1 . Coming of age is that time in each of our lives when we begin to see the possibilities. The world opens up in ways that mature our vision and give us a sense of responsibility and gratefulness. Connor had just started college and loved being at that stage in his life where he could eat all the pizza he wanted, yet engage in adult conversations with his parents about the responsibility to make life better for others. Connor’s optimism was infectious. There was so much he could do, and so much he could become.
But it all ended one night when Connor was distracted while driving on a Colorado highway. A young man, who gave off so much light, suddenly went dark.
Connor’s father, David, took it particularly hard.A father sees more than his own traits(性格) in his son; he sees greater possibilities than he achieved. Taking that hope away left David feeling at a loss. But Connor ‘s optimism was one of those traits passed on to him by his father. So, David got to work.
First, he established the Honor Connor Scholarship Fund to reward students who served in the community, Next, he went to work creating a research-based curriculum that educates University of Colorado Boulder students and their families about the dangers of texting while driving. It includes a very simple three part promise: Do not text or use social media while driving, speak out if riding with a driver who is distracted and encourage friends and family to drive phone-free.
David now works with lecturers at various colleges’ and high schools, ensuring young minds understand how statistically at risk they are when they text while driving. He’s become a passionate advocate for preparing young people to drive safely and not reach for their phones while they’re at the wheel. “I just don’t want other parents to go through what I did when I lost Connor,” says David. “It’s just so preventable.”
1. What’s the purpose of paragraph 1?| A．To give the background of a funny story. |
| B．To explain why David chose to volunteer. |
| C．To set off David’s great pain of losing his son. |
| D．To sing high praise for Connor’s healthy growth. |
| A．The headlight of his car went wrong. |
| B．He drove carelessly and died in an accident. |
| C．He suffered an accident for his father’s fault. |
| D．He died from another driver’s careless driving. |
| A．His coach. | B．His grandfather. | C．His teacher. | D．His father. |
| A．He wanted to take a job in a college. |
| B．He took the classes that Connor hadn’t finished. |
| C．He wanted to prevent similar sad stories repeating. |
| D．He honored Connor for what he had done in the community. |
2 . Seoul, South Korea — Most weekends, the narrow alleys of Itaewon, the neon-lit nightlife district in South Korea’s capital Seoul, are busy with partygoers and tourists. Now it’s the site of one of the country’s worst disasters.
At least 151 were killed in the crush, with dozens more injured. Authorities have now launched an urgent investigation to find out how what was supposed to be a night of celebration went so horribly wrong, as families across the country mourn and search for missing loved ones.
Here’s what we know so far.
Itaewon has long been a popular place to celebrate Halloween, especially as the holiday became more popular in Asia in recent years. Some even fly into Seoul from other countries in the region for the festivities.
But for the past two years, celebrations were softened by pandemic restrictions (防疫限制措施) on crowd sizes and mask orders.
Saturday night marked the first Halloween since the country lifted these restrictions – lending it particular significance for many eager young people in Seoul, as well as international visitors including foreign residents and tourists.
Hotels and ticketed events in the neighborhood had been booked solid in advance, and large crowds were expected.
Witnesses told that there was very little — if any — crowd control before the mass of people turned deadly.
Videos and photos posted to social media show people crammed together, standing shoulder to shoulder in the narrow street.
After the first emergency calls came in around 10:24 p.m., authorities rushed to the scene — but the large crowd of people made it difficult to reach those who needed help.
The thousands of people in Halloween costumes contributed to the widespread sense of confusion and disorder. One witness described seeing a police officer shouting during the disaster — but some celebrators mistook him for another partygoer.
The cause of the crush is still under investigation, though officials said there were no gas leaks or fires on site.
1. What do we know about the deadly Halloween disaster in Seoul?| A．Rescue and first aid were provided by authorities immediately. |
| B．As much as 151 were killed, most of whom were foreign residents and tourists. |
| C．For the past two years, public events have been banned to ensure people safety at Itaewon. |
| D．Celebrating Halloween is not unusual for Itaewon. |
| A．Because tens of thousands of people flooded into the area to celebrate Halloween. |
| B．Because there were not any officials trying to limit the number of people entering the area. |
| C．Because the official was not monitoring crowd amount in real time. |
| D．Because the country lifted pandemic restrictions. |
| A．completely hard, not soft | B．without any spaces |
| C．not liquid or gas | D．certain or safe |
| A．They had sent a large number of police and security forces to this part of Seoul. |
| B．They still didn’t know how the traditional Halloween celebrations turned into a disaster. |
| C．They had called an emergency meeting. |
| D．They had identified the dead. |
3 . As 17-year-old Torri’ell Norwood drove through Florida, last February, the laughter and chatter from the four teenage girls inside her car quickly gave way to screams. As they approached an intersection, another car T-boned them, sending their car sailing into the yard of a nearby home, coming to a stop only when it crashed into a tree.
