1 . Helen was sitting in the garden one evening when she heard a loud crash. As she walked to the front of the house, she could see a small crowd ________ on the road outside. A 19-year-old boy was ________ in a pool of blood near a crashed motorbike. His leg was bleeding ________.

Helen had ________ a British Red Cross first aid course. She used her training to make a quick judgement of the situation. And then she ________ back inside her home to get lots of thick towels to stop the bleeding.

Helen raced back to the scene, ________ in hand. Someone had called an ________, but the other people were afraid to come forward and ________ her. She used the towel as best as she could to apply pressure to the wounded ________ until help arrived.

Helen successfully managed to ________ the bleeding while waiting for help to arrive. Before long the ambulance crew were at the scene.

________, doctors weren’t able to save the boy’s leg. But they did save his life — and Helen’s ________ played an important role. Without the simple but ________ first aid skills Helen used, the result of this crash could have been far ________.

“I take comfort in the fact that knowing first aid helped me to ________ a stranger’s life,” said Helen proudly.

2 . Madden is an 8-year-old boy. He was playing with his toys in front of the window. Suddenly, he saw water flowing into the ______. He shouted to his mom Sandy. “Look, Mom, here comes the ______!” Sandy saw the house lifted up off its ______ and it began to be carried away by the water.

Sandy thought quickly and found a big basin (盆) to put Madden in. They ______ out of the house. The flood was so strong that the basin ______. Sandy managed to put Madden in again. But the flood suddenly took Sandy away. She lost ______ of his son. All she could hear was Madden crying, “Mommy!”

After being ______ from his son, Sandy tried all her best to find safety and she was ______.

But as a mother, she couldn’t imagine ______ his son. She cried for help, wishing someone could lend a hand. Then came a rescue team and the ______ started. One hour, two hours, three hours… But there was still no ______ of Madden. Worse still, it was growing ______. Sandy began to ______.

Then came good news. Madden was found on the top of a small house, safe and ______. He said he believed his mother was waiting for him. Sandy said she couldn’t ______ the rescuers’ efforts enough.

3 . Skydiving has always held a fascination for me. Despite the fear, there is something that _______ me to it. It is an adventure, making me feel _______ but thrilled, with the world opening up before me in mere seconds.

November 24, 2021, a day perfect for my solo skydiving — sunny, with little wind.

After going through safety rules with my coach, I _______ with faith. As I flew through the air, the adrenaline (肾上腺素) ran through my veins.

However, after 30 seconds, I realized I was lower than anticipated. Urgently, without stabilizing my body position, I _______ to pull my parachute, only to have it wrap around my leg. I tried to untie the lines, but my efforts were _______.

With the ground getting closer, I prepared to _______. As an optimist, I didn’t think it would be destructive. _______, the automatic reserve (备用) parachute opened. I gained some control, directing myself toward grass, which I hoped would _______ a softer landing.

The _______ turned out far from gentle. I lay in ________ pain, screaming for help. The skydiving club members arrived quickly but they didn’t dare do anything due to the risk of ________ my injuries. Soon, the air ambulance crew came with ________, offering temporary relief.

Severe injuries cast ________ on my future. No one could guarantee if I would walk again. Sticking to my determination, remarkably, I took my first steps in three months.

My enthusiasm for skydiving ________ after that horrifying experience. As I embark on another journey later on, I will carry with me the undefeated ________ that pushed me to challenge my limits.

4 . Imunek Williams drives a school bus for the Milwaukee Academy of Science. While driving her usual route recently, she smelt a strong smoke smell. Among the _______ were 37 young students and Imunek’s own unborn child.

While they had only a few blocks to go before _______ their destination, Imunek decided to pull over to ensure the _______of all the people on board. When she _______ her radio to call for help, she noticed thick smoke filling the bus.

With no _______ to wait for help, she sprang into action. She _______ asked all the students to get off the bus and double checked for any _______ children. She departed the bus last, and minutes later, the _______ went up in flames (火焰). Imunek’s quick _______ and calm action saved many young lives.

When Imunek first ________ the strange smell that morning, she noticed it differed from the usual smell of exhaust (废气) coming off nearby vehicles in traffic. As she ________ driving, the odd smell intensified. By listening to her intuition (直觉), she made the ________ decision to stop the bus.

Firefighters arrived on the ________ as the smoke and flames poured out of the yellow school bus. Onlookers expressed amazement and gratitude that everyone ________ without injury. The Milwaukee Academy of Science and the students’ parents offered their praise and great appreciation to Imunek for her ________ action.

8 . One hot afternoon decades ago, Thea Rhiannon was driving her old Volkswagen bus down the highway. When she _______ down her window to let in some fresh air, her car registration paper blew off the sun visor (遮阳板) and onto the ________.

She leaned down to get it, and as she did so she ________ pulled the steering wheel (方向盘) to the left. When she ________ back up again, she realized she had got into oncoming ________. In a hurry, she over corrected and pulled the wheel sharply in the other ________. The truck rolled over three times, and Rhiannon was ________ onto the road and was bleeding from a train of injuries.

A passer-by ________ her and stopped to help. Rhiannon remembers him as a man in his late twenties, with a ________ manner and a calming voice.

“He stayed with me until the ambulance got there,” she said. “He ________ me with a blanket and gave me emergency first aid, including apparently putting a tourniquet (止血带) on my left arm, above where I’d hurt it so ________ .”

At a hospital in California, an emergency room doctor spent hours ________ all the pieces of window from her _______ , and gave her necessary treatment. The next day, one of the doctors told Rhiannon that, ________ the tourniquet, she would have probably bled to death before the nurses arrived.

“Thank you for your ________ and concern,” she said to the passer by in tears.

9 . On June 14, 2022, Mia Samolinski was driving a Subaru Outback in the parking lot when she stepped on the gas pedal (油门) instead of the brake (刹车) and drove into the water. It _______ just after 10 pm at Patchogue Bay A brave boy, Anthony Zhongor, _______ the incident and dove into the water after making an emergency call.

Samolinski was at risk of _______. The 18-year-old high schooler was desperately banging (猛敲) on the door and window with all the _______ trying to break the window.

“_______ that got me nervous, scared for her,” said Zhongor, “so I just dove into the water.” He swam to the car, but with no time to spare, he had to _______ how to get Samolinski out of the vehicle. They both tried to unlock the door, but with no _______, they had to find another way. That was when Zhongor realized he could use his own _______. His body successfully made the _______ of the car go deeper into the water, which helped ________ the back end. Samolinski opened the back door and managed to ________. They swam to shore together. Samolinski was so ________ that she couldn’t help crying, but luckily, they both weren’t injured.

“It doesn’t matter who it was, they were in an ________ situation,” said the 17-year-old hero. “I couldn’t watch anybody ________ in front of me.”

________, it turned out they both attended Patchogue-Medford High School, but they had no idea they were schoolmates.