We ate a big breakfast at a local restaurant, like we did every Father’s Day. The present my daughter gave me was a T-shirt with the words “World’s Coolest Dad”. I put it on, feeling that was what made Father’s Day so great.

Just then my volunteer fire-department pager (呼机) went off: “Attention, Pocahontas-Old Ripley firefighters! House fire on Simpson Street. Repeat. House fire on Simpson Street.”

“Gotta go,” I said. I ran to my car and took off. I got to the firehouse in minutes. Another firefighter, Tom Smith, and the chief were waiting. “Don, Tommy, take truck 253. Roll!” he ordered. “The rest of the guys will be right behind you.” As the first on the scene, our job was to make sure everyone was out of the house, locate the nearest hydrant (消防栓), and then wait for backup.

A small crowd had gathered in front of number 907 when we got there. They watched the fire in panic. Thick black smoke could be seen pouring from the one-story house’s open front door. A large man burst through the door, red eyes streaming with tears. “Please hurry!” he called. “My boy’s still in there. I couldn’t get to him!”

There was no time to wait for backup. I left Tommy outside and rushed into the house.

“Anyone here?” I shouted. No answer. I searched every inch of the first two rooms. No child. The fire had grown so fierce by then. It seemed that the roof would collapse at any time. All at once a vision was put into my head—that father begging us to save his child. I mustn’t give up. Not today, I thought. There still might be a chance.

Suddenly I heard a weak cry from the next room.

It was a special Father’s Day, not only for me, but also for the boy, his father and my daughter.

3 . Every birthday had been a different new experience for me. But I wondered_________no one greeted me that day. It seemed all had forgotten my birthday. So I pretended to be _________.

I pepped(窥视)through the comer of my eyes. I could hear them_________, pretending to have forgotten my birthday. But I knew their _________and I was not going to fall prey.

“Samantha, you want to celebrate your birthday...”

I rolled_______, trying to rise from bed, but something held me back. This was the day of my life when I felt like a(n)_______. It was the day of demands turned into_______. So I was not going to miss it for_______. I opened my eyes fully and got up when suddenly someone_______me back to bed.

“Doctor please come quickly...” I could hear the lady________as a nurse whispering on the telephone. All around me were oxygen masks and other medical equipment. Slowly I realized I was lying in a(n)________.

Soon the doctor came rushing. He closely________me and smilingly asked, “Samantha, do remember how you came here?”

I tried hard to recollect but the doctor patted on my hands and said, “it’s________ if you don’t remember.”

The door opened and my parents along with my sister Miranda walked in. All their ________ tired, over cried and depressed. My mom hugged and kissed me on my forehead. “Queen Samantha I am at your________. Happy birthday.” I could feel Miranda cold as she held my hands. My dad stood silent.

My entire body was bound with________. I closed my eyes and tried to recall. The last thing I could remember was a________ driven truck drove towards my car.

Within minutes I felt my body growing weak, and I struggled for________. Everything looked vague till I could see and hear nothing except for a misty________. He welcomed me with a smile.

“Welcome to my kingdom, my little lamb. I have waited years for you”. I held his hands tightly as He led my way to a new________.

4 . Peru demanded compensation (赔偿金) Wednesday from Spanish energy giant Repsol over an oil spill (石油泄漏). It might be caused by sudden and big _________ from a volcanic eruption near Tonga in the South Pacific because volcanic eruption can cause waves.

Authorities _________ three beaches on Monday _________ 6,000 barrels (桶) of oil were spilled during the _________ of an oil-transporting ship at the Pampilla oil-processing factory off the coast near Lima. The Repsol oil spill “is the worst _________ disaster in Lima in recent times, and has caused serious _________ to hundreds of _________ families. “Repsol must make an immediate _________ for their loss,” the authority said on Twitter. “This terrible situation has put plants and animals _________ in two protected areas,” it noted. Peruvian authorities found lots of dead sea animals __________ in oil. The spill happened on Saturday at the oil-processing factory in the Lima region, __________ a 3-kilometer stretch of beaches.

