1 . “Mayday! We got Mayday!” Frank Pisano screamed over the micro-phone to the air control tower at John Wayne Airport last June. One of the two engines on his 1975 Cessna had failed, and he was now on a collision course with one of the busiest highways in America—Interstate 405, just south of Los Angeles—and there was no stopping it.
Driving south on the 405, near the airport’s runway, was John Meffert. A fire department captain, Meffert, 47, was heading home from his shift. Then a low-flying plane caught his eye. After he took a second glance, a thought crossed his mind: “This plane’s going to hit me,” Meffert told Fox 8.
He was right. The plane knocked into the center highway, popped up a few feet, and then hit the front of Meffert’s SUV. It finally stopped after hitting the divider on the southbound side. Meffert pulled over. He was unhurt, so he turned his attention to the plane. He ran toward the smoke billowing from it—and then he saw Frank’s wife, Janan Pisano, pop her head up on the passenger side.
By the time Meffert reached the aircraft, part of the fuselage (机身) was on fire and Janan, who was covered in blood, was on the wing trying to pull her husband from the wreck. Meffert, afraid the plane would explode, guided her to safety behind it. At this point, traffic had come to a stop, and two nurses jumped out of their cars to help lead Janan farther away as Meffert ran back for the pilot.
“I’m going to get you out,” Meffert said as he positioned himself under the pilot’s arms and carefully lifted him from the seat. He dragged the pilot off the wing and carried him to the side of the freeway to safety, where they watched flames swallow the plane.
Remarkably, Meffert’s car was the only one hit by the plane. Had Meffert been a second or two faster, Frank told the Orange County Register, the left propeller (螺旋桨) would have torn the top off his SUV and killed him.
“I play all the what-ifs—going slower, going faster. It could have been in a very different situation,” Meffert told Fox 8. “We just had a lot of angels.”
1. What was the reason for the accident?| A．The plane hit a SUV. | B．Frank was not a good pilot. |
| C．One of the engines didn’t work. | D．The plane landed at a wrong place. |
| A．It hit part of Meffert’s car. | B．It set Meffert’s car on fire. |
| C．It caused Meffert covered in blood. | D．It threw Meffert into the air. |
| A．Because he knew how to perform first aid. |
| B．Because the plane couldn’t fly any more. |
| C．Because he didn’t want to cause a traffic jam. |
| D．Because the plane might explode. |
| A．Nervous. | B．Lucky. | C．Sad | D．Excited |
2 . There have been several incidents at some events in recent years where people died because of stampedes (踩踏).
·Don’t panic and conserve your energy
Panicking will not help you free yourself from a developing stampede. Stay calm and focused.
·Keep pace with the crowd
If the crowd is moving in one direction, it’s best to go with the flow.
·
One potential way to handle the situation is to shield yourself and allow the crowd to move past you. Look for a solid structure to stand behind such as a pillar or a wall, or other places to hide: behind a car or even a lamppost.
·Guard your head
Just remember to calm down, guard your head, and go with the flow of the crowd until you are able to safely escape.
| A．Move away from barriers. |
| B．Find somewhere to protect yourself. |
| C．Yelling and screaming will tire you out. |
| D．You can use sign language to communicate with people around you. |
| E．If you happen to fall down in a large crowd, try to get up as quickly as possible. |
| F．Once you try to resist, the sheer density of the crowd behind you could crush you. |
| G．These may leave some people thinking there’s little you can do to survive a stampede. |
3 . Wayne Boone knew he should be dead. His cab(驾驶室)had crashed into the guardrail on the far right edge, destroying the metal barrier that protected his truck from dropping into the water below, almost flying through the air. It all happened so fast. How was he still alive? Somehow, the back of his cab had got stuck on the bridge’s edge before it could complete its falling. His empty trailer(拖车), meanwhile, leaned to the left, sliding sideways at a 90-degree angle to the cab.
Whatever the force was that held the cab on the edge, Boone knew it couldn’t last. He was injured, but his body had yet to fully noticed the pain. He forced himself to focus. If he had any chance of escaping the cab and surviving, he had to get free from his seat belt. The cracked windshield(挡风玻璃)beneath him exposed the dark waters below. If he put any weight on the glass, he risked bursting through and falling the rest of the way. Under the howl of the wind, he heard voices from above. “It’s about to go!”