As smoke rose from the car, a bystander shouted, “It’s about to blow up! Get out!” Shaken, but otherwise OK, Norwood crawled out through the window as the driver’s side door couldn’t be opened. Along with two of her friends, who’d also managed to free themselves, she ran for her life. But halfway down the street, she realized that her best friend, Simmons, wasn’t with them. Norwood ran back and found Simmons unconscious in the back seat. She threw open the back door and pulled her friend out. She dragged Simmons a few feet to safety and laid her on the ground. After checking her pulse and found there was no sign of life, she started CPR.
Had the accident happened a few weeks earlier, she might not have known what to do. But just the day before, Norwood, who wanted to pursue a career in medicine, had earned her CPR certificate by learning on her own. Kneeling on the lawn and looking down at her dying friend, Norwood knew she had precious little time to practice what she’d learned.
She started pumping Simmons’s chest with her interlocked fingers and breathing into her friend's mouth in hopes of filling her lungs with the kiss of life. After quite a while, Simmons began coughing and taking quick deep breaths for air. The CPR had worked! Soon, the ambulance arrived and rushed Simmons to the hospital. And then she heard how her best friend had saved her life. “I wasn't shocked,” Simmons told others. “She will always help any way she can.”
1. What caused the car crash?| A．Another car hit Norwood’s car near the intersection. |
| B．Norwood drove the car too quickly that day. |
| C．Norwood’s car crashed into a tree in a yard. |
| D．The girls were too excited to notice another car. |
| A．She crawled out through the window and ran without stopping. |
| B．She dragged her friends out and performed CPR at once. |
| C．She ran for her life but turned back to save her friend. |
| D．She opened the driver’s side door and pulled her friend out. |
| A．She had learned CPR in school classes. | B．She pursued a career in medicine. |
| C．The bystander told her how to do it. | D．She just earned her CPR certificate. |
| A．Breath of Life. | B．A Frightening Night. |
| C．Power of Knowledge. | D．An Admirable Girl. |
4 . As 17-year-old Norwood drove through St. Petersburg, Florida, last February, the laughter and chatter from the four teenage girls inside her car quickly gave way to sharp cries. A car behind heavily hit them, sending their black car into a tree five meters away. As smoke rose from the other car, a bystander (旁观者) shouted, “It’s about to blow up! Get out!”
Terrified but not hurt, she got out through the window. Along with two of her friends, who’d also managed to free themselves, she ran for her life. But halfway down the street, she realized that her best friend, Simmons, wasn’t with them. Norwood ran back and found Simmons stuck in the back seat. “She wasn’t moving,” Norwood told Inside Edition. She threw open the back door and pulled her friend out, trying to avoid the broken glass.
She dragged Simmons to safety and placed her on the ground. “I put my head against her chest. No sign of life. That’s when I started CPR (心肺复苏术).” Norwood, who longed to have a career in medicine, had passed the national CPR test just the day before.
Looking down at her dying friend, Norwood knew she had only a little time to practice what she’d learned. She started pumping Simmons’s chest and breathing into her friend’s mouth. No response. She tried again and again. Slowly, Simmons began coughing and opening her mouth for air. The CPR worked! Soon, doctors arrived and rushed Simmons to the hospital. And then she heard how her best friend had saved her life. “I wasn’t shocked,” Simmons told CNN. “She will always help any way she can.”
1. What is the best title for the text?| A．Breath of Life | B．A career in medicine |
| C．A Car Accident | D．Practice what one learns |
| A．Their car broke down. |
| B．They sat by a smoking flat. |
| C．Their lives were in danger. |
| D．They blocked the traffic. |
| A．She fell out of the car and struck her head. |
| B．She became unaware of the surroundings. |
| C．She was unable to move in the front seat. |
| D．She got seriously hurt but wide awake. |
| A．Unskilled but practical. | B．Typical but useless. |
| C．Strange but successful. | D．Repeated but effective. |
5 . Chase Poust is a 7-year-old boy. He and his dad Steven, and his 4-year-old sister, Abigail were out for a family boating trip on Florida’s St. Johns River near Mandarin Point. Chase and Abigail were swimming at the back end of the anchored boat while Steven was on deck (甲板) fishing.
