1 . A Virginia family whose home was destroyed by a fire last week recently received the gift of some old-fashioned Christmas cheer from “Santa Claus” (圣诞老人).
In the spirit of Christmas, the Ferrum Volunteer Fire Department delivered presents to the family who lost their home and belongings in a house fire on Thursday.
“It was a working structure fire and unfortunately the family lost everything. We as volunteers knew that we couldn’t let this mom and her three kids go through Christmas without anything,” the fire station wrote on Facebook. “Yes, they’re OK but it’s Christmas, right?”
The fire station officials delivered Christmas gifts to the mother and her three children the following day at the local church shelter they were staying at, and in photos posted on the site, the children appeared joyful.
“We brought gifts and more gifts! The kids were overjoyed and very grateful.” the station said on its post.
“They were very happy to see all the gifts and the fire trucks that we brought the gifts in,” the department told USA TODAY. The kids received Barbies, Pokémon, artworks, remote control cars, blankets, clothes and shoes. The mother also received a gift card.
The Facebook post was flooded with what seemed to be comments from community members touched by the generosity. “The best Christmas gifts are the ones you give! Thank you all for your wonderful service and your big hearts!” one user commented.
“So thankful they are alright! We are truly blessed to live in such a giving and helping community, and our fire department and rescue teams are amazing! Great job! So proud!” another user wrote.
1. What can we learn from the text?A.The Fire Department provided the family with shelter. |
B.The volunteers saved some belongings for the family. |
C.The family went through Christmas in sorrow. |
D.Receiving a Christmas gift is a traditional joy. |
A.Ambiguous. | B.Unconcerned. | C.Appreciative. | D.Sympathetic. |
A.By giving examples. | B.By using quotation. |
C.By making comments. | D.By analysing causes. |
A.Firefighters or Santa Claus? | B.Firefighters Safeguarded Us |
C.A Fire Brought Gifts | D.Love Can Cure |
2 . In a heart-pounding display of courage and quick thinking, a 65-year-old crane operator became an unexpected hero as he rescued a man trapped on top of a towering building engulfed in flames.
Glen Edwards, a crane operator from Egham, was expressing his gratitude after a tense rescue operation in Reading last Thursday. Edwards found himself in a challenging situation as he navigated circling winds to save a man trapped by smoke and flames on a building. The dramatic rescue unfolded amid thick black smoke, making visibility nearly impossible
When the alarm sounded, Edwards, who had a concrete skip on his crane, wasted no time the moment he spotted the distressed man waving his coat. Employing his experience and knowledge of the area, Edwards attached a metal cage to the crane, carefully considering his options for the rescue. However, the challenging conditions, with smoke sheltering his view, added an extra layer of difficulty to the operation.
With a colleague providing guidance and a concerned crowd watching from below, Edwards skillfully operated the crane to rescue the man. The onlookers erupted in cheers and applause as the man was safely lifted to the ground.
Reflecting on the intense experience, Edwards remarked, “It seemed to pass a long time until the man got inside. The adrenaline (肾上腺素) was pumping.” He admitted to experiencing shaking after the rescue, emphasizing the gravity of the situation.
Despite the successful operation, Edwards is yet to meet the man he saved, humorously noting, “He’s got to take me across the road for a drink!”
The heartwarming part of this story is the overwhelming support Edwards has received from well-wishers. A fund-raising page was set up to “buy Edwards a beer as a sign of gratitude,” initially aiming for £5,000 but now standing at an impressive ₤9,100. The community’s response has left Edwards deeply moved. He stated, “It means a lot; some of the comments have been absolutely fantastic.”
1. What does the underlined word “distressed” in paragraph 3 probably mean?A.Brave. |
B.Painful. |
C.Enthusiastic. |
D.Disappointed. |
A.Warm and Curious. | B.Caring and ambitious. |
C.Professional and humorous. | D.Gifted and generous. |
A.Sharp tools make good work. |
B.One good turn descries another. |
C.Actions speak louder than words. |
D.Hope for the best,but prepare for the worst. |
A.A diary entry. |
B.A medical magazine. |
C.A news report. |
D.A first-aid essay. |
3 . On New Year’s Eve a teenager escaped from a house fire, all thanks to the heroic actions of the family dog, Macho.
