2 . One day, Lisa Holman told her family she would be out that night visiting her friend, only about half an hour drive from her house. So it was not alarming as the night grew on and she did not arrive home. As 11 pm passed, her family began to worry. They called her but did not get any answer. They then reached out to Lisa's friend, who said Lisa had left to drive home at 9 that night.

The family thought about calling the police that evening but the police typically don't define a person missing unless there is no contact for 24 hours. The next morning there was still no sign of Lisa. All the family could do was sit home and wait. Lisa's son decided to drive along Lisa's route and carefully look for her. He found Lisa's car had crashed into a tree. What's worse，there was no sign of Lisa at all.

The family called the police. The police began their search. But due to the heavy rain the search team was called back. The family was very disappointed but still hopeful and continued the search 700 feet from Lisa's car, they finally found Lisa under a rock.

After a few days in hospital, Lisa recovered. She explained that she passed out after her car slid off the road in the rain. After she came to herself, Lisa managed to climb out of the car. While walking to find help, Lisa was exhausted and unable to figure out the direction. So she couldn't walk on and climbed under a rock as it started raining again. Scared as she was, she turned to her faith in hopes of living to see her son again.

3 . Any car accident is frightening, but an accident in which your vehicle is thrown into the water, with you trapped inside, is absolutely terrifying.     1    However, most deaths result from panic, without a plan or understanding what is happening to the car in the water. By adopting a brace(支撑) position, acting decisively and getting out fast, you can save yourself from a sinking vehicle.

Brace yourself for impact (撞击力). As soon as you're aware that you're going off the road and into a body of water, adopt a brace position. The impact could set off the airbag system in your vehicle, so you should place both hands on the steering wheel in the “ten and two” position.

Undo your seat belt.     2     Unfasten the children, starting with the oldest first. Forget the cell phone call. Your car isn’t going to wait for you to make the call.

    3     Leave the door alone at this stage and concentrate on the window. A car’s electrical system should work for up to three minutes in water, so try the method of opening it electronically first. Many people don’t think about the window as an escape option either because of panic or misinformation about doors and sinking.

Break the window. If you aren’t able to open the window, or it only opens halfway, you’ll need to break it with an object or your foot. It may feel counterintuitive (有悖常理的) to let water into the car.     4    

Escape when the car has equalized. If it has reached the dramatic stage where the car cabin has been filled with water and it has become balanced, you must move quickly and effectively to ensure your survival.     5     While there is still air in the car, take slow，deep breaths and focus on what you’re doing.

4 . Joanne was stuck in a traffic jam in central Birmingham at 5:30, and at 6:30 she was expected to be chairing a meeting of the tennis club. At last, the traffic was moving. She swung quickly racing to her house. As she opened the door, she nearly tripped over Sheba.

“Hey, Sheba,” she said, “I’ve got no time for you now, but I’ll take you out as soon as I get back from tennis club.” Then she noticed Sheba seemed to be coughing or choking. Obviously, she could hardly breathe. Immediately, Joanne realized she would have to take her to the vet (兽医). When she got there, the vet was just about to close for the day. Seeing the state of Sheba, Dr. Sterne brought her quickly into his office.

“Listen, doctor, I’m really in a rush to get to a meeting-can I leave her with you, and go and get changed? I’ll be back in ten minutes to pick her up, and then I’ll take her on to the meeting with me. Is that OK?”

“Sure,” said the doctor.

Joanne made the quick trip back to her house in a couple of minutes. As she was once more entering the hallway, the phone by the door began to ring.

“This is Dr. Sterne,” said an anxious voice. “I want you to get out of that house immediately,” said the doctor’s voice. “I’m coming round fight away, and the police will be there any time now. Wait outside!”

At that moment, a police car screeched to a stop outside the house. Two policemen got out and ran into the house. Joanne was by now completely confused and very frightened. Then the doctor arrived.

“Where’s Sheba? Is she OK?” shouted Joanne.

“She’s free, Joanne. I took out the thing which was choking her, and she’s OK now.”

Just then, the two policemen reappeared from the house, half-carrying a white-faced man, who could hardly walk. There was blood all over him.

“My God,” said Joanne, “how did he get in there? And how did you know he was there?”