Got to get free. Releasing his seat belt, Boone tried to hold on to the seat, but he immediately slid into the windshield. The glass shifted in its frame. He climbed upward, aware that he was getting cut along the way. He slipped again. And again. Each time his feet met the windshield, the glass gave a little more. The next time could be the last. Gathering all his strength, he pulled himself between the seats and threw himself back as far as he could behind the driver’s seat.
Minutes passed—to Boone, it felt like hours—before he heard the approaching whistle. To his ears, the harsh sound could have been angels singing. Hearing people shout with joy when they saw a firefighter deliver him to safety, Boone felt his heart full of gratitude. He was rushed to the hospital.
1. Where did the accident happened?| A．In the street. | B．In the river. | C．On the bridge. | D．In the hospital. |
| A．The trailer was flying through the air. |
| B．Boone was badly injured during the crash. |
| C．A certain force could stop the cab falling finally. |
| D．Boone released his seat belt to jump into the river. |
| A．To say hello to the people above. |
| B．To stop the cab falling into the river. |
| C．To avoid falling through the windshield. |
| D．To protect the windshield from being broken. |
| A．Disappointed. | B．Scared. | C．Worried. | D．Hopeful. |
4 . Standing on the edge of the plane, my tandem skydiving (双人跳伞) instructor, Bill, asked “Do you have any last words?” “Yes,” I said, joking. “I hope my parachute opens.”
I’d never felt more alive as Bill and I stepped out and started our freefall. Those first few seconds were amazing. As we reached 4,000 feet, I felt a parachute open above us. This, I was told , would slow us down for a smooth descent (下降). So why were we still traveling so fast? I looked up: The parachute was flopping unopened in the wind. I started to freak out. I could hear Bill swearing as he tried to fix whatever had gone wrong. Seconds passed, which felt like forever, until finally our emergency parachute opened. Except it got caught in the first one, making both parachutes useless. I asked Bill, “Are we going to die?” He said he didn’t know. At that moment, I just felt guilty. I’d brought my family along for the day. I’d invited them along to watch me die.
We hit the ground. I was immediately breathless, and an unimaginable pain shot up my back as we bounced into a lake on a golf course. Gathering all my strength, I turned to face Bill. He started screaming. We were found by some golfers. My mother and sister cried uncontrollably as Bill was put into a helicopter, and I was placed into an ambulance. The next four or five months were intense. I had broken my back. After being discharged (出院) from the hospital, I locked myself in my bedroom and took painkillers. I became terrified of the outside world.
After years of therapy(治疗) and hard work, the deep physical and mental pain is healing. I heard that Bill made a full recovery and returned to skydiving. I was always terrified of being myself and doing the things I wanted. Now I’ve learned that I need to be fearless. There’s nothing like falling from 15,000 feet without a parachute and surviving to force you to make the most of every day.
1. How did the author feel before skydiving?| A．Worried | B．Excited |
| C．Terrified | D．Guilty |
| A．Bill didn’t open the parachute in time. |
| B．The author stayed calm the whole time. |
| C．Something went wrong with the parachutes. |
| D．The author couldn’t breathe during the freefall. |
| A．He had constant pain in his head. |
| B．He became crazy about extreme sports. |
| C．He was sick both physically and mentally. |
| D．He became more confident in himself. |
| A．Safety first. | B．Fear can lead to failure. |
| C．Cooperation matters. | D．Seize and cherish every day. |
5 . One of the longest ancient wooden bridges in China, located in Fujian province, collapsed on Saturday night after a fire broke out. No casualties(伤亡)or injuries were reported. Wan’an Bridge, which has a history of more than 900 years, in the village of Changqiao in Pingnan county caught fire at around 9:10 pm. The blaze was put out by 10: 45 pm, according to the local emergency management bureau.