Nicole Evans, a mom, received a sad call while out of town, learning that her house was on a big fire. Macho, sensing danger, took action and woke up Nicole’s teenage son. Griffin, around 5: 30 a. m. , warning him of the fire.
“He just kept going at him and then he just gave him a light bite, a couple of them, and woke him up. And Griffin said, ‘What’s happening?’ And as soon as he turned around, there was just no doubt he had to go. He had to go quickly, ” Nicole told WFLA News. “It was probably the worst experience of my life not to be with the person you love the most while something’s happening to them that you can’t do something about,” she added.While the cause of the fire is still under investigation(调查), the family has completely lost their home. Although they lost a lot, Nicole praised the value of Macho’s quick thinking. “All those things are just things, and some of those things do matter. They do. but in the end, it’s all replaceable(可替代的). Griffin’s not replaceable, and my dog is not replaceable. There are no better results than this,” she expressed.
1. Where was Nicole Evans when the fire started?A.At home. | B.At work. | C.At the store. | D.Out of the town. |
A.By barking outside. | B.By calling the police. |
C.By biting lightly. | D.By pulling him out. |
A.She was relieved about being saved. | B.She regretted. being careless. |
C.She was thankful for her saved house. | D.She valued lives over things. |
A.Macho’s awareness. | B.The fire cause. |
C.Time of the incident. | D.The effect of the fire. |
4 . Life can change in the blink of an eye. For Bridgette Ponson, one of those moments took place in the parking lot at her workplace, Layton Christian Academy. While she was in the parking lot, her 2-year-old boy and 3-year-old girl in tow, a car hit them. This left the mother and her kids trapped beneath the car. Thankfully, the woman driver wasn’t driving very fast. At that moment, she was blinded by the sun. However, she got out of the car to help as soon as possible. Plus, she wasn’t the only one who stopped what they were doing to save Bridgette and her kids.
Soon, Chris Crowder, CEO of the school, became aware of the accident. Without delay, he united a group of students to help. “It was split second,” Chris recalled. “I immediately just ran into the building because I knew I had to get a lot of people to lift this car. The students just heard me shout. All students from different countries just ran out and lifted it up.”
Still, this wasn’t an easy task. The car was heavy. But the whole group of students worked together to lift the car enough for Bridgette and her kids to get free. Finally, one kid was flown to Primary Children’s Hospital while Bridgette and the other kid were taken by ambulance to the hospital. Although Bridgette took the brunt of the injuries, all three of them were expected to make complete recoveries within a few days. The heroic students who helped out certainly got their well-deserved praise.
“I’m very proud of our kids. They ran out without hesitation, and they just knew what to do without even being told what to do. I’m even surprised by the driver who was behind the wheel. She immediately ran to help,” said Chris.
1. Which of the following caused the accident in the parking lot?A.The car was speeding. | B.The driver was trapped in the car. |
C.Bridgette ignored the surroundings. | D.The sunlight blocked the driver’s sight. |
A.To meet foreign students. | B.To avoid the car accident. |
C.To provide emergency aid. | D.To lift the kids out of the car. |
A.Many hands make light work. | B.The hospital is no place to be sick. |
C.Injuries may be forgiven, but not forgotten. | D.Praise makes good men better and bad men worse. |
A.Passive. | B.Hesitant. | C.Timely. | D.Expected. |
5 . The five passengers on board the Titan submersible (潜水器) traveling to the Titanic wreckage (残骸) are believed to be dead, the vessel’s operator and the US Coast Guard said.
They reached the conclusion after a days-long search for the wreckage from the submersible on the ocean floor, indicating a failure of the vessel’s body that would be impossible to survive.
“The wreckage, found not far from the remains of the Titanic, was consistent with the catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber and there was a catastrophic implosion (内爆),”said US Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger.
OceanGate Expeditions, which operated the submersible, gave a statement of its own confirming the deaths.
Five men were on board: the British billionaire Hamish Harding, Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman, former French navy diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush.