“I think he must be a burglar,” said the doctor. “I knew he was there because when I finally removed what was stuck in Sheba’s throat; it turned out to be three human fingers.”

6 . The accident at Lake Sherwood was in our backyard. An SUV(运动型多用途车)had gone off the road, down a hill, and collided with a tree. When we heard the wreck, I remembered to say “call199”. My family was the first on the scene. Nick, my son, was on the cell phone with 911. He saw a friend who was a victim in the crash who was a 15 years old girl who was badly disfigured and had died instantly. It was a terrible scene.

There had been six people in the truck, all between 15 and 17 years old. My husband and I checked all the victims, and I picked one who was conscious and stayed with him. I talked with him and had him lay on the ground. When I asked him if he was hurt, he said he was sore all over. When help arrived, they asked me to stay and continue working with them. I did as Debbie Romine, .my instructor, said in class, and did what they wanted. They even said thank you before they left.

The sheriff deputies came by Saturday night to get our statements and play the 911 tape back, so Nick could identify all the voices in the background. They said over and over that the way he handled the call was the best they had heard in a long time. He was calm and worked with them even when he saw his friend who had died. The Sheriff’s Department is sending some people over to help us work through our emotions.

The first aid and CPR course I took in January really helped me. I just didn’t expect to put it to good use so soon.

Pennyd. Miller

Kansas State Dept of Education, Topeka

7 . Thomas James Hanson will remember for a long time the snowstorm that hit the state of New York on November 22nd. The 47-year-old man from Niagara Falls was stuck in his car on the highway for almost eight days after his vehicle was accidentally pushed to the side of the road and covered with snow by workers employed to remove the snow from the streets.

Driving on the Interstate Highway190 during the worst of the snowstorm, Mr. Hanson decided to pull over his old 1993 Volkswagen Passat to the side of the road and wait for the weather conditions to improve. He remained motionless for approximately five hours before a snow plow arrived to clear the way. Unfortunately for the poor man, the driver of the gigantic snow removal vehicle did not see the small car, pushing it into the ditch and covering it with more than 2 meters of snow.

Fortunately for the father of two children, the snow that was stacked over his vehicle was not very dense and allowed for enough fresh air to get through to enable him to survive. He was able to drink water that he obtained by melting snow with his lighter in an aluminum coffee cup, and he ate the few items of groceries he had bought before going home.

“If I had known I would be stuck for eight days, I would have bought more than a jar of dill pickles(咸菜), a bottle of ketchup and two sticks of beef jerky(牛肉干),” said the survivor with a smile.

Thomas Hanson had almost lost all hope of being rescued when his car was hit once again this morning by another snow plow, which revealed the poor man’s location.

8 . A couple from Miami , Bill and Simone Butler , spent sixty-six days in a life-raft (救生艇)in the seas of Central America after their boat sank.

Twenty-one days after they left Panama in their boat, Simony, they met some whales(鲸鱼). “They started to hit the side of the boat, ” said Bill, “and then suddenly we heard water. ”Two minutes later , the boat was sinking. They jumped into the life-raft and watched the boat go under the water.

For twenty days they had tins of food , biscuits , and bottles of water. They also had a fishing-line and a machine to make salt water into drinking water-two things which saved their lives. They caught eight to ten fish a day and ate them raw(生的). Then the line broke. “So we had no more fish until something very strange happened. Some sharks(鲨鱼) came to feed , and the fish under the raft were afraid and came to the surface. I caught them with my hands. ”

About twenty ships passed them, but no one saw them. After fifty days at sea, their life- raft was beginning to break up. Then suddenly it was all over. A fishing boat saw them and picked them up. They couldn't stand up. So the captain carried them onto his boat and took them to Costa Rica. Their two months at sea was over.

9 . There was ice on the road, and the doctor’s car hit a tree and turned over three times. To his surprise, he was not hurt. He got out of the car and walked to the nearest house. He wanted to telephone the garage (汽车修理站) for help. The door was opened by one of his patients.

“Oh, Doctor.” she said, “I have only just telephoned you. You must have a very fast car. You have got here very quickly indeed. There has been a very bad accident (事故) in the road outside. I saw it through the window. I am sure the driver will need your help.”