Saved by the Belt
My family is one of the lucky ones. We still have what we consider most precious — each other. It is Kathy Hezlep, our superstar, that has saved our family. Sitting at the porch, I am transported to the accident ten years ago.
As a mother, I have been blessed. I have a nice, smart, good-looking son who has given me much pleasure over the years. In the months leading up to Alan’s 16th birthday, there was a lot of excitement about his upcoming rite (仪式)of passage — the driver’s license.
About a month before his birthday, there was an assembly about seat-belt safety presented at his high school. One of the presenters in this program, Kathy Hezlep, had lost her son in a horrible car crash the year before. When Kathy was first asked to speak at this assembly, she was reluctant. Her son’s death had been extremely hard on her. She often felt helpless and discouraged, and she wasn’t sure how she could make a difference by speaking with this group.
But the school had convinced her to talk to the students. Kathy spoke about how hard it had been since the loss of her son. There were days when it was an effort just to get out of bed. She spoke directly from her heart and my son took her words straight into his heart. I remember Alan coming home that day and the two of us talking about the crash. We thought it was interesting that she was a single mother(like me)and that her son, Ryan, was her only child(like Alan).
Well, the big day finally arrived. The state of Florida, in its infinite wisdom, granted my “ child ” a license to take a loaded weapon and drive it! At the time, I thought the worst feeling I could possibly experience was watching my only child drive off alone in my car. I was wrong.
注意：
1.续写词数应为150词左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Alan had his license one week when the police called me that Alan had an accident with his friends.
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When I rushed to the hospital, I talked to Alan about the accident.
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2 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。
I was at the back of a group of eight horse riders when one of my fellow safari (观兽旅行) camp guides called my name, nodding to the spot behind me. I turned to see a male lion, fully grown, not 10 metres away.
I’d been working as a guide at the safari camp in Botswana for a year and had seen lions a few times, usually in the heat of the day. Guests paid to come on guided rides between tented camps 20 miles apart. It was a very remote area. We left at 7 am that morning; it was three hours later when the lion appeared.
Just as I saw it, the horses ran wildly, leaving riders hanging on as the lion began its chase (追逐). I wasn’t in control of my horse, Acaba, which was heading into a much thicker bush, away from the path and the rest of the group. I realised that the lion had chosen to drive Acaba away from the others.
I thought we were going to die together. I screamed in pure panic. Suddenly, Acaba ran into a really thick bush and stopped without control, throwing me into a bush. By the time I got myself out of the low woody plants, the lion was killing him.
Unbelievable! Acaba hid me in the bushes and left himself in extreme danger! It protected me! Scared... shocked... moved... my mind went blank. I was only two metres away! Acaba was on the ground, feet in front of him. He tried to push himself up. But the lion was on top of him, covering his body entirely, his front feet around Acaba’s neck.
I seized a device hanging around my neck, which is known as a bear banger. It has a spring, and when you pull the trigger (扳机) the spring fires off containers that explode when they land. It’s like a small firework but as loud as a shotgun.
Somehow my panic died down. I found myself moving closer to Acaba and the lion.
注意: (1) 续写词数应为150左右；
(2) 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
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I pulled the trigger, and it worked.
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One of the guides gave me a horse and I planned to find Acaba.
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It was a typical Monday morning. My form teacher, Mrs Tan, was going through our exam questions. I pot down some notes and did my corrections.
“Riiiiiiinnnngg!” A high-pitched sound pierced through the air like a knife. Covering my ears in annoyance, realization dawned on me. It was the fire alarm! While I encouraged others to remain as cool as a cucumber, it was in vain. My classmates were all screaming and running around like crazy.
“Calm down, everyone! Please queue up in an orderly manner! We have practised this in the fire drills!” instructed Mrs Tan , sounding anxious.
The class ignored her and continued screaming at the top of their voices. One student even broke down in a fit of panic. I rushed around the class, asking all my fellow students to settle down while waiting for further instructions.
A serious voice soon announced from the speakers in every class, drawing our attention. “All students are to follow their teachers and evacuate(撤离)the building in a calm and organized manner. The fire may have been caused by a gas explosion in the canteen; do not go near there!”
Mrs Tan finally managed to calm the panicky class down. In a strict voice, she told us that we were to use the evacuation route to Gate 6. She arranged the pupils quickly in neat straight rows and led us out of the classroom.
Upon taking my first step out of the classroom, I took a deep breath instantly. The surroundings were hazy(模糊的) as thick smoke came from the canteen. Choking, I unconsciously covered my nose. To make matters worse, the ash from the smoky surroundings hurt my eyes. Coughing anxiously, I tried to see my teacher in the lead, but the air was too hazy for me to see anything clearly. Within less than a minute, I lost sight of my class and was left alone.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150个左右；2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
A wave of anxiety washed over me.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Just then, the figure of Mrs Tan waving a torchlight appeared from the smoke.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Earlier this month, a team of doctors in Russia managed to complete an open heart surgery as the hospital caught fire, Now a picture
According to reports, firefighters
Cardiac surgery center department head Valentin Filatov said: “There was nowhere to go, the man had to be saved. We did everything at the
Antonina Smolina, one of the medics, shared that “there was no panic” among the hospital crew.
