From the health point of view, we are living in a wonderful age, immunized from birth against many of the most dangerous diseases and freed from the once deadly illnesses thanks to modern drugs and surgery. But though the possibility of living a long and happy life is greater, every day we witness the unbelievable killings of men, women and children on the roads. It is a never-ending battle which man is losing against the car. Thousands of people the world over are killed each year and we are quietly sitting back and letting it happen.
It has been rightly said that when a man is sitting behind a steering wheel, his car becomes the extension of his personality. There is no doubt that the car often brings out a man’s very worst qualities. People who are normally quiet and pleasant may become unrecognizable when they are behind a wheel. All their hidden frustrations and disappointments seem to be brought to the surface by the act of driving.
The surprising thing is that society smiles gently on the driver and seems to forgive his behavior. Everything is done for his convenience. Cities are allowed to become almost uninhabitable（不宜居住的）because of heavy traffic; towns are made ugly by huge car parks; the countryside is ruined by road networks; and the mass annual deaths becomes nothing but a number, to be conveniently forgotten.
It is high time rules were created to reduce this senseless waste of human life. Here are a few examples of some of the things that might be done. The driving test should be standardized and made far more difficult than it is; all vehicles should be put through strict tests for safety; present drinking and driving laws should be made much stricter; maximum and minimum speed limits should be required on all roads. These measures may sound strict. But surely nothing should be considered as too severe if it results in reducing the annual loss of human life. After all, the world is for human beings, not cars.
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Everyone needs to know how to prevent a fire. It is also important to know what to do when it
Every year, over 11, 000 people
If fire happens, do not attempt to fight the fire unless it is small. Try putting out a small fire with water. If
Before
Now open the window and shout “Fire!”. See whether you can drop safely to the ground. Use this
3 . The sound that woke Damian Languell at 8:15 in the morning was so loud that he thought it came from inside his house in Wade, Maine. As he
“I grabbed (抓住) buckets of water,” Languell told BBC News. Then he and his girlfriend ran to the crash site. The badly-damaged car looked
Languell
Now that Thompson was free of the
Languell is one of the real-life
| A．woke up | B．stood up | C．looked up | D．got up |
| A．outside | B．inside | C．upstairs | D．downstairs |
| A．danger | B．flames | C．ruins | D．trouble |
| A．better | B．clearer | C．worse | D．larger |
| A．to | B．in | C．through | D．of |
| A．survived | B．preferred | C．suffered | D．noticed |
| A．therefore | B．already | C．even | D．yet |
| A．disappointed | B．frightened | C．surprised | D．confused |
| A．in need | B．in pain | C．in person | D．in silence |
| A．finding out | B．blocking out | C．putting out | D．making out |
| A．shut | B．hit | C．destroyed | D．opened |
| A．free | B．fine | C．cool | D．straight |
| A．when | B．why | C．where | D．how |
| A．got | B．went | C．climbed | D．cut |
| A．death | B．limit | C．injury | D．accident |
| A．useless | B．old-fashioned | C．entire | D．second-hand |
| A．Since | B．Until | C．Although | D．Unless |
| A．as | B．for | C．with | D．beyond |
| A．frequently | B．dangerously | C．determinedly | D．directly |
| A．volunteers | B．heroes | C．friends | D．drivers |
People love the view of old buildings in Paris, especially Notre Dame Cathedral(巴黎圣母院).
Notre Dame Cathedral is home to many
5 . A snowboarder was feeling lucky to be alive yesterday after a helicopter rescue(直升机营救).
Ben Akintola, 30, was snowboarding in the French Alps under a clear blue sky in the afternoon when a large amount of snow fell down the side of the mountain. He didn’t have time to escape(逃脱) and it hit him with full force and knocked him senseless.
He woke in the night in total darkness. He was lying on an icy rock. Amazingly, he still had a mobile phone signal(信号), so he called a friend a thousand kilometers away in Britain. His friend called the French rescue services.