There are more than 50 wooden arch bridges in Pingnan. Measuring almost 100 meters long and 5 meters wide, Wan’an Bridge is the oldest and longest wooden bridge in the country. A fire broke out on the bridge in the Qing Dynasty(1644～1911)and it was rebuilt in 1742. It was listed as a key national cultural relic in 2006. The construction of wooden arch bridges uses the most sophisticated techniques among all wooden bridges in China, and the techniques themselves were listed as an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2009.
Although uncommon, fires at cultural sites around the country do happen. In 2014, a fire destroyed around 300 houses in Dukezong township in Shangrila county of Yunnan province. Dukezong, established more than 1, 300 years ago, is known for its Tibetan-style architecture. The fire burned nearly a fifth of the ancient town’s core preservation area.
In 2019, the National Cultural Heritage Administration and Ministry of Emergency Management issued a guideline on improving fire safety for cultural relics. It required museums and institutions with cultural relics to conduct fire safety check every two hours when open to the public.
According to China News Service, Pingnan county has set up special working groups to look into the incident and to try to restore the bridge. The local authorities are looking into the cause of the incident and the public security bureau has started an investigation.
1. What do we know about Wan’an bridge?| A．It is about 100 meters long and 5 meters high. |
| B．It was damaged and then rebuilt in Qing dynasty. |
| C．It was listed as a key national cultural relic in 2009. |
| D．It is the longest and the widest wooden bridge in China. |
| A．They are located in the same province. |
| B．They are famous cultural sites in China. |
| C．They are both Tibetan-style architectures. |
| D．They were caught by fire more than once. |
| A．China News Service will help restore the bridge. |
| B．There are strict rules for museums all over China. |
| C．It will take a long time to find out the cause of the fire. |
| D．China attaches importance to cultural relics protection. |
| A．A travel brochure. | B．A bulletin board. |
| C．A financial journal. | D．A recent newspaper. |
6 . Two people, including a 9-year-old boy, were injured in a bear attack while hunting in Alaska, authorities said.
The child suffered serious injuries, while a man suffered minor injuries, Alaska State Troopers said.
The incident occurred Tuesday around 6:30 p.m. local time near Palmer, located about 40 miles northeast of Anchorage, police said.
The pair, who are related, were hunting moose (驼鹿) in the Palmer Hay Flats area, a state game refuge, Alaska State Troopers spokesperson Austin McDaniel told ABC News. Troopers did not say clearly their relationship. They met with a brown bear that then attacked the child, troopers said. The man shot and killed the bear during the attack, police said.
Troopers and EMS responding to the scene following reports of a bear attack found the two victims, who were taken to a hospital in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley area, Troopers said.
McDaniel said the last report he received had the child listed in “fair condition.”
The brown bear was with a cub (baby animal) at the time of the attack. The Alaska Wildlife Troopers and Alaska Department of Fish and Game were unable to locate a cub in the area after ground and aerial searches, McDaniel said.
1. How many people were injured in the accident?| A．Three | B．Two. | C．Nine. | D．Not clear. |
| A．It annoyed the bear when the boy tried to catch the bear cub. |
| B．The hunter shot the bear, which angered it. |
| C．Coming across two bears might make them nervous. |
| D．Something else unknown frightened the bear. |
| A．the two went to hunt the bear which once hurt other people |
| B．finally the bear took its cub away after the attack |
| C．it is likely that the seriously injured child would recover at last |
| D．it is not clear whether the injured are related |
| A．flashback | B．cause and effect |
| C．comparison | D．narration (叙述法) |
| A．Something more about the boy’s recovery |
| B．The punishment to the adult hunter |
| C．More information about the hunting area |
| D．Further search for the cub |
7 . A self-driving Uber vehicle struck and killed a pedestrian in a late-night accident in Tempe, Arizona, police said on Monday. The accident is believed to be the first pedestrian death involving the technology of autonomous vehicles.
The gray SUV had an operator in the driver’s seat and was traveling at about 40 miles per hour in autonomous mode when it struck a woman who was walking across the street late Sunday night, Tempe police said. The pedestrian was rushed to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead from her injuries.
