Davyon Johnson, an 11-year-old boy, was honored by his community after saving two lives in one day. On Dec. 9, a choking student tripped into the classroom
A group doctors,
3 . I know what courage looks like. I saw it on a flight I took six years ago, and only now can I speak of it without tears filling eyes at the memory.
Our flight left the Orlando Airport one Friday morning. But immediately upon take-off, it was clear that something was wrong. The aircraft was bumping(颠簸) up and down. All the experienced travellers, including me, looked around with knowing smiles. If you fly much, you see these things and learn to act calmly about them. However, we did not remain calm for long.
Minutes after we were in the air, our plane began falling quickly. The pilot soon made a serious announcement. “We are having some difficulties,” he said. “Our indicators show that the control system has failed. We will be returning to the Orlando Airport. The flight attendants will prepare you for a bumpy landing. Also, if you look out of the windows, you will see that we are dumping fuel from the airplane. We want to have as little on board as possible in the event of a rough touchdown.” In other words, we were about to crash. Many travellers looked visibly frightened now. No one faces death without fear, I thought.
Then a couple of rows to my left, I heard a still calm voice, a woman’s voice, speaking in an absolutely normal conversational tone. I had to find the source of this voice. All around, people cried. Many screamed. Finally, I saw her. In this chaos, a mother was talking to her child. The woman, in her mid-30s, was staring full into the face of her daughter, who looked to be four years old. The child listened closely, sensing the importance of her mother’s words. The mother’s gaze held the child so fixed that she seemed untouched by the sounds of grief and fear around her.
Finally, I leaned over and by some miracle could hear this soft sure voice with the tone of comfort. Over and over again, the mother said, “I love you so much. Remember, no matter what happens, I love you always.” Fortunately, our landing gear held at last and our touchdown was not a tragedy.
However, the voice I heard that day never faded. That mom showed me what a real hero looks like.
1. What does the author imply by saying “some travellers’ knowing smiles” in Paragraph 2?| A．They were used to this kind of experience. |
| B．They were quite familiar with each other. |
| C．They were well-educated passengers. |
| D．They were pretending to be calm. |
| A．The plane met bad weather and had to return immediately. |
| B．The flight indicators showed the plane’s control system failed. |
| C．One of the passengers was badly ill and the plane had to turn back. |
| D．A flight attendant explained flight safety instructions to the passengers. |
| A．They asked for help. |
| B．They remained calm. |
| C．They cried and screamed. |
| D．They rejected the bumpy landing. |
| A．The shape of love. |
| B．The voice of courage. |
| C．The wisdom of a pilot. |
| D．The danger of a journey. |
4 . High-Wire Act
Mickey Wilson had been on the mountain only a few seconds when he heard the scream. Wilson, 28 years old, had just gotten off the cable car (索道缆车) at the Arapahoe Basin Ski Area in Keystone, Colorado, along with his friends Billy Simmons and Hans Mueller. Their friend Richard had been on the cable car ahead of them, but when the men reached the top of the lift, he had disappeared. The men walked toward the source of the scream and found skiers stopped on the slope, pointing to the cable car. And then the friends screamed too.
“Oh, Richard!” yelled Mueller.
When Richard had tried to jump off the cable car, his backpack had been caught in the chair, which then dragged him back down the hill. In the process, the backpack belt twisted around his neck, making him breathless. Now Richard’s body was swinging four feet above the snow. The cable car operator had quickly stopped it, and the friends kicked off their skis and ran toward the scene. They made a human pyramid to try to reach Richard, but the unconscious man was too far off the ground. With the clock ticking, Wilson ran to the ladder of a nearby lift tower. Scared skiers watched as he struggled the 25 feet. After he reached the top, Wilson’s first challenge was to climb onto the two-inch steel cable that held the chairs. He handled the balance and height bravely, but he knew he could not walk on the cable. Therefore, he calmed down and sat over it and then used his hands to pull himself to Richard quickly. Wilson’s greatest fear wasn’t that he’d fall, but that he wouldn’t reach Richard. “This was life or death,” he said.
When he reached Richard’s chair, Wilson swung a leg over the cable and attempted to drop down onto it. But as he did that, his jacket caught on the movable footrest, which was in the up position. The footrest began to slide down, with Wilson attached. But before that could happen, he managed to free himself and reached Richard.
Fortunately, the ski patrol (巡查) had gathered below and performed emergency treatment on Richard, who had been hanging for about five minutes, then skied him down to an ambulance.
That night, Richard called from the hospital to express his thanks to Wilson, his other friends and the workers at the Arapahoe Basin Ski Area.