When responders realized that the surgery could not
Amur Region’s Ministry of Health later released an official
A dog who is thought to have died in a snow slide is home safe after spending days in the
A skier and a snowboarder both survived a snow slide in Chaffee County, Colorado, last week. “The second skier down caused a snow slide,
The skier opened his airbag and
The couple also had their dog with them. After searching everywhere for the dog following
“We did have some search and rescue
It was supposed that the dog died in the snow slide
“Extraordinarily, the dog managed
6 . NEW DELHI—Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday inspected the bridge collapse site in the western state of Gujarat, where more than 100 people were killed, officials said. Ahead of the visit, Modi chaired a high-level meeting on Monday night during which he was briefed about rescue efforts.
The century-old British-era pedestrian suspension bridge (吊桥) collapsed on Sunday evening, with hundreds of people falling into Machchhu River in Morbi town, about 241 km west of the capital city, Gandhinagar. Reports said that 177 people were rescued and over 100 people were undergoing treatment at the Morbi civil hospital.
Soon after the bridge visit, Modi reached the civil hospital in Morbi to meet the injured. The prime minister was seen asking the survivors about their health. According to officials, search and rescue operations, carried out by teams of the State Disaster Response Force and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Indian navy, the Indian air force and the Indian army, were called off (取消) on Monday evening and began again on Tuesday morning. Officials said Modi also met with those involved in rescue and relief operations.
The local government of Gujarat has already ordered an investigation into the deadly collapse of the bridge. The bridge is a popular tourist attraction in the area. It was shut for renovation (整修) for seven months and was open for the public on Oct 26, the Gujarati New Year.
Reports said that around 500 people, much beyond its capacity, were on the suspension bridge at the time when it crashed into the river.
Police have arrested nine people including officials of Oreva, the company that carried out the repair work, ticket sellers and security men. However, the owners of the company have not been arrested. Oreva group is actually a Gujarat-based watchmaker company. Reports said that the watchmaker reportedly outsourced (转包) the “technical aspect of the renovation” to a smaller construction company, Devprakash Solutions.
Oreva has been accused of violating multiple safety rules, leading to the huge tragedy just four days after the bridge reopened to the public. Questions have been raised over why Oreva with no experience in construction was given responsibility for maintaining a bridge.
1. What did Modi first do after hearing the bridge collapse?| A．He paid a visit to the bridge. |
| B．He held and took charge of a meeting. |
| C．He went to see the injured in the hospital. |
| D．He met with those involved in rescue and relief operations. |
| A．It was too old to repair well. |
| B．It was maintained very well. |
| C．It had a safety risk. |
| D．It was solid enough. |
| A．Making. | B．Obeying. | C．Breaking. | D．Replacing. |
| A．Indian PM inspects site of deadly bridge collapse |
| B．Police arrest security men after bridge collapse |
| C．Modi is briefed about rescue efforts after bridge collapse |
| D．Around 500 people are on suspension bridge when it collapses |
After graduating from university, I decided to become a pilot and fly commercially. I chose a flying school which had a good reputation, enrolled and joined a class of six other trainees. We completed our ground school, where we were taught all the information we would need to fly an aircraft safely. The basics included the controls of the aircraft, its instruments and the rules we would have to obey while in the air.
Our instructors were all professional pilots and were very knowledgeable but also very strict. It was difficult for them to accept inaccuracy, so we were required to get Straight-A’s in each test. It was explained to us that we could not afford to make an error as it could cost lives, so, to get my license, I doubled my efforts, learning the meaning of the word “thorough”.
Later we had 10 hours of hands-on lessons in an exact model aircraft, a “simulator”. My instructor sat next to me, watching my every move, always with a serious look. Sometimes I thought he over-reacted to my small mistakes.
The time arrived for us to take to the air for the first time. My instructor was an experienced pilot having flown big jets but was nearing retirement. As we went to take off, he pointed out the control tower and told me there was always a person on duty there for emergencies. I nodded firmly, but I never thought there was a chance I would have to call him on the radio.
We were away from our airfield and practising basic turns at about 6, 000 feet. Everything was going smoothly. Suddenly, my instructor started to shake and he put in his hand on his chest with his head falling forward. Thankfully, in control of the aircraft at that time, I steadied the aircraft and turned to look at him anxiously. He seemed to be unconscious. Our lives were in danger, and I had to put aside my uneasiness. It flashed into my mind that situations like this had been covered in ground school.