“The City of Tempe has been supportive of autonomous vehicle testing because of the innovation and promise that the technology may offer in many areas, including transportation options for disabled residents and seniors,” Tempe Mayor, Mitchell said in the statement. “Testing must occur safely. All indications we have had in the past show that traffic laws are being obeyed by the companies testing here. Our city leadership and Tempe police will pursue any and all answers to what happened in order to ensure safety moving forward.”
Self-driving cars have been praised by technology companies as the wave of the future. Autonomous cars are already being in more than 30 cities around the world, with companies investing more than $80 billion into research and development.
“Everyone recognized that someone was going to die in a crash involving an autonomous vehicle eventually,” Bryant Walker Smith, a law professor at the University of South Carolina who studies risks in automated driving systems, told NBC News. “As good as that technology tries to be, mistakes can happen, or it may be one of the small fraction of crashes. I just think everybody kind of hoped that one wouldn’t come this soon.”
Smith added that because federal and state agencies don’t have the resources to monitor individual vehicles, the responsibility for safety falls on the individual companies running the technology.
The National Transportation Safety Board announced that a four-person team has been sent to Tempe to investigate the crash.
1. Which of the following is true about the accident?| A．The woman was dead on the spot. |
| B．The accident is under investigation. |
| C．The driver was arrested for speeding. |
| D．It is the first accident caused by autonomous vehicles. |
| A．The autonomous vehicle can make transportation safer. |
| B．A large profit will be brought by the autonomous vehicles. |
| C．The autonomous vehicles will help disabled residents and seniors. |
| D．Companies invest more than $80 billion into research and development. |
| A．The driver. | B．The pedestrian. |
| C．The individual companies. | D．The federal and state agency. |
| A．Tempe is in favor of autonomous vehicle testing. |
| B．Autonomous vehicles have a lot of disadvantages. |
| C．Companies should take action to improve self-driving cars. |
| D．A self-driving Uber car caused a pedestrian’s death in Arizona. |
8 . As 17-year-old Norwood drove through St. Peters-burg, Florida, last February, the laughter and chatter from the four teenage girls inside her car quickly gave way to screams. As they approached a crossing, 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 other car, a bystander shouted, “It’s about to blow up! Get out!” Shaken, but otherwise OK, she crawled (爬行) 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 to the car and found Simmons passed out in the back seat. She threw open the back door and pulled her friend out, avoiding the broken glass as best she could. She dragged Simmons a few feet to safety and laid her on the ground. “I checked her pulse.” Nothing.“I put my head against her chest.” No sign of life. “That’s when I started CPR (心肺复苏术).”
Had the accident happened a few weeks earlier, she might not have known what to do. But Norwood, who wants to pursue a career in medicine, had earned her CPR certificate just the day before. 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 and breathing into her friend’s mouth in hopes of filling her lungs with the kiss of life. No response. And then, after the 30th try, Simmons began coughing and gasping for air. The CPR had worked! Soon, the ambulance arrived and rushed Simmons to the hospital, where she received treatment for a cut in her forehead. 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 happened to Norwood’s car in Florida last February?| A．It lost its way at a crossing. |
| B．It crashed into a nearby building. |
| C．It was hit by another car from the side. |
| D．It stopped in St. Peters- burg as planned. |
| A．To call for help. | B．To check the car. |
| C．To put out the fire. | D．To rescue her friend. |
| A．Norwood was a certificated on- the- job doctor. |
| B．Simmons didn’t come to herself after the CPR. |
| C．Norwood learned how to perform CPR recently. |
| D．Simmons was surprised to be saved by Norwood. |
| A．Calm and dependable. | B．Friendly and selfless. |
| C．Honest and responsible. | D．Helpful and sympathetic. |
9 . Searchers announced the recovery of one of the two black boxes, and human tissue (组织) debris from the crash site of China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735 on Wednesday night, three days after the Boeing 737-800 nosedived from cruising altitude and crashed into a forested hillside.
One of the black boxes found on Wednesday has been identified as the cockpit voice recorder (驾驶舱话音记录器). The black box’s recorder looks badly damaged from the outside, but its storage unit looks relatively intact. It has been sent to a professional civil aviation agency in Beijing for decoding, and hopefully the data stored inside will provide evidence for the accident investigation and help produce a credible accident analysis report. The search teams are going all out to find the other black box with professional tools.