“I was waiting for what seemed like hours on that rock. I was beginning to give up hope when I heard the sound of a helicopter. It was circling around in the darkness, looking for me. I was trying my best to wave my mobile around. Fortunately the helicopter pilot saw the light.”
“I was overjoyed when the helicopter headed my way. It stayed above me and began lowering a rope.”
Ben was in hospital last night but he was not being treated for any serious injuries. He’s looking forward to going home today.
The French rescue services said: “We were very pleased that we were able to save Ben. The risk of snow slide off-piste(非滑雪场地的) is much higher at this time of year. All snowboarders and skiers should stay on the ski runs and not go off-piste. Ben was very lucky.”
1. What happened to Ben?| A．He got lost in the French Alps. | B．He had a snowboarding accident. |
| C．He was separated from his friends. | D．He was knocked down by falling rocks. |
| A．from his friend | B．in the early afternoon |
| C．after receiving his call | D．when seeing his mobile |
| A．It made him strong in the darkness. | B．It caused him to hope for the best. |
| C．It was shorter than he expected. | D．It was a little discouraging. |
| A．A Lucky Escape | B．A Rocky Mountain |
| C．Risks of Snowboarding | D．French Rescue Services |
6 . I was eleven years old standing outside in just my underwear (内衣) while I saw our house burnt to the ground. A few minutes earlier I had been sound asleep in my bed when a
I stood there
I
| A．ring | B．fight | C．noise | D．laugh |
| A．farm | B．store | C．house | D．bedroom |
| A．settled | B．jumped | C．searched | D．acted |
| A．snow | B．smoke | C．wind | D．storm |
| A．waking | B．asking | C．encouraging | D．serving |
| A．find | B．do | C．change | D．control |
| A．guessing | B．hiding | C．shaking | D．listening |
| A．angrily | B．carefully | C．calmly | D．helplessly |
| A．wondered | B．explained | C．recorded | D．accepted |
| A．missed | B．lost | C．repaired | D．damaged |
| A．remembered | B．imagined | C．realized | D．ignored |
| A．matter | B．disappear | C．recover | D．remain |
| A．help | B．chance | C．success | D．advice |
| A．training | B．holding | C．dressing | D．washing |
| A．tired | B．careless | C．poor | D．alive |
| A．education | B．business | C．life | D．story |
| A．lucky | B．patient | C．brave | D．strong |
| A．already | B．still | C．once | D．just |
| A．beautiful | B．difficult | C．important | D．possible |
| A．knowledge | B．responsibility | C．opinion | D．love |
After study for hours, I went outside and up to the roof nearby for a break and watched people cwimming in the sea. It was a sunny day—a blue, cloudless sky over a calm sea. But then, as I looked in the distance. I discovered a series of three or four big waves heading towards the shore. I’d seen these mini-tsunamis (小型海啸)many times before. They were heading at speed in the direction of the swimming area. Most people knew to look out for them, but from the screams that started coming from the beach, I could tell someone was in trouble.
Without thinking, I ran down into the street, holding my bodvboard (冲浪板)on the way and shouted at a stranger to call the coastguard(海岸警卫).My neighbor Tom had heard the screaming as well and was also outside with his bodyboard, so togetlier we rushed to the steps that led down to the sea.
Once we got closer, we discovered the waves had pulled a boy and a girl into the open sea. I knew that the nearest boat would take at least 30 minutes to reach us. I wasn’t used to this sort of emergency—I’d never been trained as a lifeguard—but I didn’t think twice about trying to save them. I suppose in a way I wanted to impress everyone; at 19, a deal like that can seem like a good opportunity to show off.
Tom and I dived into the water and it took us 10 minutes to get to them. When we finally reached them, they were almost lifeless with only their heads coming in and out of the water. We could tell they were still alive from their small breaths but it was clear they wouldn't have been able to stay there much longer. I held the boy and pulled him over my board. Tom then moved the girl onto his board.
Paragraph 1:
We discussed pushing them back to the shore, but we were too far out.
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Paragraph 2:
That night, word came from the hospital that the two kids were in good condition.
