1 . As Rena was driving home in the rain. “I can hardly see!” She worried. Just a few miles more, an electrical pole in front of her car was getting bigger and bigger. The car shot forward. Crash! Rena felt the force tear her from the seat. She felt a sharp pain in her lap. “I went through the windshield but I’m alive!” She realized.
Then she heard a sharp crack, looked up and saw the pole had broken in half and was plunging (下落) toward her! But luckily, the pole landed three feet from her head. The broken pole had torn down electrical wires and they were dangling (悬垂) just inches away from her, trapping her in between them! “An electric current... water... if those cables touch me, I’m dead!”
Less than a mile away, New York State highway officer Juan Diaz saw a flash in the sky followed by a loud crack. “Lightning must have hit,” he thought turning his car around. A few minutes later, he saw Rena’s crumpled car. “I’ve got to help this young woman!”
“Are those footsteps?” Rena thought, hope rising as she lay there. Through the cocoon of wires, she saw a blue uniform. “Please help me!” she cried weakly. “Don’t move!” Diaz shouted, “I’m going to get you out!” But how? He worried.
Suddenly, the base of the pole burst into flames! Diaz felt a chill of fear. He knew it carried thousands of volts. He thought of his wife and five-year-old son at home. “But I can’t leave her here,” he thought. In a flash he swallowed his fear and stepped toward Rena. As he did, the powerful current stung his feet. But he didn’t stop.
At that moment, one of the wires jumped, leaving a three-foot opening in the cables around Rena. “Maybe I can drag her through there. It’s the only chance we have.” Cables hissed (发出嘶嘶声) inches from his feet, but Diaz just kept on walking, four steps, then five... finally he was by her side.
“Don’t worry,” he said gently, “We’ll make it.” Diaz grabbed Rena’s ankles, then dragged her through the narrow opening in the tangle of wires. “We’re almost there,” he said over and over. The sureness of his voice checked Rena’s terror.
Suddenly, Diaz took her up in his arms and ran 20 feet more, taking shelter behind the patrol car. “We did it!” he shouted. Just then the transformer exploded, engulfing the area in flames. They both realized: We didn’t have a second to spare.
1. What happened to Rena when driving home?A.Her car hit an electrical pole. |
B.An electrical pole fell onto her car. |
C.Her car turned over because of the wet road. |
D.Lightning hit her car and threw her onto the ground. |
A.She saw a police car nearby. |
B.She heard someone was coming. |
C.She realized that the pole hadn’t hit her. |
D.She knew the wires didn’t carry electricity. |
A.Rena looked like his wife. |
B.He missed his wife and his son. |
C.He thought it worthless to save Rena. |
D.He knew it might cost him his life to save Rena. |
A.Diaz’s courage and the strong transformer. |
B.Diaz’s boldness and the weak electrical current. |
C.Diaz’s carefulness and his electricity-proof uniform. |
D.Diaz’s bravery and the narrow opening left by a wire. |
2 . Rescue teams desperately sought survivors on August 6th after two boats carrying migrants sank off the Italian island of Lampedusa.
In the immediate aftermath of the boats’ loss on August 5th, Italy’s coastguard said it had rescued 57 people and recovered two dead bodies— those of a woman from Ivory Coast and her 1-year-old child. Local media reported on Sunday that at least 30 people remained missing and were feared dead.
Italy’s Ansa news agency said survivors described how the two boats carrying people trying to illegally enter the European Union had set off from the Tunisian port of Sfax on Saturday. One boat was thought to have had 48 people on board and the other 42. Most were reportedly from sub-Saharan Africa.
Reuters said the coastguard rescued the survivors from the water about 46 kilometers southwest of Lampedusa, which is about halfway between the North African nation of Tunisia and the larger Italian island of Sicily. The island has become a major destination for migrants from Africa wanting to enter the EU and claim asylum (政治避难) .
Italy’s interior ministry said 92, 000 people have arrived in Italy irregularly by sea so far this year to apply for asylum in the EU. During the same period last year, 42, 600 made the very dangerous journey.
The ministry said at least 2, 000 migrants have turned up on the island of Lampedusa in the past few days alone. Most had been rescued by the coastguard and by various charities from small boats in the Mediterranean Sea.
The International Organization for Migration, or IOM, which is the United Nations’ migration agency, said on Sunday both boats that sank on Saturday had been hit by major storms.
Flavio Di Giacomo, a spokesman for the IOM, told the Agence France-Presse news agency an official examination had been launched into the circumstances surrounding the loss of the boats. He said the probe will be conducted from the town of Agrigento, on the island of Sicily. “Whoever allowed them, or forced them, to leave with this sea is equal to a mad criminal,” he said. “Rough seas are forecast for the next few days. Let’s hope they stop. It’s sending them to slaughter (屠杀) with this sea.”
Emanuele Ricifari, the chief of police in Agrigento, said the people-traffickers (人贩子) would surely have known rough seas were expected.
1. What happened to the two boats and people on them?A.Up to 42 people were supposed to have been dead. |
B.The two boats set out from the Italian island of Sicily. |
C.The rescue was carried out to the southwest of Lampedusa. |
D.The destination of the two boats was the Tunisian port of Sfax. |
A.The boats knocked into each other. | B.The boats hit a reef and began to leak |
C.The boats were caught in strong storms. | D.The boats couldn’t bear the weight of the people. |
A.Interview. | B.Experiment. |
C.Discussion. | D.Investigation. |
A.Italy’s coastguard recovers two dead bodies. |
B.Dozens lost at sea as migrant boats go down. |
C.Two boats carrying people try to enter European Union. |
D.Sicily becomes major destination for migrants from Africa |
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One day, I was cooking in the kitchen when the telephone rings. I went to answer it immediately. She was my close friend, Lisa. When we were talking on a phone, the fire alarm sounded. I dashed back to the kitchen. The room full of smoke and the beef was bad burnt. I quickly turned off the gas, opening all the windows, and then rushed out of the house. In my surprise, two fire engines were outside my house. I was rather worrying. I told about the firemen that it was my careless cooking which caused the heavy smoke.
A.Her arms. | B.Her neck. | C.Her leg. |