Officials also released more information concerning the crash. The weather on the route of MU5735 was suitable for flying and there was no hazardous weather when the plane crashed. The communication connection between the plane and the ground was normal from the plane’s departure until its sudden fall in altitude. The plane started service in June 2015 and it had been maintained under strict standards of technical plans and in normal conditions. Before departure, the aircraft met the requirements for flying. Pilots on board were all in good health and their flying certificates were within the validity period.
Beijing EAPs Consulting, a firm which provided a free psychological services hotline immediately after the crash, told Global Times that it has answered many phone calls asking for assistance. The phone calls are from families, friends and colleagues of people on board, who are in a difficult time. Some pilots and flight attendants called in because they feel unsafe and uncertain about their careers. There are also people who want to know how to comfort their acquaintances that had loved ones on the plane. Mental support and psychological services in the first 24 to 72 hours after a tragedy is crucial for people involved to recover from the tragedy and minimize the trauma. For more information related to the plane crash, please click here to follow the latest news.
1. The underlined word in paragraph 1 can be replaced by________.| A．separated | B．fell | C．recovered | D．drove |
| A．The search for the other black box is still underway. |
| B．Pilots on board were not in good condition before departure. |
| C．The plane crashed into the city center. |
| D．The black box found appears intact outside. |
| A．Psychological support is of little use after the tragedy. |
| B．A company sends volunteers to the crash site. |
| C．Many crew members will quit their jobs immediately. |
| D．A company offers free psychological support to people related. |
| A．an online newspaper |
| B．a search report |
| C．a research paper |
| D．a book on psychology |
10 . Over a hundred years after it sank near Antarctica, the ship of polar explorer Ernest Shackleton has been found using underwater robots.
In 1914, Ernest Shackleton and his 27 members left England in a wooden sailing ship called the Endurance. Shackleton hoped to become the first to cross Antarctica. But in 1915, the Endurance became trapped in the thick ice over the Weddell Sea. The ice broke the Endurance and later sank it. Then the ship’s captain kept accurate records of the ship’s position, and the ship’s photographer even took pictures of it as it went down. But the ship, deep in the icy waters near Antarctica, had never been found.
On Wednesday, a search team called “Endurance 22” announced it had located the ship. The Endurance was found 3 kilometers below the ocean’s surface, about 6 kilometers south of its last known position. According to the Endurance 22 team’s report, the name can be clearly read on the back of the ship, and its wheel looks ready to be turned.
Though the ship is made of wood, it has survived with little damage. Scientists say that the small organisms(微生物) that normally break down wooden objects underwater don’t live in the cold waters around Antarctica.
The team ran the project from an ice-breaking ship. To locate the Endurance, the team used two underwater robots called Sabertooths. The robots could travel by themselves under the ice and go where the ship could not. For the last two weeks, the Sabertooth robots have been searching the sea floor in a 390-square kilometer area.
The robots were looking for anything above the sea floor. Last Saturday, the ship was found. Once the ship was located, the Sabertooths used high-quality cameras to record the Endurance in detail. Antarctica’s waters are protected by an international agreement, which means the ship can’t be disturbed. So the Endurance 22 team plans to create a digital 3D model of the wreck(失事) site. This will allow scientists to study the ship in detail without disturbing it.
1. Why did the Endurance 22 team know the ship5s possible position?| A．They had first-class robots. | B．The captain kept a good record. |
| C．Polar explorers recalled the details. | D．The icy waters of the ship have changed. |
| A．It is in excellent shape. | B．It is trapped in hard ice. |
| C．It is in poor condition. | D．It has gone beyond recognition. |
| A．Luck. | B．Patience. | C．Weather. | D．Technology. |
| A．“Endurance 22” Announced a Great Discovery |
| B．A Polar Explorers’ Ship Found After Over 100 Years |
| C．Untold Finding of Antarctic Explorer Ernest Shackleton |
| D．New Results of the Sabertooth Robots’ Underwater Search |
