to climb trees at night for safety and comedown in the daylight unhurt. When early humans transitioned from forests to open savannas (热带稀树草原), flexible shoulders and elbows were crucial for gathering food and using tools for hunting and defense.
The researchers used sports analysis and statistical software to study how primates(灵长目动物) like chimpanzees and small monkeys called mangabeys climbed in the wild. They found that chimps and mangabeys scaled(攀爬) trees similarly, with shoulders and elbows mostly bent close to the body. When descending, however, chimpanzees extended their arms above their heads to hold on to branches, much like a person using a ladder, to counteract(抵消) their heavier weight pulling them downward.
Luke Fannin, the lead author of the study, emphasized that their findings highlight the importance of “down climbing” in the evolution of apes and early humans. He explained, “Our research introduces the idea that down climbing played a significant role in shaping the structural differences between monkeys and apes, which eventually manifested in humans.”
“Our field has thought about apes climbing up trees for a long time, but we’ve been ignoring the second half of this behavior,” said Professor Jeremy DeSilva, “The findings are among the first to identify the significance of “down climbing” in the evolution of apes and early humans.
1. According to paragraph 1, apes would have been favored by natural selection if .| A．they have sufficient food resources. |
| B．they come down from trees securely. |
| C．they master skills of climbing up trees. |
| D．they cure themselves when they’re injured. |
| A．The similarity of two primates in tree climbing |
| B．The evolution of two primates’ adaptation to nature. |
| C．The analysis of primates’ tree scaling and descending |
| D．The application of different research methods and tools. |
| A．Descending trees has been neglected by researchers for a long time. |
| B．The study is the first to recognize the significance of down climbing |
| C．The evolution of apes and early humans is a result of down climbing. |
| D．Studies on climbing down trees are more likely to have new findings. |
| A．Chimpanzees and Mangabeys: Researches in Natural Settings |
| B．Apes and Humans: A Comparative Study of Climbing up Trees |
| C．Shoulders and Elbows: Evolved as Brakes for Downclimbing Apes |
| D．Apes’ Climbing Strategies: How to Use Different Body Parts Flexibly |
【推荐1】The whole morning we just checked our own things. We were looking for items (物品) to give away. We thought of blankets, food and clothing. Our aim was not to find things that we no longer wanted, but things that we use every day and that would be useful to others.
We made up boxes with the things and added some small toys. Inside the boxes a simple letter was placed, reading:
“Please take these items and know that your life is important. Times are difficult but they will pass. We share what we have, believing it will matter. Use the blanket to stay warm. Be safe and know that the human spirit can overcome anything. Don’t hold your head down. Someday please do the same when you can. How you do it and when, your heart will tell you.
This kind act was not because the phone rang or for any reason. It was simply because it was the right time to do. We have often seen homeless people at the park where we left the belongings. The city would say that it isn’t a problem but I see the lives walking to and from it.
I noticed that my wife had put her favorite green coat into one of the boxes. I asked if she was sure about it and she simply replied that it had a hood (风帽). She liked the coat but knew the hood could shelter (遮挡) someone from the rain.
We don’t know where these gifts of compassion (同情) will go. We never go back and see what happens. It’s unimportant. The right things will find the right people and that is all that counts. On the way my wife started to cry. When I asked why, she said because some things felt so right.
1. What can we learn from the first paragraph about the couple?| A．They had deep feelings of their work |
| B．They often threw the useless daily items away |
| C．They often gave away the daily items they didn’t use |
| D．They liked helping others by sharing their things |
| A．help the poor go through the difficulties |
| B．let the poor know who gave away the things |
| C．tell the poor to pass on the spirit to others |
| D．tell the poor how to use the items correctly |
| A．they had a good habit of saving things |
| B．they thought it was the right thing to do |
| C．they often received telephone calls for help |
| D．they hated being troubled by homeless people |
| A．Boxes filled with compassion |
| B．Good behavior leading to happiness |
| C．The most important thing in our life |
| D．Happiness coming from sharing things |
【推荐2】When I was a senior in college, I came home for Christmas vacation and anticipated a fun-filled fortnight with my two brothers. We were so excited to be together and we volunteered to watch the store so that my mother and father could take their first day off in years. The day before my parents went to Boston, my father took me quietly aside to the little den behind the store. He took out a cigar box, opened it and showed me a little pile of newspaper articles.