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Armed with what I had learned, I quickly became much calmer.
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Lying on the bed in the hospital, my instructor opened his eyes and saw me sitting beside him.
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It was August. We were on vacation, just my six-year-old son Kevin and I, for my husband was always busy. Having driven from our home in the city to a remote and peaceful place, we wouldn’t see friends or family—it would be a nice, safe, socially distanced week away. We had hiked about half mile to an attractive spot called Diana’s Baths, which afforded visitors an expanse of transparent water. The water flows and then falls off a series of big flat stones, making itself a small waterfall, about 7 inches high.
Several couples and their kids in swimsuits were playing to their heart’s content in the water. We joined them. I watched as some younger parents nervously drove their babies away from the stones edges. Fast-moving water made standing there quite dangerous, for I saw a certain kid with curly hair missed a step and almost fell down. The air was full of shouts and laughter. I felt so lucky that I didn’t always need to fix my eyes on my son. Kevin could navigate his physical space with more confidence and care. But I was still terrified when I saw Kevin jump between the slippery rocks.
But with the passing of time, I soon relaxed, and we were both having fun, my kid splashing and kicking in the cool water, laughing heartily as I put my head under the cold running water.
Then seconds later, every fear I’d ever had rose to the surface. I lifted my head, turned and saw Kevin sitting between two stones, with the rushing water flowing around him. I could see he was shaking sometimes because of the water rapids. I yelled at him to get out. He yelled back something that I couldn’t hear.
注意:
1. 续写词数应为150左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Suddenly he disappeared in front of my eyes.
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When Kevin returned to normal. I learned the woman was a nurse.
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9 . It was January 2016, and Jeremy and his girlfriend, Molei, were leaving Denver for a weekend of fun with friends on the slopes in Colorado.
The snow came earlier than they’d
“Life was really great,” he says. Then, within a blink of an eye, everything
A truck that came out of nowhere hit them. One minute, Jeremy’s Ford SUV was
Statistically, Molei should have died. Inside her neck, the vertebrae (脊椎) had basically been crushed. Her head was attached to her shoulders by
Henry Rodriquez, an officer on holiday, was driving on the same road not far behind the Ford and
For 45 minutes, Rodriquez
| A．observed | B．expected | C．enjoyed | D．realised |
| A．slope | B．tunnel | C．route | D．town |
| A．exactly | B．surprisingly | C．specially | D．correctly |
| A．grateful | B．terrible | C．difficult | D．awesome |
| A．happened | B．disappeared | C．moved | D．changed |
| A．driving | B．rolling | C．jumping | D．running |
| A．pinned | B．lay | C．sat | D．placed |
| A．terror | B．pain | C．panic | D．frustration |
| A．something | B．everything | C．nothing | D．anything |
| A．drove away | B．drove on | C．pulled back | D．pulled over |
| A．Since | B．After | C．While | D．Although |
| A．kept | B．left | C．appealed | D．improved |
| A．laid | B．rushed | C．dragged | D．walked |
| A．shook | B．touched | C．pounded | D．felt |
| A．rescue | B．check | C．response | D．arrival |
It was 11:30 a.m, and the fishing so far had been fruitless. Not another boat in sight. Andrew Sherman spotted a speck (斑点) on the horizon. As the speck approached, it started to look like a boat. “Jack,” he yelled to his son. “A boat headed straight at us!” Unbelievable. Miles of open ocean, and this boat was on course to T-bone them.
The Shermans stared at the interloper (闯入者) in surprise. Four fishing lines out, music blaring, except there wasn’t a soul in sight. The captain must have gone below, leaving his boat sailing along at 10 mph.
“Follow it, Jack,” Andrew said.
Jack hit the gas. “Hey! Hey!” the Shermans shouted. Nothing. A horrifying new thought took shape: The captain had gone below, all right—and suffered a heart attack.
Father and son switched places, and Andrew drove their boat alongside the other while Jack jumped onto the other boat’s deck, bringing the boat to a stop. Then he ventured down into the cabin. He came back up a moment later. “Empty,” he said.
“It’s a ghost boat!” said father and son nearly at the same time.
Andrew called the Coast Guard. “Man overboard,” he told them. The two men could have left it, but they were curious: What happened to the captain? The boat’s GPS system told them the missing captain had marked points along his route indicating good fishing spots. Then the points suddenly stopped a few miles back.
With Andrew driving the ghost boat and Jack driving their own craft, they headed for that last point. They were searching for what they feared would be a body.
What they didn’t know was that the ghost boat’s owner was alive in the water and growing worn out.
Two hours earlier, Sascha Scheller had been fishing when nature called. He leaned over to relieve himself, zipped up, turned back toward the helm (舵柄), and slipped.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Suddenly he was in the water.
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Only when the boat approached did it dawn on Scheller: “That’s my boat!”
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