It was an idyllic (悠闲的) outing — until a strong wave came. It was too strong for Abigail to hold onto the boat. Instantly realizing his sister would be swept away, Chase let go of the boat as well to try and reach her.
Steven jumped into the water but after realizing he couldn’t keep up with both kids, he was faced with a hard decision. “I told them I loved them because I wasn’t sure what’s going to happen,” Steven told News-4 JAX. “I tried to stick with both of them. I wore myself out. She drifted away from me.”
Directing Chase to swim to shore for help, Steven stayed behind, keeping as close as he could to Abigail as the life-vest that was keeping her above the waves floated further and further from his reach.
It was a tough go for the 7-year-old, but rather than attempting to swim all out, Chase wisely paced himself. Stopping to float or dog paddle when he was tired, he’d rest and then set off again. It took Chase an hour to reach the shore. Once on solid ground, he ran to the nearest house and called for help.
Rescuers arrived soon to search for Steven and Abigail. Miraculously, the two were found and rescued about an hour later-more than a mile away from the family’s abandoned boat.
1. What happened during the family boating trip?| A．Chase went out fishing alone. | B．The boat ran into an anchored boat. |
| C．Steven fell off the boat by accident. | D．Abigail was washed away by a wave. |
| A．He couldn’t stick with both kids. | B．He didn’t know how to swim. |
| C．He couldn’t find rescuers nearby. | D．He wasn’t sure what might happen. |
| A．To hold Abigail tightly. | B．To look for helpers. |
| C．To wait calmly in the water. | D．To give the life-vest to Abigail. |
| A．Brave and clever. | B．Innocent and kind. |
| C．Proud and patient. | D．Honest and helpful. |
6 . Norwood, a junior High School student, was driving three friends home in St. Petersburg, when another driver crashed into her from her left and made her car hit the tree. The impact jammed shut the driver’s side door, so Norwood climbed out the front window. Two of her friends managed to get out of the car unharmed, but her 16-year-old friend Zarria didn’t. She run back to the car only to find Zarria was just sitting there reactionless.
A lot of people started to gather around to see what was happening. Norwood started yelling, “Back up, back up, she needs space.” Norwood pulled Zarria out of the back seat, avoiding broken glass from the window. “That’s when I checked her pulse on her neck. I put my head against her chest, and I didn’t really hear nothing. So that’s when I just started doing CPR on her.” Norwood told the reporter. After the 30 compressions and two rescue breaths, Zarria regained consciousness. Ambulance quickly arrived and rushed her to the hospital to receive medical help.
When Miller, Norwood’s high school teacher, learned that Norwood saved a friend just one day after completing CPR training, she was at a loss of words and so proud. Norwood participates in the school’s Athletic Lifestyle Management Academy (ALMA). The program prepares students for various careers in health science. “We do vital signs and they learn how to take blood pressure and check pulse.” Miller introduced. And another one of the skills learned is CPR. “There are two components, a hands-on skills component where they have to demonstrate that they’re able to do CPR well, and then there’s a written test component, showing that they remember that knowledge.”
Thanks to Norwood’s quick thinking, Zarria is recovering well. She also isn’t surprised by her friend’s actions. “She will always help any way she can, so I wasn’t really shocked about that.”
1. What happened to Norwood and her friends on their way home?| A．They lost their way. | B．They suffered a car accident. |
| C．They crashed into another car. | D．They were stuck in a traffic jam. |
| A．To give her first aid. | B．To ask people for help. |
| C．To call ambulance at once. | D．To send her to hospital immediately. |
| A．It normally lasts for one day. |
| B．It is for medical students only. |
| C．It focuses on both theory and practice. |
| D．It trains students to live a healthy lifestyle. |
| A．Considerate and flexible. | B．Kind and ambitious. |
| C．Hardworking and clever. | D．Brave and calm. |
7 . House fires cause many deaths each year.
A smoke alarm greatly reduces your chances of being hurt in a fire, especially when you are in your dream.