“What are they?” I asked.
Father replied seriously, “These are articles I’ve written and some letters to the editor that have been published.”
As I began to read, I saw at the bottom of each neatly clipped article the name Walter Chapman. “Why didn’t you tell me you’d done that?” I asked.
“Because I didn’t want your mother to know. She has always told me that since I didn’t have much education, I shouldn’t try to write. I wanted to run for some political office also, but she told me I shouldn’t try. I guess she was afraid she’d be embarrassed if I lost. I figured I could write without her knowing it, and so I did. When each item would be printed, I’d cut it out and hide it in this box. I knew someday I’d show the box to someone, and it’s you.”
He watched me as I read over a few of the articles and when I looked up, his big blue eyes were moist. “I guess I tried for something too big this last time,” he added.
“Did you write something else?”
“Yes, I sent some suggestions in to our church magazine on how the national nominating committee could be selected more fairly. It’s been three months since I sent it in. I guess I tried for something too big.”
This was such a new side to my fun-loving father that I didn’t quite know what to say, so I tried, “Maybe it’ll still come.”
“Maybe, but don’t hold your breath.” father gave me a little smile and a wink and then closed the cigar box.
The next morning our parents left on the bus to the railway station where they took a train to Boston. When I ran the store with my two brothers, I thought about the box. I’d never known my father liked to write. I didn’t tell my brothers. It was a secret between father and me.
Early that evening I looked out the store window and saw my mother get off the bus—alone.
“Where’s Dad?” We asked together.
“Your father’s dead,” she said without a tear.
She told us they had been walking through the Park Street Subway Station in the midst of crowds of people when father had fallen to the floor. A nurse bent over him, looked up at mother and said simply, “He’s dead.” Mother had stood by father stunned, not knowing what to do as people tripped over him in their rush through the subway.
Mother told us the shocking tale without shedding a tear. Not showing emotion had always been a matter of discipline and pride for her. We didn’t cry either and we took turns waiting on the customers.
One steady patron asked, “Where’s the old man tonight?”
“He’s dead,” I replied.
“Oh, too bad,” and he left.
I’d never thought of father as an old man. He’d always been healthy and happy and he’d cared for frail mother without complaining and now he was gone. No more whistling, no more singing hymns while stocking shelves. “The old man” was gone.
On the morning of the funeral, I sat at the table in the store opening sympathy cards and pasting them in a scrapbook when I noticed the church magazine in the pile. Normally I would never have opened it, but maybe that sacred article might be there—and it was.
I took the magazine to the little den, shut the door, and burst into tears. I had been brave, but seeing Dad’s bold recommendations in print was more than I could bear. I read and cried and then I read again. In the magazine I also found a two-page letter to my father from Henry Cabot Lodge, Sr., thanking him for the campaign suggestions. I took out the box and put them in it.
I didn’t tell anyone about the box.
1. Who was Walter Chapman in the passage?| A．A writer of detective stories | B．The author’s father |
| C．An edition of a newspaper | D．A customer in the store |
a. My father showed me a little pile of newspaper articles.
b. Our parents took a train to Boston.
c. My father’s article to the church magazine was published.
d. I came home for Christmas vacation.
e. My father died in an accident.
f. My father sent some suggestions in to the magazine.