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Abby lost her mom yesterday． Her mom had a car accident． Her mom's car
The drunk driver continued to cry． "I drank， because I was feeling lonely． Abby was
Abby's husband told her to do something instead of watching TV all day． Abby agreed
9 . “An Uber self-driving car hit and killed a woman crossing the street in Arizona，U．S．，”police said on Monday，marking the first death caused by an autonomous vehicle and a potential blow to the technology expected to transform transportation．
The ride services company said it was delaying North American tests of its self-driving vehicles，which are currently going on in Arizona，Pittsburgh and Toronto．
So-called robot cars，when fully developed by companies including Uber，are expected to thoroughly cut down on motor vehicle deaths and create billion-dollar businesses．But Monday’s accident highlighted (凸显)the possible challenges ahead for the promising technology as the cars face real-world situations involving real people．
“This catastrophic accident highlights why we need to be exceptionally cautious when testing and applying autonomous vehicle technologies to public roads，”said Edward Markey， a member of the transportation committee，in a statement．
“Elaine Herzberg，49，was walking her bicycle outside the crosswalk on a four-lane road in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe at about 10 p．m． MST Sunday when she was struck by the Uber vehicle traveling at about 65 kilometers per hour，”police said．The car was in autonomous mode with an operator behind the wheel．U．S． federal safety officials were sending teams to investigate the crash．Canada’s transportation ministry in Ontario，where Uber conducts testing，also said it was reviewing the accident．
“Uber and Waymo on Friday urged Congress to pass a law to speed the introduction of self-driving cars into the united states．However，some congressional(国会的)representatives have blocked the legislation over safety concerns，and Monday’s death could hamper passage of the bill，”congressional assistants said Monday．
1. According to the passage，which is the effect of the accident of the woman’s being killed?| A．People will be cautious while crossing a road． |
| B．The woman’s family will obtain a billion dollars． |
| C．The process of transforming transportation will be affected． |
| D．Self-driving vehicles will cut down on motor vehicles deaths． |
| A．make | B．prevent |
| C．start | D．accelerate |
| A．To arouse the public concerns over a self-driving safety． |
| B．To remind car producers to be more careful when testing vehicles technology． |
| C．To advise the Congress to pass a law to speed self-driving cars test in the U．S． |
| D．To urge the U．S．federal safety regulators to take measures to look into the accident． |
10 . I have many wonderful memories of my days as a circus clown(小丑), but there is one day that I would rather forget: July 6, 1944. We were playing a two-day stand in Hartford, Connecticut, and the big top caught fire.
I could hear grandstand chairs slamming inside the tent as people headed toward the exits. Some were jumping twelve feet from the top rows of the grandstand and seats to the ground outside. Most of the crowd was pouring through the regular exits and it soon became a panic.
In the midst of this scene the musicians had kept on playing until the tent was on fire over-head because they knew music sometimes might work wonder; they had jumped off the bandstand just before a flaming quarter-pole fell into their stand.
City fire equipment had arrived by now and was pouring streams of water onto the big top area to cool it enough for firemen to enter. In the smoke and confusion, it was impossible to tell whether or not anyone might have been left in the tent. We circus people were ordered away from the smoking ruins that, only a few minutes before, had been the biggest spread of canvas in the world.
I went outside; doctors, and first-aid workers were everywhere, carrying bodies from where the grandstands and seats had been. The toll(伤亡人数) of dead and dying increased so fast that emergency crews were called in from surrounding cities.
Later it was found that 168 people had died in the fire — the worst circus disaster in history, and an afternoon of horror I can never forget.
1. The musicians kept playing during the fire probably because they ________.| A．thought the fire was in another tent |
| B．knew nothing about the terrible fire |
| C．wanted to keep the crowd from panicking |
| D．believed the show should go on whatever happened |
| A．There were too many victims to deal with. |
| B．Fire equipment in the city was not enough. |
| C．Too many people were left in the tent waiting. |
| D．The circus people were unwilling to do the rescue work. |
| A．A Journey to Death | B．The Day the Big Top Burned |
| C．Memories as a circus clown | D．The Worst Disaster in Human History |