A smoke alarm warns you of the danger. When you hear it, take action immediately. When you come to a closed door, check it with the back of your hand. If it feels hot, there may be smoke or fire behind the door, so take care.
| A．Once you are out of your house |
| B．Make sure of working hours of fire fighters |
| C．A large number of these fires are set by kids |
| D．Although your friends know how to put out fire |
| E．So you should have a smoke alarm outside your bedroom |
| F．But remember, the alarm can work only if it has enough power |
| G．Actually most of them can be avoided with working smoke alarms |
8 . A rocket problem that forces astronauts to evacuate (撤退) may appear to be a plot straight out of a Hollywood movie. However, that is exactly what happened to Russian astronaut Alexey Ovchinin and American astronaut Nick Hague.
The event happened shortly after the Soyuz rocket and its Soyuz MS-to space capsule (联盟号太空舱) carrying the astronauts took off from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.
The takeoff went off smoothly, but just 119 seconds later, officials from Russia’s space agency informed NASA the booster (助推器) had failed to separate from the capsule.
It will take a few weeks for experts to determine what caused the problem of the usually reliable Soyuz rocket.
| A．To their sadness, this event became a nightmare for their future space journey. |
| B．The two scientists were on their way to carry out a six-month task at the International Space Station. |
| C．Surprisingly, the harrowing event has not stopped Hague’s and Ovchinin’s wish to go to space. |
| D．Thus, the astronauts didn’t head to the International Space Station. |
| E．And luckily, they became the main characters of the movie about space exploration. |
| F．Fortunately, the “movie” had a happy ending with both scientists returning to Earth safely. |
| G．Fortunately, Hgue and Ovchinin had been well-trained for such emergencies. |
9 . Should people be allowed to use cell phones while driving? People have different opinions about it.
No, because in this world some people drive very crazily. So most people who use cell phones to talk in the car usually pay more attention to what they are talking about than to driving. One of the reasons that I feel this way is that my friend had a car accident while using a cell phone. He lost his life and his friends did, too.
——Alejandra Pachecho from Venezuela
That depends. The advantages of using a cell phone while driving are that you can call the police if there is a car accident, and call for help when somebody’s car breaks down. The disadvantage is that people get distracted (思想不集中) when they are driving at the same time they are talking on a cell phone. It can cause car accidents.
——Rodrigo Cruz from Colombia
Yes, if they use it correctly. Sometimes drivers are very dangerous when they are talking on a cell phone. They may not drive well if they use one hand to hold the phone and the other hand to drive. In this case, drivers should use a hand-free accessory to talk while driving. That is a safe way to use them while driving.
——Pantium Wong from Hong Kong
No. Cell phones are extremely popular among teenagers. One problem is that they talk on them while they’re driving. Sometimes some of them aren’t careful and drive too fast. Talking on a cell phone while driving at high speed is very dangerous. They shouldn’t drive and talk on the phone at the same time because they can’t control the car and may cause accidents.
——Ngoc-Ahn Thi Ho from Vietnam
1. The people above all think the disadvantage of using cell phones while driving is.| A．to lose life | B．to cause accidents |
| C．to get distracted | D．to lose way |
| A．Avoiding loneliness. | B．Not missing important things |
| C．Keeping in touch with family. | D．Getting help when in trouble |
| A．Pantium Wong. | B．Alejandra Pachecho. |
| C．Ngoc-Ahn Thi Ho. | D．Rodrigo Cruz. |
| A．Driving at a young age. | B．Driving too fast. |
| C．Being careless. | D．Talking on cell phones |
The two young men waited for a few moments, and then ran quickly and quietly towards Mrs. Riley. The tall one held her from behind while the other one tried to seize her handbag.
Suddenly Mrs. Riley threw the tall one over her shoulder. He crashed into the other one and they both landed on the ground. Without speaking, Mrs. Riley struck both of them on the head with her handbag and walked calmly away.
The two surprised young men were still sitting on the ground when Mrs. Riley crossed the street towards a door with a lighted sign above it. Mrs. Riley paused, turned round, smiled at them and walked into the South West London Judo Club.
1. The two young men were standing in a dark shop doorway because .
| A．they had nothing to do |
| B．they were homeless |
| C．they were waiting for a victim |
| D．they were guarding the shop |
| A．The woman was robbed of her handbag. |
| B．The woman taught the two young men a lesson. |
| C．The woman reported the two young men to the police. |
| D．The woman sent the two young men to a judo club. |
| A．went shopping at night |
| B．was on her way home |
| C．had just left a shopping center |
| D．had a skill of self-defense |