1. What happened to Richard when he tried to jump off the cable car?| A．He was sick and became unconscious. |
| B．He left his skis which stopped the cable car. |
| C．He was too afraid to move forward in the cable car. |
| D．He was caught by the neck, hanging down the cable. |
| A．People worked together and saved him. |
| B．Wilson climbed on the cable and saved him. |
| C．The ski patrol got him down and treated him. |
| D．Skiers treated him and carried him to the hospital. |
| A．the rescue process was dangerous |
| B．something was wrong with the cable car |
| C．Wilson could manage the process very well |
| D．the operator of the cable car ignored his duty |
| A．it is very dangerous to go skiing |
| B．he that climbs high often falls heavily |
| C．bravery and calm can help you make a difference |
| D．a person with a great talent always has great will-power |
5 . It was late, about 10:15 p.m., when Janice Esposito arrived at the Bellport train station; she jumped into her Honda Odyssey and began the 20-minute drive home to her husband and seven-year-old son. She’d just returned from visiting her mother and had traveled the route many times before. She practically
As it happened, Pete DiPinto was getting ready for
The first car he came upon, 2,000 feet from his front yard, was the one that had
“The gates were starting to come down,” he told Newsday. “I see the headlight of the train.” DiPinto ran quickly to Esposito’s minivan and knocked on the driver’s side window. She
But this one had a twist. “Last night,” South Country Ambulance chief Greg Miglino told CBS New York, “the
| A．drove | B．walked | C．rode | D．hiked |
| A．allowing | B．forcing | C．ordering | D．reminding |
| A．sat | B．stood | C．hid | D．waited |
| A．action | B．noise | C．impact | D．bomb |
| A．class | B．work | C．dinner | D．bed |
| A．doctor | B．driver | C．firefighter | D．engineer |
| A．stopped | B．troubled | C．intended | D．wanted |
| A．duty | B．time | C．target | D．schedule |
| A．warned | B．caught | C．hit | D．followed |
| A．observed | B．spotted | C．realized | D．predicted |
| A．train | B．truck | C．car | D．ambulance |
| A．yet | B．just | C．still | D．even |
| A．yards | B．stations | C．bridges | D．tracks |
| A．belt | B．key | C．bell | D．handle |
| A．unlocked | B．jammed | C．open | D．gone |
| A．bag | B．door | C．book | D．box |
| A．scared | B．ignored | C．trapped | D．defeated |
| A．carried | B．rushed | C．guided | D．pulled |
| A．return | B．work | C．safety | D．life |
| A．police | B．actor | C．reporter | D．hero |
Basketball hero Kobe Bryant's death has drawn an outpouring of shock and sadness across China. Basketball fans in China are now sad after learning that the former Los Angeles Lakers' 18-time NBA All Star had died at the age of 41 in a helicopter crash
7 . She Walked Through Fire
On Thanksgiving weekend, the Heffelmire family gathered for a meal at their home. After dinner, the family went down to the finished basement to relax except Charlotte’s father, Eric, who was in the garage to fix his truck.
Around 8 pm, Charlotte decided to check on her dad. She walked through the kitchen. When she opened the side door to the garage, black smoke rose up into the kitchen. She could barely make out her father lying on his back, trapped under the truck. He’d removed the front passenger-side tyre and raised the truck on a jack(千斤顶). The truck had slipped off the jack, and now the whole weight of the wheel was on his chest and shoulders.
Charlotte ran to the front of the truck and struggled to lift it. Eric was still conscious, and he yelled, “You got it! One more try!?” She tried again and was able to tip the truck backward just enough for her to pull her dad by the shirt with both hands from under the truck.
She dragged him across the garage and 20 feet down the driveway. Then she ran back to the garage, which had burst into flames. “I was afraid the car was going to explode,” says Charlotte, so she climbed into the truck, which faced forward, turned the key, and pressed the gas pedal(油门). The car slowly rolled out, the metal wheel scratching loudly against the concrete.
Safely on the driveway, Charlotte stopped the truck and ran back to the basement. “There’s a fire! Everybody get out!” she yelled as she picked up her three-month-old niece and ran out. Outside, she handed the baby to her mom, and then ran around to the burning garage. She picked up a garden hose(水管) and sprayed the fire while calling 911.
A few minutes later, firefighters and an ambulance arrived. Charlotte was treated for second-degree burns on both her feet and face. Her dad had injuries on his chest and shoulders, as well as minor burns on his face. The garage and the house were damaged but the family survived.
The Heffelmires are staying in an apartment while their house is rebuilt. “Charlotte is a remarkable kid,” says her dad. Charlotte, however, simply says, “I was saving my family and my house. I wasn’t going to let my dad die.”
1. Eric got trapped because ________.| A．the kitchen was on fire | B．the wheel fell off the truck |
| C．the front tyre was removed | D．the truck slipped off the jack |
| A．the truck exploded |
| B．the house was not fit to live in |
| C．the three-month-old baby was injured |
| D．Charlotte was burned on her chest and shoulders |
| A．proud and clear-headed | B．modest and easy-going |
| C．calm and quick-minded | D．independent and self-centered |
8 . Joanne was stuck in a traffic jam in central Birmingham at 5:30, and at 6:30 she was expected to be chairing a meeting of the tennis club. At last, the traffic was moving. She swung quickly racing to her house. As she opened the door, she nearly tripped over Sheba.