The Titan submersible, a 21-foot-long vessel, set off Sunday to explore the remains of the Titanic located nearly 13,000 feet underwater, hundreds of miles off the coast of North America.
But after an hour and 45 minutes into the expedition, the Titan lost communications with its mothership at the surface.
Eight hours passed before OceanGate contacted the Coast Guard, which launched a wide-ranging rescue effort that lasted until Thursday.
Hoping the vessel was still intact, Coast Guard officials estimated the submersible had 96 hours of breathable oxygen when it first left for its destination. That deadline passed without resolution on Thursday morning, though the wreckage was located later that day.
Evidence shows that the implosion took place within hours of the submersible setting off, meaning the passengers would have been dead before anybody really started looking for them.
Hopes were raised on Wednesday after searchers said they detected a big sound in the general search area. But it was a false lead. The Coast Guard said on Thursday there didn’t seem to be any connection between the noise and the location on the sea floor.
1. What is paragraph 3 mainly about?A.The impact of the disaster. | B.The reasons of the disaster. |
C.The structure of the submersible. | D.The victims on the submersible. |
A.Its wreckage was located on Thursday morning. |
B.It dived as deep as 13,000 feet underwater. |
C.Only one passenger survived. |
D.It lost touch an hour and 45 minutes after its journey began. |
A.At risk. | B.On the road. |
C.Beyond control. | D.In good condition. |
A.They found a big noise in the search area. | B.They received some wireless signals. |
C.They got governments’ support wholly. | D.They made advanced tools to detect the vessel. |
6 . Road traffic accidents are caused by a number of factors which can be grouped into three categories: human factors, vehicle factors and road environment factors. Table 1 explains each factor and gives examples.
Table 1: Factors involved in road traffic accidentsFactor | Description | Example |
Human | Things people do or don’t do | Speeding, not obeying traffic rules, using phone while driving |
Vehicle | Things that are wrong with the vehicle | ? |
Road environment | Things outside the vehicle that affect driving | Condition of road, time of day, weather conditions, road repairs |
One factor alone or several factors together can cause an accident. However, human actions are by far the greatest causes of car accidents. Diagram 1 shows that human factors are involved in 95% of all car accidents. Although other factors are also involved in 28% of these accidents, in 67% of cases, human factors alone are the cause of the accident.
Although behavior such as not paying attention to road, swerving to avoid an animal and eating while driving causes accidents, most road deaths are caused by speeding, driving after drinking alcohol, driving when tried and not wearing seat belts. As shown in Diagram 2, speeding is involved in more deaths than any other behavior in both city (50%) and country accidents (32%). Drivers and / or passengers not wearing seat belts is the second most common cause of road deaths.
1. Which of the following is best suited in the blank in table 1?A.Vehicles of this type to be recalled at once. |
B.Weak brakes, no seat belts in cars, old tyres. |
C.250,000 people killed in car accidents in 2023. |
D.Regular car maintenance, professional service. |
A.Speeding kills more drivers in cities than in countries. |
B.Two or more factors are combined to cause an accident. |
C.Country drivers are more likely to get tired when driving. |
D.Drunk driving cause more deaths than not wearing seat belts. |
A.The dangers of driving a car. | B.The effects of alcohol on driving. |
C.Human factors in road traffic accidents. | D.How to prevent deaths on our roads. |
7 . Colorado’s Grays Peak rises 14,278 feet above sea level, high enough that trees can’t grow towards the top, though there are plenty of bushes, rocks, etc. It was in this unforgiving place that Bev Wedelstedt was unlucky enough to have a bitter experience.
It was August 2018, and Wedelsted,56, was on her way back down the trail (小路) with three friends. A storm was upon, and they were anxious to get off the mountain. When they approached a rocky drop of a couple of feet, Wedelstedt decided that instead of shaking down on her hip — the safe way to go — she would leap. Then she landed on her left leg and heard a snap (劈啪声).
Every step after that was painful. Before long, she had to stop. As one friend ran down to get help, a number of other hikers, all strangers, attempted to help her down the narrow trail by walking on either side of her to support her weight, but that proved slow and dangerous.