| A．f-d-a-b-e-c | B．d-a-f-b-e-c |
| C．d-f-c-a-b-e | D．f-d-b-a-c-e |
| A．she is unwilling to share her feelings with others |
| B．she is too proud to express her feelings |
| C．she is used to being serious |
| D．she is an emotional person |
| A．Because he thought of father’s whistling and singing hymns. |
| B．Because his father’s article to the church magazine was published. |
| C．Because the box full of his father’s articles was yet unknown to people. |
| D．Because he was moved by the funeral and the sympathy cards. |
| A．He was ashamed of his writing so he hid the box. |
| B．He was proud of his talent in writing. |
| C．He was interested in writing and found it great fun. |
| D．He took writing as a means to make a living. |
| A．The Death of My Father | B．Father and I |
| C．The Mystery of a Hidden Box | D．A Sad Christmas Vacation |
【推荐3】My daughter Elena got arthritis (关节炎)at age 2. Arthritis? That was an elderly person's disease, I thought.
At first, she started experiencing redness in her knees. I took her into the doctor's office and I was told it was growing pains. After another couple of weeks it got worse. One day she was not able to walk at all. I took her back into the doctor's office and luckily there was a different doctor on duty and she recognized the symptoms (症状). She told me to see a specialist at the hospital.
We got to the hospital. Everything seemed to be blurry (模糊的)to me that day. I also had a nine-month-old baby girl and due to the nervousness I lost my milk. I would lie awake at night wondering if my little girl would end up in a wheelchair. We knew we would have to use strong drugs to keep her walking.
Like anyone, I feared what the strong drugs could do to my little girl. I spoke with lots of specialists. We decided it was the best treatment. It worked. Our little girl is symptom-free.
I still don’t sleep well though. A mother's worry can take over your whole life. I’ve had to become a nurse overnight. Learning about different drugs, how to give needles (注射). On top of that, there are so many comments from friends. Some say that I should go the “natural way”. What does that even mean? Do you honestly think I would choose this for my child if it weren't the best choice for her?
I can only hope my words can touch and help someone else going through this same thing right now. Know that you are not alone and there are others that feel your pain. Stay strong and try not to let this disease run your life.
1. How was the first doctor visit?| A．It took very long. |
| B．It was generally satisfactory. |
| C．It brought the author lots of worries. |
| D．It resulted in getting wrong information. |
| A．She learned how to give needles. |
| B．She asked her friends for comments. |
| C．She got in touch with some drug takers. |
| D．She considered advice from different people. |
| A．To ask for help. | B．To express thanks. |
| C．To give encouragement. | D．To give a warning. |
【推荐1】My friend and I were at a restaurant in Berkeley for an evening snack when suddenly we decided to do a small act of kindness — to use the smile card to make someone’s day.
Being at the restaurant, we decided to pay for someone else anonymously (匿名地) . We both got excited about the idea and decided to do that. We looked around for which table we should pay for, and then settled on this table — it seemed like an immigrant family with a few children, enjoying their cocktails at that time. I could sense a family bond between them and that they were having a nice time together. We called in the waitress to explain the idea to her.
As soon as we told her we wanted to pay for another table and showed her the smile card, she got super excited! She said she already had goosebumps! It made us further enthusiastic. Next, she came and told us that the waitress for that table was moved to tears when she heard about this.
Soon after, we left — feeling excited, energized and grateful to get an opportunity to spread smiles. It is hard to explain how it felt at that moment, but it definitely felt special — not because I was “helping” someone, but because I felt connected to various people whom I didn’t even know — the waitresses and the family. It also, in some form, melted me, to see how people respond to generosity, which has become so rare in today’s commercial lifestyle. I felt like something inside me changed.
I don’t know what happened next, how the family felt and reacted or how the waitresses experienced the situation, but I am sure it brought a few smiles to a few people.