“Hey, Sheba,” she said, “I’ve got no time for you now, but I’ll take you out as soon as I get back from tennis club.” Then she noticed Sheba seemed to be coughing or choking. Obviously, she could hardly breathe. Immediately, Joanne realized she would have to take her to the vet (兽医). When she got there, the vet was just about to close for the day. Seeing the state of Sheba, Dr. Sterne brought her quickly into his office.
“Listen, doctor, I’m really in a rush to get to a meeting-can I leave her with you, and go and get changed? I’ll be back in ten minutes to pick her up, and then I’ll take her on to the meeting with me. Is that OK?”
“Sure,” said the doctor.
Joanne made the quick trip back to her house in a couple of minutes. As she was once more entering the hallway, the phone by the door began to ring.
“This is Dr. Sterne,” said an anxious voice. “I want you to get out of that house immediately,” said the doctor’s voice. “I’m coming round fight away, and the police will be there any time now. Wait outside!”
At that moment, a police car screeched to a stop outside the house. Two policemen got out and ran into the house. Joanne was by now completely confused and very frightened. Then the doctor arrived.
“Where’s Sheba? Is she OK?” shouted Joanne.
“She’s free, Joanne. I took out the thing which was choking her, and she’s OK now.”
Just then, the two policemen reappeared from the house, half-carrying a white-faced man, who could hardly walk. There was blood all over him.
“My God,” said Joanne, “how did he get in there? And how did you know he was there?”
“I think he must be a burglar,” said the doctor. “I knew he was there because when I finally removed what was stuck in Sheba’s throat; it turned out to be three human fingers.”
1. What was Joanne supposed to do at 6: 30?| A．To walk her dog. | B．To see her doctor. |
| C．To attend a club meeting. | D．To play tennis with her friends. |
| A．to dress up for the meeting |
| B．to phone the police station |
| C．to catch the badly hurt burglar |
| D．to wait for her dog to be cured |
| A．Sheba fought against the burglar |
| B．the police found the burglar had broken in |
| C．Joanne had planned to take her dog to the meeting |
| D．the doctor performed a difficult operation on the dog |
| A．clever | B．friendly |
| C．frightening | D．devoted |
9 . 25 people were killed and 50 injured on Wednesday in a train accident in Cairo, which surprised local people. According to the BBC, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli visited the scene and he said
10 . “I wish we hadn’t come on this trip!” Jeff’s voice echoed across the narrow canyon （峡谷）. His father stopped, breathing heavily. “This is hard on you, but you’ve got to come through with courage!” He gently placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Now, I don’t know if I can make it without stopping every so often. You’re young, but you’re strong and fast. Do you remember the way back from here to the road, if you had to go alone?”
Jeff flashed back to the painful scene of Mark, his seventeen-year-old brother at their campsite. He was bitten by a snake yesterday. This morning he couldn’t move, and the pain got worse. He needed medical attention right away. They had left their phone in the car, and it must have been out of power by then. Leaving Mark at the campsite and seeking help was their only choice.
“Jeff, could you do it?”
Jeff looked to the end of the canyon, several miles away. He nodded and a plan began to take hold in his mind. “What is the name of that little town we stopped, Dad??” There must be a hospital there.
“Flint. We parked at the side of the road a few miles out of Flint.”
Jeff nodded. Then they continued climbing. Stone by stone, they made their way up the canyon. Gradually, Jeff’s father grew smaller and smaller in the distance. Jeff waved to him and then climbed toward the road. Two hours later, he finally reached the road and struggled toward the town, almost exhausted.
“Can’t stop.” He thought. “Mark’s in big trouble. Keep going.” Suddenly, he saw a truck heading toward him. “Hey, mister!” He shouted, waving both arms. He began to jog toward the truck, and then broke into a full-speed run.
His chest was burning with every breath when the truck driver stopped by him. Jeff explained breathlessly. The driver reached for his cellphone as soon as he heard about Mark. “Better get the helicopter in there,” he said immediately. But Jeff wasn’t sure about that because everything got unclear and then went black and quiet.
Hours later, Jeff opened his eyes to find his father on a chair nearby. “You’re a hero, son,” his father said with a smile. “You had the helicopter sent into the canyon after Mark. I can’t tell you how happy I was when I saw it overhead. They got him to the hospital. He’s going to be fine soon. I’m so proud of you!”
1. Why did Jeff and his father climb up the canyon?| A．They were going for rescue. | B．They were doing physical exercise. |
| C．They were meeting Jeff’s brother. | D．They were searching for their campsite. |
| A．He lost his way. | B．He lost his phone. |
| C．He was hit by a truck. | D．He was bitten by a snake. |
| A．Jeff was faster than him. | B．Jeff knew the way better. |
| C．Jeff needed more exercise. | D．Jeff preferred going by himself. |
| A．Humorous and ambitious. | B．Determined and caring. |
| C．Cautious and sensitive. | D．Generous and kind. |