Finally, one hiker, Matt, asked her, “How do you feel about a fireman’s carry?” Before she knew it, he lifted her over his shoulder. Matt clearly couldn’t carry her all the way down by himself. So six hikers and one of her friends followed. Three hours and two mountainous miles later, this human conveyor belt finally met the ambulance men, who took Wedelstedt to the hospital.
Now Wedelstedt has mostly recovered from her ill-fated hike, but she knows she’ll never shake one thing from that day: the memory of the band of strangers who came to her rescue. “I told them I wanted to meet a lot of guys, but this isn’t the way I wanted to do it. I’m still in awe now,” she said.
1. What is the writing purpose of the first paragraph?A.To call on readers to have a trip there. |
B.To introduce the scenery of Grays Peak. |
C.To show the difficult situation for hikers. |
D.To describe Wedelstedt’s favorite travel. |
A.Walking down the rocky mountain. |
B.Supporting Wedelstedt to walk. |
C.Leaping from the mountain top. |
D.Keeping Wedelstedt on the trail. |
A.By giving her encouragement. | B.By supporting her on both sides. |
C.By following her all the way. | D.By carrying her by turns. |
A.She is still scared nowadays. | B.She will forget the sad event. |
C.She has a fresh good memory. | D.She is respectful to the strangers. |
8 . It seems that some people go out of their way to get into trouble. That’s more or less what happened on the night when Nashville Police Officer Floyd Hyde was on duty.
“I was on the way to a personal-injury accident in West Nashville. As I got onto Highway40, blue lights and sirens (警笛) going, I fell in behind a gold Pontiac Firebird that suddenly seemed to take off quickly down the highway. The driver somehow panicked at the sight of me. He was going more than a hundred miles an hour and began passing cars on the shoulder (路肩).”
But Hyde couldn’t go after him. Taking care of the injured people is always more important than worrying about speeders, so the officer had to stay on his way to the accident. But he did try to keep the Firebird in sight as he drove, hoping another nearby unit would be able to step in and stop the speeding car. As it turned out, keeping the Firebird in sight was not that difficult. Every turn the Pontiac made was the very turn the officer needed to get to the accident scene.
Hyde followed the Pontiac all the way to his destination. At that point he found another unit had already arrived at the accident scene. His help wasn't needed. Now he was free to try to stop the driver of the Firebird, who by this time had developed something new to panic about.
“Just about that time,” Hyde says, “I saw fire coming out from under that car, with blue smoke and oil going everywhere. He’d blown his engine. Now he had to stop.”
“After I arrested him, I asked him why he was running. He told me he didn't have a driver’s license.”
That accident cost the driver of the Firebird plenty — a thousand dollars for the new engine — not to mention the charges for driving without a license, attempting to run away, and dangerous driving.
1. Why did Floyd Hyde drive the car before he got onto Highway 40?A.To arrest a criminal. | B.To catch up with a car. |
C.To go to the police station. | D.To deal with an accident. |
A.Another nearby unit could stop the speeding car. |
B.The driver of the Firebird would turn his car around. |
C.Another nearby unit could take care of the injured people. |
D.The driver of the Firebird would show him his identity card. |
A.Something was wrong with the wheel. | B.Something was wrong with the engine. |
C.The car crashed into another one. | D.The car turned upside down. |
A.The driver had to face the music. | B.The driver was finally under control. |
C.The driver was actually in a dilemma. | D.The driver had to turn to others for help. |
9 . The reopening of an Asian American-owned bookstore in Manhattan's Chinatown following a January fire has received a warm welcome back from its supporters.
Yu &. Me Books, which is regarded as the first female-owned Asian American bookshop in New York City, has raised more than $369,000 for repairs since a tragic fire on January 4. It reopened on Wednesday. "We are so excited to welcome you all back to our Yu &. Me Books home," the store announced on Instagram. "We can't wait to shed tears, laugh loudly and open our hearts with all of you who have made us feel at home."
The fire in an apartment above the bookstore on Mulberry Street killed one of the building's residents. Smoke and water damage also devastated Yu & Me Books, destroying almost all its inventory and equipment, according to a GoFundMe campaign that store owner Lucy Yu set up to make up for the costs.