Officials of the factory __________ described the spill as “limited” and said it was working with authorities to __________ the beaches. “Controlling barriers that cover all of the affected __________ have been set up. And a team of __________ in sea and land have been sent,” said the factory, which __________ the spill on the waves caused by the volcanic eruption more than 10,000 kilometers away but not a bit on the mishandling of the workers who moved the oil barrels off the __________.

The oil-processing factory could face a __________ of up to $32.3 million, the __________ ministry of Peru said on Monday. And the prosecutors (公诉人) have opened an __________ into the company for environmental pollution.

5 . Home accidents occur unexpectedly everywhere in and around the house.     1     One of the best ways is to take action ahead to prevent them from happening.

    2     If you find any object lying on the floor, you need to pick it up and keep it on the table. Otherwise, it might hurt anybody in your house. Then, if you find that any of the electrical wires which needs repair, you must do it immediately. This kind of wires or switches can lead to short circuit (短路) in the house.     3     To make your home shock proof, you must check the wires from time to time. This will not only keep you safe, but will also protect other members of the family.

Another way is keeping a first aid kit in your room. When you prepare a first aid kit for your house, you need to decide about the things that you need to keep inside it. First of all, you need band aids. You must make sure that these band aids are of all sizes and they must also be waterproof.     4     The painkillers will help you when you get hurt or if you are in great pain due to some home accidents. You will also need cotton, wool, scissors as well as safety pins (别针). If you have these things inside the first aid kit, then you will surely not have any problem in the future.     5    

7 . Gabe and I were taking a road trip from Weyburn to Nelson. At around 5: 30 pm, we were _______on a mountain road. I was texting my family. We weren’t _______there’d recently been flooding in the area.

When I _______from my phone, I saw a wave of mud racing down the mountain. Gabe tried to brake, but it was too late. The mudslide sent our car _______down the cliff. It _______on its side among some trees.

I don’t know how long we were unconscious, but I woke up to the _______of Gabe moaning (呻吟). We had no phone signal, so all we could do was _______for help. But my chest hurt too much to even_______. So Gabe started shouting as loud as he could.

Luckily, four men spotted us and went to our _______. On our way up, Gabe was in ________, slipping in and out of consciousness, and I ________didn’t think he was going to make it.

When the medical team finally reached us, they ________us into separate ambulances. I was swearing a lot as they took us away-I didn’t think I’d ever see my boyfriend again.

We spent weeks in hospital. Even after ________, I’ll walk with a limp for the rest of my life, and Gabe lost the vision in his left eye.

Before this all happened, we were happy-go-lucky people. We’re even more ________now. Despite the________we suffered, we’re grateful that we’re still living a pretty good life.

8 . A China plane struck a bird after taking off in Chengdu, Sichuan, and had to immediately return to the airport last October, and it wasn’t the first accident between an aircraft and a bird last year.

In fact, more than 20,000 wildlife strikes with aircraft were reported worldwide in 2023 — the vast majority of those animals being birds. The strikes can also include run-ins with bats or creatures on the ground, such as deer or turtles. Expanding wildlife populations, increases in number of aircraft movements, and a trend toward faster and quieter aircraft all have contributed to the increase in wildlife strikes.

Bird strikes are a hazard not just to commercial airplanes, but to all sorts of aircraft. However, historical data shows that damage is reported in a small percentage of incidents. Last year, 95% of the global strikes involved some kind of damage — and only 5% of those caused “substantial” damage.

Some of the most disturbing types of strikes can happen when one or more birds go into a plane’s engine, which might cause a lot of damage to the aircraft. The pilot would need to return to the airport or find a safe place to land.

In last October’s China plane incident, the Beijing-bound flight was able to land normally in Chengdu after taking into account what the airline described as security concerns. Senior captain Chen Jianguo said pilots are trained on how to respond if they have a bird strike in flight. The pilot in this case did exactly what he was trained to do.

“There are lots of things that are being used by airports to try to manage the habitat and birds around the airport,” said Chen Jianguo. Airports need to manage bird habitats to reduce or get rid of trees and plants that shelter birds, or address wetlands that can attract birds. Collecting data on what kinds of birds are involved in strikes is equally important so the risks can better be managed. Many airports also use audible signals to scare birds away, such as the sounds of fireworks.