3 . It was a regular school day, and the air was filled with the usual sounds of chatter and laughter as students prepared for their lessons. Little did I know that this day would soon take a ________ turn, making it an unforgettable day.

As the bell rang, signaling the beginning of our English class, we entered the classroom, completely ________ of the coming danger. The teacher began the lesson, and we were really ________ our literature lesson when, out of nowhere, a loud fire alarm ________ everything.

Panic spread as we understood how ________ it was. Smoke filled the hallway, and a sharp burning smell hung in the air. The neat classroom turned into a mess as everyone ________ to the door, trying to get away from the coming danger.

In all the chaos, I noticed my ________ Sarah looking obviously scared by her desk. I quickly ________ she needed help. Without hesitation, I rushed over, took her shaky hand, and told everyone to stay calm. We went through the thickening smoke together, and each ________ felt like a really long time.

As we reached the door, it felt hotter, and we knew we had to hurry. With hearts ________, we hurried into the playground where teachers and students were making sure everyone stayed sate.

Outside, we took a moment to catch our breath, ________ by the loud sounds of approaching fire trucks. Seeing parts of the building on fire, a sense of ________ washed over us, knowing that we had made it out unharmed.

After everything happened, I couldn’t help but reflect on the events of that day. ________ it taught me it’s important to stay calm when things get ________ and how helping others during hard times matters. It was a day when ordinary students became unlikely heroes, bound together by the shared ________ to overcome the unexpected challenges.

White flowers of mourning and condolence gifts lie near the narrow alleyways of Itaewon, the popular nightlife district of Seoul, where scores of Halloween revelers died in a stampede on Saturday evening.

As of Tuesday morning, the     1    (die) toll from the disaster was at least 156, according to South Korea’s Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters. Most of the victims were     2     their 20s, with 12 of them as young as 10. A total of 151 people     3     (injure) in the stampede, 29 of them     4    (serious).

The tragedy was the deadliest such incident in South Korea’s history and the worst peacetime disaster the nation has seen since 2014, when 304 people died in a ferry accident.

Twenty-six foreigners from 14 countries were among the Itaewon victims, including five from Iran, four from China, four from Russia, two from the United States and two from Japan.

As many as 100,000 people dressed in     5    (costume) gathered in Itaewon to celebrate South Korea’s first public Halloween event since the government lifted COVID-19 restrictions and social distancing rules. The accident happened at around 10:30 pm,    6       people were trapped and crushed as the crowd surged into a sloping alley less than 4 meters wide.

President Xi Jinping sent     7     message on Sunday to South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol,     8    (express) deep condolences over the victims’ deaths and sincere sympathies to the injured and families of the bereaved.

Xi regretted that several Chinese nationals were killed or injured in the accident, and hoped that South Korea would spare no effort       9    (treat) the injured and deal with follow-up issues appropriately.

A week-long period of national mourning is being held in South Korea, with all state and government agencies flying flags at half-mast. The Chinese embassy in Seoul is among the diplomatic missions that have expressed condolences to victims of the disaster.

People across South Korea are paying       10    (they) respects to the victims at mourning altars laden with white chrysanthemums. Yoon and first lady Kim Keon-hee visited an altar in Seoul Plaza in front of City Hall.

Rescuers free elephant from a dangerous pit (深坑)

A wild Asian elephant accidentally fell into a deep mud hole in the ground on March 13 while playing with other members of a herd in a forest in Mengla county, Southwest China’s Yunnan province.

The police     1     arrived at the scene saw the elephant struggling to get out, with another elephant     2     (try) to pull it out using its trunk (象鼻) and legs.     3    , as the pit was deep and the surface was smooth and wet, the trapped elephant     4     (stick). After observing the surroundings and considering all of the     5    (possibility), rescuers determined the best chance of freeing the animal     6     (be) through the use of an excavator (挖掘机).

The driver of the excavator     7     (careful) operated the machine so as not to annoy the herd. After 10 minutes,     8     exit to get out was formed for the elephant to finally make     9     (it) escape. While walking away, the animal waved its trunk     10     the excavator as if to give thanks.

The 2.5-ton elephant then returned to the nature reserve with the rest of its herd.