During the restoration and renovation (翻新) of the original bookstore, the business operated from a location within The Market Line, an underground marketplace on the Lower East Side, and several pop-up shops (临时店铺) in the city.
"It was a bookstore I always wanted to visit, and I'm so happy that they were able to reopen," Charlotte Leinbach, a teacher for New York City's Education Department said. Leinbach hadn't been to the bookstore before the fire, but she had heard quite a bit about its fate. She bought two books, the second and third in the series Before the Coffee Gets Cold.
"It's hard to find a lot of books written in Japanese, and then translated into English," she said. "The design of the bookstore is really nice, and the layout is great. I am glad that they also sell used books. I love buying new books because it's fresh and it's nice, but it's always nice to see people in the community giving their books back and reselling and just passing them on." She said she will continue to support the women-run small businesses that focus on people and authors of color.
"I actually came on the day of the opening, but there were too many people, and it was too crowded, so I just haven't had a chance to look at it," Liam Li, another Asian American, said. "This place is unique. It's in Chinatown. As Asians live in New York City, I feel this offers the most space for the community. I understand like a minority in this society, it is not easy to have a store like this," she added.
1. Which word can replace the underlined one "inventory" in Paragraph 2?A.Curtains. | B.Switches. | C.Goods. | D.Chairs. |
A.By applying to the government for money. |
B.By getting money from an insurance company. |
C.By raising money from her friends and relatives. |
D.By collecting money from a fund on the Internet. |
A.She often gave a hand to the store owner before the fire. |
B.She sang high praise for the arrangement of the store. |
C.She prefers to buy used books rather than new ones. |
D.She translates books as her part-time job. |
A.Chinatown bookstore's reopening welcomed |
B.Smoke and water damage destroy Chinatown bookstore |
C.Yu &. Me Books-first female-owned Asian American bookshop in NYC |
D.Chinatown bookstore in New York City means a lot to Asian Americans |
10 . In a remote mountainous region in Pakistan, a cable car carrying six children and two adults became stuck in mid-air. However, this terrifying incident resulted in a remarkable display of bravery and intelligence as ordinary bystanders stepped up to save lives.
The incident began like any other day when the small group started their typical daily journey to school and the local shops aboard the shaky three cables broke, causing it to be suspended in the air.
Immediately, multiple rescue efforts were set into motion. The rescue mission lasted for over 10 hours. Military helicopters and local experts attempted to rescue the stuck car. However, the complex terrain (地形) and the cable car’s unsafe position made progress slow. By nightfall, the helicopter team had only rescued one child from the car.
The local administration called upon two local brothers, Sahib and Nasir, for their expert skill in operating temporary cable cars in the region. With limited resources available, the Khan brothers thought up a clever idea to reach the stuck cable car. They constructed a small temporary car using a zip line, allowing them to move over the risky terrain and approach the hanging cable car.
Nasir remained on the ground, assisting with the pulley (滑轮) system. Sahib bravely boarded the temporary car and started a dangerous journey to ward the stuck children. Once he reached the hanging car, Sahib carefully tied a rope around the children in the car. Making several trips, he secured the children and carried them across one at a time. He successfully transported two children to safety in this fashion.
With Sahib’s courageous efforts paving the way, local rescuers took over, using the same method to bring the remaining three children and the two adults back to safety. This heroic rescue mission is a powerful reminder that when people work together with a common goal in mind, they can brainstorm, even in the face of challenges that seemingly can’t be tackled successfully.
1. What happened when a cable car was on its daily routine journey?A.It stopped halfway due to a power failure. |
B.A group of visitors were trapped in it. |
C.Broken cables left it hanging in the sky. |
D.It crashed into the deep valley below. |
A.Injured individuals. | B.Difficult land features. |
C.Poor communication. | D.Severe weather conditions. |
A.The dangerous situation in the stuck car. |
B.The risk of saving the trapped children. |
C.The working principle of the rescue car. |
D.The rescue efforts by the two brothers. |
A.Bravery never goes out of fashion. |
B.A wise man makes his own decisions. |
C.Many hands make light work. |
D.Nothing is impossible to a willing heart. |