1. What does the underlined phrase “make someone’s day” in paragraph 1 mean?| A．To make people feel happy. | B．To ask people to donate for others. |
| C．To make people experience sorrow. | D．To encourage people to give away the smile card. |
| A．Because they wanted to show off. |
| B．Because they were wealthy people. |
| C．Because they determined to show kindness. |
| D．Because they wanted other people to pay for them in return. |
| A．The author thought himself a great person. |
| B．The author disliked the commercial lifestyle. |
| C．The author felt excited, energized and grateful to meet the waitress in the restaurant |
| D．The author thought it rare to see generosity in today's commercial lifestyle. |
| A．Hardwork Paid Off | B．Unity Brought by Immigration |
| C．Strength Brought by Smiles | D．Connections Made by A Small Act |
【推荐2】I had very good parents. My mother came to America from Scotland by herself when she was 11, and she didn’t have much education. My dad was kind of a street kid, and he eventually went into the insurance business, selling nickel policies door to door. One day, my dad asked his boss, “What's the toughest market to sell?” and the insurance guy replied “Well, black people. They don’t buy insurance.” My dad thought, but they have kids; they have families. Why wouldn’t they buy insurance? So he said, “Give me Harlem.”
When my dad died in 1994, I talked about him on The Tonight Show. I told the story of how he worked in Harlem and how he always taught us to be open-minded and not to say or think things of racism (种族主义). Then one day, I got a letter from a woman who was about 75 years old.
She wrote that when she was a little girl, a man used to come to her house to collect policies. She said this man was the only white person who had ever come to dinner at their house. The man was very kind to her, she said, and his name was Angelo—was this my father?
The letter made me cry. I called her up and said yes, that was in fact my dad, and she told me how kind he had been to her family. Her whole attitude toward white people was based on that one nice man she met in her childhood, who always treated her with kindness and respect and always gave her a piece of candy. From this experience, I learned a valuable life lesson: never judge people and be open-minded and kind to others.
1. What did my father do after knowing what was the toughest market to sell?| A．He asked his boss to give him some insurance. |
| B．He went to Scotland to improve his education. |
| C．He specially went to white families with kids. |
| D．He chose Harlem to face the toughest challenge. |
| A．It was rare that a businessman had dinner in his customer's house. |
| B．Angelo was the only white person to sell insurance in Harlem. |
| C．The little girl admired Angelo very much. |
| D．Racism was a serious problem in America at that time. |
| A．Stubborn and generous. | B．Patient and intelligent. |
| C．Determined and open-minded. | D．Confident and romantic. |
| A．Memories from a TV Show. | B．A Letter from an Old Lady. |
| C．Life Lessons from My Father. | D．My Father's Experience in Harlem. |
One day, the monkey walked about and went into the nearby town. “The town people are so busy. It is so crowded here,” the monkey thought. Soon, the monkey was
One day, a juggler (玩杂耍的人) came to the town. The people of the town went to him. “We want you to help us get rid of the monkey,” they said to the juggler. The juggler said in return, “Do not worry. Get me some jars (罐子) with narrow necks.” When the jars were brought to him, he put some peanuts into them and placed them out of a field. The monkey became curious when he saw the peanuts. “Yummy! Let me quickly get the peanuts and run,” he thought. He put his hand inside a jar and grabbed a big handful of peanuts. But he could not pull out of his clenched fist (紧握的拳头), as the neck of the jar was so narrow. If the monkey had dropped some of the peanuts back into the jar, he could have pulled his hand out. But he was greedy. So he didn’t drop any of the peanuts. The town people trapped the monkey with his hand inside the jar. They got hold of a rope and tied him to a post. Then the monkey was sold to a zoo. That was the end of the greedy monkey.
1. What part does the first paragraph play in the passage?
| A．It summarizes the whole story. |
| B．It explains the background. |
| C．It attracts the readers. |
| D．It states the main idea. |
| A．Going into houses secretly without permission. |
| B．Going into houses peacefully. |
| C．Going into houses in a group. |
| D．Going into houses with delight. |
| A．He was smart and always escaped from the people’s traps. |
| B．The orchard keeper told the town people to get rid of him. |
| C．He did something that upset the people’s lives. |
| D．He disturbed the town people while they were sleeping. |
| A．He put some mangoes in a field. |
| B．He used a rope to tie the monkey. |
| C．He called the zookeeper to catch the monkey. |
| D．He put some peanuts into jars with narrow necks. |
